Admin
12 Feb, 2019
The UDM’s reaction to #SONA2019
• Honourable Speaker and chairperson of the NCOP • Mister President • Honourable Members South Africa needs key interventions in order to eradicate poverty, place more citizens in jobs, in particular young people, whilst closing the gap between the haves and the have nots. Firstly, we need massive investment in the maintenance and development of a well-coordinated and integrated socio-economic infrastructure that is driven by government. Reading the City Press report recently on the state of the Mahikeng’s socio-economic infrastructure is further confirmation that the country cannot wait for another year without this massive investment into the infrastructure development. Mr President, we invite you to visit places like Ikhwezi township, Norwood and Northcrest suburbs in Mthatha, to witness the reality of a road infrastructure that is non-existent. Like in many other parts of the country, these potholes have caused damage to private property such as motor vehicles. This is not only limited to the infrastructure that does not exist, but it includes that which has been upgraded but not maintained properly. A classic example of this is the Mthatha airport which was upgraded in 2013, yet it had to be closed due to poor maintenance. Instead of correcting this anomaly, government is busy fighting with itself on the so-called authority and responsibility. I have no expectation of any leadership to be provided by the current serving Minister of Transport given that in November 2018, he was made aware about this but he ignored the warnings. For that reason, I suggest that you ask the South African Air Force (SAAF) who have specialists on Aviation to assist with the Mthatha Airport whilst we are waiting for the sleeping Minister. This Aviation intervention is urgent Mr President, because the ongoing closure of that Airport is negatively affecting the economy of that part of the country. Many projects announced and started by this government are never get finished. There was a project to connect water from Mthatha Dam to the surrounding villages up to Coffee Bay. This project was stopped for almost three -and-half years, and we are told that there is no money to complete the project. What happened Mr President, is it this lack of proper planning or another day of looting. In a village near Burgersfort, in Limpopo, more than 72 RDP houses have been left unfinished since 2014. This is the same municipality that is alleged to have illegally deposited R200 million into the VBS Bank which has since been found to be a source of funding bottomless pockets of politicians from the ruling party. Again, another example of daylight looting from the poor. Mr President, the challenges facing the higher education sector are to governing party’s lack of proper planning for the roll out of fee free higher education in South Africa. This crisis management style of leadership has to be a thing of the past. In some health institutions instead of getting medication you are greeted and kept company by monkeys, this is the case at the Durban’s RK Khan Hospital. Despite the government’s knowledge of the infrastructure challenges in the health sector, there is no convincing strategy to address these problems. The current load shedding by Eskom is contrary to the pronouncement and commitments made by government recently. We were told, that load shedding is the thing of the past, yet Eskom is currently on stage three or four. Eskom comes up with a new excuse from the known diesel and coal. Now we are told that the project of Hitachi and Chancellor House in Medupi and Kusile which they built are the reasons for this load shedding. Chancellor House is the ANC fundraising front, it is therefore prudent that your party must take full responsibility for turning South Africa into darkness. It is also clear that the ever-increasing electricity tariffs are as a result of decisions of companies that are syphoning millions from the tax payers to the governing party. We welcome the reconfiguration of the intelligence service as it is a long overdue decision. It has been delayed because of the abuse of its mandate and resources. I thank you
Admin
22 Feb, 2018
Subject for Discussion: Debate on the State of the Nation
Address by Mr LB Gaehler, MP (NCOP) in the National Assembly The UDM has been vindicated When His Excellency the President of the Republic of South Africa Mr Cyril Ramaphosa, during his State of the Nation Address 2018 responded positively to the issue of the service providers being paid on time by the government departments, within the policy of thirty days. The United Democratic Movement (UDM) has been advocating the issue of service providers through its public representatives in parliament since 2005 and talking to all departments. The UDM has been calling on the government since 2005 through speeches and members statements to pay service providers within the thirty days, as it is the policy of government. The President has now reiterated that this issue is going to be looked at and rectified as people and political parties has been complaining about this issue. We are very much happy that now the people of South Africa will benefit extremely as there are many South Africans who are doing services for government. The government must always keep its promises; as well, it is also the policy to pay service providers within thirty days. Thank you
Admin
19 Feb, 2018
Subject for Discussion: DEBATE ON SONA
