Admin
10 Feb, 2020
Dissent voices on SOEs by top leadership is disheartening!
The United Democratic Movement takes note on contradicting statements issued over the weekend by the President of the ruling party and his National Person on the ailing state-owned entity the South African airways. The President, Mr Cyril Ramaphosa insisted that SAA will not be sold or shut down and within hours the chairperson, Mr Gwede Mantashe told the nation that this entity should be shut down if it does not make profit. The ANC recently had a lekgotla, and they had promised the nation that the issue at SAA was going to be discussed, but from these statements one may conclude that there was no discussion, if there was, no agreement was reached as to how this important would be made viable. If it is like this at SAA, what about the other SOE’s? Seemingly the ruling party does not have a strategy to make these SOE’s to operate as companies that sustain themselves. The ANC is in the about what needs to be done to save these SOEs. This might be the reason why the rescuing practitioners of SAA are now dictating terms on how the entity should operate hence certain domestic and international routes had to be abruptly stopped without the approval government. This has turned South Africa a banana republic. The State Owned Enterprises need a decisive leadership and intervention not what it is being heard, that is, dissenting voices of the senior leaders of the ruling party and the government. The majority if not all SOEs are currently in the Intensive-care unit (ICU), they are not making any profit. These SOEs are supposed to be contributing to the GDP of the country yet they are a liability. This is a biggest shame. How long will the hard-earned money of taxpayer’s money keep saving these SOEs? The problem with ruling party is for it to admit that cadre deployment is killing these SOEs and it is afraid to take drastic actions as it does not want to lose support from their comrades who are somehow being compensated for failing to make it to parliament or provincial legislatures. This must stop if South Africa is be made a winning nation. Issued by: Bongani Msomi UDM Secretary General
Admin
21 Jan, 2020
Dismissal of corrupt managers at the SABC is not enough!
The United Democratic Movement is of the view that the reports that shows the South African Broadcast Corporation (SABC) has lost 1.5Billion in revenue over the period of 2018/19 is unacceptable to the core. The dismissal and disciplinary measures by the Public broadcaster are not enough punishable measures for the perpetrators. The public has heard enough of this. The SABC, recently got a bailout of 2.1Billion rand for their incompetence, irregular expenditure, irregular discounts and corruption milking the public broadcaster’s purse. These unacceptable practices is continuously putting pressure, load on the public purse to save the corporation. If top management does not play blind into irregularities at the SABC, taxpayers would not have to bail this SOE. Seemingly, the current SABC board is also failing to bring about positive and effective change, the board knew exactly what was happening at the public broadcaster since taking over from infamous Hlaudi Motsoeneng’s board. They promised to bring about change as they claimed to have a turn-around strategy. The South Africans were prepared to give them a sympathetic ear but have been let down again. The UDM call for the Minister Stella Ndabeni-Abrahams to be decisive in taking harsh stance and heads must roll at the SABC starting from the board members. We demand that criminal charges be brought forth to all those involved in this corruption with impunity. We need to see them behind bars. The youth of South Africa is yearning for opportunities of employment in order to realise their dreams as producers, presenters and directors at the public broadcaster, however, some greedy individuals are taking away all those dreams from them. The UDM can no longer be by-standers and watch our future becoming bleak every minute. How long will these SOE’s milk South African’s hard earned money that would have been used to create much needed opportunities, building a winning nation with a thriving economy. We are tired of incompetence and it should end now! — end – Issued By: Bongani Msomi UDM SECRETARY GENERAL