Address by Mr LB Gaehler, MP (NCOP) in the National Assembly Honourable Speaker and Honourable Members Mr President, we welcome your commitment to make the public service work. We therefore call on you, to professionalise service delivery as a function of public servants. They are employed to serve the people and not to be served by the people. Your administration, must put South Africa First. We must, as you have promised, make sure that public service is not a dumping site of unqualified, incompetent and lazy people, who are a product of your party’s deployment policy. This must come to an end now. Secondly, we welcome your commitment towards the Small Business Development. Accordingly, we suggest, that there must be consequences for failing to pay service providers within the specified time. There must be consequences for those who fail to implement government policy. For example, if a service provider is not paid within 30 days, there must be an interest accrued and such must be taken from the salary of the defaulting government official. As you establish your advisory streams, we call on you, to ensure that, this good initiative is not merely a payback for loyalty to you or your party. Therefore, you must, tap into the rich knowledge, expertise and wisdom of the society at large beyond party political confines. Mr President, industrialisation must not fly above the head of the majority of our people. It must originate and be driven from below. Your administration must invest in local economic development and prioritise rural economy. We are in this morass, as a consequence of poor management of state affairs by the governing party. However, you must be able to acknowledge this in order to steer the country on the correct course. It should be said that charity begins at home, cleansing must begin at home too. You must take the lead and deal decisively with those who commit crime against the people of South Africa. South Africans must be shifted from greed and corruption in which they have been accustomed to by previous leadership, and now focus on creating a society that we can all identify with and be proud to promote. If I judged correctly I would say approximately 80% of your speech was concentrated on economic matters and need for entrepreneurial revitalisation. We welcome your message of charting a new path for our country and imprinting footprints for what you call our future greatness. The idea of concentrating on JOBS, especially to tackle youth unemployment is well advised. I become concerned when politicians mention Extended Public Works jobs as part of tackling unemployment, as if they were sustainable jobs. These are dig a hole and fill it kind of jobs, they are great as emergency bailouts but are not real sustainable jobs. If we going to create real low skill jobs we must, as you have emphasized, you need to look deeper at construction and agriculture. We must couple it with the agenda of modernising our schools, building new community medical clinics that would expand access to quality low-cost care. We must include them on plans to upgrade broken-down electrical substations, localising the building of trains and buses and public housing to mention a few. The Job summit and investment conference are good ideas – provided it is not a white-wash in the manner in which government currently conducts its public consultations without effecting any suggestions from the public. You need to take seriously other people’s views, especially when they conflict with yours, because that is the only way you will also test and strengthen yours. Do not come with the dismissive attitude of thinking that the voice of experts on the field carries more weight. Often it is people on the ground, who know where it pinches and how to solve it. I am also sure opposition parties, like the UDM, who’ve been calling for an Economic Indaba will support you on this. Thank you
Admin
19 Feb, 2018
State of the Nation Address 2018 debate
Contribution by Mr Bantu Holomisa, MP and President of the United Democratic Movement on the occasion of the State of the Nation Address 2018 debate in the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa • Honourable Speaker & chairperson of the NCOP • Mister President • Honourable Members 1. Congratulations Mr Ramaphosa! When an opponent has done well, one must applaud and say: “Well done”. Well done on your speech Mr President! Your message has restored hope and put South Africa on the right track for the restoration of our dignity. This opportunity was given to you on a silver platter by the steadfast efforts of the loyal opposition, the media and civil society, while your party’s leadership turned a blind eye to brazen looting of state resources and fiddled while South Africa was burning. Who will forget the hundreds of thousands of South Africans who marched in a united display of dissatisfaction over an ill-suited and irresponsible President of the Republic. 2. Corruption is the lynchpin in giving effect to your SONA vision 3. Madam Speaker, Institutionalised corruption has been exacerbated by political heads usurping the powers of accounting officers in all three tiers of government. And Mr President, there must be consequences for those who have been found guilty of corruption. 4. The work of the State Capture Inquiry The State Capture Inquiry must be beefed up with the inclusion of forensic audit experts and even the Hawks. The Justice Department must be directed to make special provision for prosecuting capacity and the establishment of dedicated courts to expedite justice, as was done in 2010 with the Soccer World Cup. Once the Inquiry identifies an incident of corruption, the Hawks must pounce, the judicial system must take the baton, whilst the Inquiry continues. 5. On a side note Mr President, you mentioned infrastructure development in your speech; and specifically referred to roads, millions of South Africans are forced to travel long distances to work in the cities and mines. These long-distance travels are marred by accidents, death and injury, with some using insensible transport. It might be time for us to consider state of the art, safe, speed trains to decongest roads, decrease accidents and to save time and lives. Also, Mr President, we need to attend to the phenomenon of anarchy in our society, the general lack of discipline and disrespect for the law. 6. Thuma Mina Your call to action resonates with all South Africans Mr President! We all want to see it prosper so that we might thrive as a collective and as individuals. Your call builds on the action initiated by opposition parties and civil society of the course of the past year or so. We all said “we wanna be there” to stay the rot of corruption; and we were there on the streets in our thousands. We commend your consultative style and welcome the initiatives you mentioned in your SONA, but you did not go far enough. There must be a broadening of the collective consultative process and a wide range of topics that should be interrogated and discussed. Call it what you will, an indaba, convention or a summit, but we need to convene under one roof to discuss the critical challenges facing South Africa today. Contrary to the opinion of some political gurus, who said the opposition was exclusively obsessed with getting rid of former president Zuma, we have laid the groundwork for this national dialogue. With the input from some academics, we compiled a draft “Problem Statement”, which was released in August last year, to serve as a fundamental basis for such a dialogue. The identified issues are: • The reinstatement of our Constitutional order and the Rule of Law; • Reaffirmation of our founding vision and values; • Measures to ensure inclusive economic participation and to address inequality; • Reversing our economic decline. • The establishment of a shared consensus on land reform. This should include the rural tenure system, bodies like the Ingonyama Trust, as well as selling of urban land to foreigners. • Review the National Development Plan, with regard to its implementation and outcomes; • Reviving our national morality and the eradication of systemic corruption; • The reformation of our electoral system to enhance accountability and responsiveness; • Review of the powers and functions of the President to resolve the over- concentration of power; • The development of a capable and professional state, which requires fair employment opportunities in government, for all South Africans as opposed to non-professionals being parachuted into positions of power. • The rehabilitation of our international standing based on a human rights approach. • The reinvigoration of our structures and systems of education and training to ensure skills development and meaningful participation in economic and social activities; • Reversing social decay and putting a stop to violence against women and children; • The fostering of reconciliation, social cohesion and nationhood; • Resolving impediments to the progressive realisation of our basic human rights; • Strengthening and ensuring the independence of our Chapter 9 Institutions; • The reformation of party-political funding; • Securing the attainment of all role players towards the attainment of a state of good governance and the values that underpin it; We are here Mr President and we wanna be there to help find sustainable solutions. I thank you
Admin
16 Feb, 2018
UDMYV: Some SONA2018 announcements give hope to young South Africans
The United Democratic Movement Youth Vanguard (UDMYV) has taken note of the State of the National Address delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa today, 16 February 2018. This on the back foot of many young people of South Africa who continue to be marginalised due to lack of job opportunities in the country. The UDMYV welcomes the President’s commitment to “move young South African’s to the centre of the national economic agenda.” Some of the initiatives announced today include: 1. A jobs summit 2. Launch of Youth Employment Service Initiative 3. Establishment of a Youth Working Group represented by all young South Africans. 4. Creation of one million internships in three years. The UDMYV supports these initiatives in principle and would avail its machinery for the success of these programmes as the UDMYV recognises that the exclusion of young people from economic activity is an injustice to the black child in particular. We also hope that these programmes are not designed to appease the African National Congress Youth League whom we believe are enemies of the President in his party’s factional battles. The UDMYV therefore calls for wide representation and inclusion of all youth formations in these programmes. We shall also continue to work with the United Democratic Students’ Movement (UDESMO) at all tertiary institutions to make sure that free education is implemented in order to benefit the millions of young South Africans who seek to venture into higher education and training. The economy needs a new approach that will attract international investors and create jobs. The UDMYV believes that manufacturing through localisation will indeed help to achieve this and that ratings agencies will upgrade South Africa out of junk status. Issued by: Katleho Mothamaha UDMYV Political Liaison Officer, Gauteng plo@udmyv.co.za Yongama Zigebe UDMYV Provincial Secretary, Gauteng Secretarygp@udmyv.co.za yludwe@yahoo.com
Admin
14 Feb, 2017
Address by Lennox Gaehler in Parliament: UDM reply on the State of the Nation Address(SONA) 2017
Honourable Speaker, Honourable President and Members The task of creating a developmental state where the primary mandate is to build an inclusive economy by fundamentally changing the status quo in favour of the poor majority, who find themselves in the rural hinterland, is now more urgent than ever before. Further and any unnecessary delay will have grave consequences for our hard-won freedom and the governability of state. In this regard, South Africa must indeed review the many agreements entered into before, and at, the Codesa negotiations. Such an exercise will identify the bugbears which makes it difficult to ensure that all citizens enjoy equal economic freedom. Whilst our welfare system has helped millions, who would have gone to bed with empty stomachs, the painful truth is that the super-exploitative economic system the new South Africa inherited, continues to produce structural inequality and remains enemy number one. The United Democratic Movement suggests that radical economic transformation should not just be mere rhetoric and we believe that: • Patronage and corruption must fall, and that prudence and good governance must rise; • Free education must not be “free of quality”; but it must produce young adults, and especially black young adults, who are ready to operate new enterprises and be job-creators rather than being job-seekers; • Whilst progress has been made with housing delivery; the minister should have clear, achievable timeframes for the correction of the defects in some of the existing buildings and act decisively against those found to be on the wrong side of the law; • Recent reports on alleged maladministration, and possible corruption in the department of water affairs, is worrying. If true, it flies in the face of the spirit of the announced radical economic transformation. Speedy action must be taken, especially given the current drought. • In agriculture, we need to train more agronomists with practical skills to utilise and manage the land once it is returned to the people. Indeed, and in the words of OR Tambo whose centenary we are commemorating, liberation has no meaning without the return of the country’s wealth to the people and therefore the existing economic arrangement must be radically changed to the equal benefit of ALL South Africans. I thank you
Admin
14 Feb, 2017
Address by Bantu Holomisa in Parliament: debate on the State of the Nation Address (SONA) 2017
Honourable Speaker, Honourable President and Members As we enter the 23rd year of our democracy, we see a rise in the levels of anxiety and anger among citizens, with anarchy knocking at our door. Notwithstanding these trends, the United Democratic Movement (UDM) acknowledges the great strides South Africa has made since 1994. The most disturbing reality is that we see an increase in the politics of patronage, uncontrollable corruption, the collapse of government institutions, a high unemployment rate, lack of development, failing health and education systems, widening inequality, chronic poverty and ineffective provincial governments. With regard to provincial governments; the question is, do we really need these glorified homelands or rather strengthening the local sphere of government and let national government take control and introduce the lacking uniformity. We are commemorating the late OR Tambo; an undoubted champion of the struggle for a just and free society. It would be interesting to know his thoughts on the so-called leaders who have dumped the deprived masses and took care of themselves at the expense of the poor. We believe that no individual party’s policy conference could proffer all the sustainable solutions to the challenges we face as a nation. This is even more apparent when the governing alliance lacks policy coherence; thus threatening investor confidence. It is in this regard that the UDM resolved that, in preparation for 2019 and beyond, we will during this year convene a consultative conference which will be open to all citizens, to amongst others: • Take stock of the 22 years of our democracy; • Identify areas of intervention to bring about meaningful economic transformation; • Review the legislative framework that impedes fundamental socio-economic transformation, including the Constitution; • Develop mechanisms to stop corruption and maladministration; • Take stock of the quality, qualification and placement of our civil servants including those who provide security services to the nation; • Improve our constitutional democracy with the introduction of a people-driven electoral system; • Introduce legislation for transparent political party funding; and • Find a lasting solution to reduce tension between the social partners at NEDLAC in particular labour, government and business. At the envisaged National Consultative Conference, we shall also evaluate the agreements between the ruling party and the apartheid government pre- and during the Codesa negotiations. Meaningful transformation, including the transfer of land and control of the economy, will never realise so long as those agreements are used as scarecrows and lock the majority of our citizens outside the economic mainstream. South Africans, it is our collective task to ensure that the ideals of a truly democratic and prosperous society as envisaged by OR Tambo and others, are realised. In this regard, I encourage you to take advantage of the proposed conference to ensure that we reclaim the original objective of the struggle we have so dearly fought for. I thank you
Admin
02 Nov, 2016
Address by Bantu Holomisa at the March Against State Capture
Fellow South Africans We are here today to talk about the challenges we face as a Nation and we wish to send a strong message to Government. Our Nation finds itself on the slippery slope of corruption, lawlessness, anarchy and dissatisfaction. We must capture the lost ground of the past 22 years. We are frustrated. We are tired. We are hungry. We don’t have houses. We don’t have jobs. Election promises that were made, such as free education, have not realised. Our resources are syphoned out of the Country at the expense of our people. The agencies, that are there to protect the interest of the public, are being openly abused and/or undermined. We want things to be better. We want our people to be happy and to be proud South Africans. The big question is: can we trust the current establishment to lead the nation out of this quagmire? For instance, instead of delegating representatives of Government to talk to dissatisfied citizens, they dispatch the police. The Marikana example, and other related incidents, remain the tragic products of this style of leadership. Must this country wait for the ruling party’s congress next year for them to elect new leadership whilst the country is burning in the meantime. Even if they choose new leadership, there is no guarantee that those new leaders will be able to address the current challenges. If not for the work of the opposition parties in Parliament, the situation would have been worse; but it can no longer be the opposition parties alone, being tasked to find solutions. Don’t you think it is each of our responsibility, as citizens of the country, to work together in finding solutions? All sectors of civil society should participate in a dialogue. During the negotiations, after the Municipal Elections of 2016, the African Christian Democratic Party, the Congress of the People, the Democratic Alliance, the Economic Freedom Fighters, the Freedom Front Plus, the Inkatha Freedom Party, the United Democratic Movement and the United Front, agreed in principle that it is necessary for the Nation to meet. In this regard, we proposed that a National Convention should be held as a platform to discuss the problems facing South Africa today. Some of the issues we need to talk about date back to the Codesa era. We can no longer afford a situation where discussions around South Africa’s problems devolve into a talk-shop or yet another useless bosberaad. Should there be an emerging consensus at the proposed National Convention that there is a need to change legislation, it should go straight to Parliament for ratification. We must not lose momentum. We must harness the energy we’ve generated thus far, and use it to find solutions to the current challenges. For anyone who is interested in reading more about the concept of the National Convention, the proposal that the UDM sent to other political leaders yesterday, is available on https://udm.org.za/road-map-towards-south-african-national-convention-udm-perspective/. Thank you Delivered at St Alban’s Cathedral, Pretoria
Admin
17 Feb, 2016
SONA Debate: contribution by Mr Lennox Gaehler, MP in the Joint Sitting of Parliament
Honourable Speaker, President and Honourable Members The drought that has visited our land has affected big, small, formal and informal farming sector, depending on their proximity to a scarce source of water. In this regard, United Democratic Movement suggests that, drought relief interventions, whether at a planning or implementation stage, should deliberately target the small and informal farmers too, as their contribution in providing food security and fight poverty, is relevant and significant. Honourable Speaker the infrastructure needs of a country present themselves as an opportunity and threat, while we want to position our country as an investment destination but the dire need for infrastructure remains a repelling effect. We are happy that transport infrastructure was identified as a catalyst for economic growth, but the sad reality is that this has just become an academic exercise, because if you go to the Eastern Cape, for instance, and ask for a transport infrastructure master plan, you shall find none. In addition, the socio – economic infrastructure of the rural areas does not keep up to standard, to respond to the ever increasing demands. The current interventions are insufficient as they tend to benefit urban areas. In this way, a better rural livelihood will be difficult to realise. In this regard, the UDM suggests that a realistic, reasonable and requisite Rural Infrastructure Development Grant be created. Such a grant will first help to address the rural infrastructure backlogs and unlock the great potential located in the rural areas. Masigxinisise kuphuhliso lwasemakhaya ingakumbi kwimicimbi yendlela, umbane, amanzi acocekileyo, nezonxibelelwano. Madam Speaker, as the campaign for the Local Government Elections has started, we call for an end to the blandishments of basic services to sway votes in favour of the ruling party. Already, we have witnessed government activities, being turned into party rallies, at the expense of other citizens. In these government activities, party members and officials in full regalia of their party intimidate other members of the public and openly campaign on a government platform. Food parcels and Expanded Public Work jobs, like the ‘War on Leaks Project’, in Port Elizabeth, are already campaign instruments. Such abuse of a public office is a breach of oath, a neglect of citizens and it undermines the Constitutional rights of the people in particular the indigent. Makuyekwe ukusetyenziswa kwe-mali zabahlali xa kukhankaselwa iivoti. Wonke ummi weli lizwe unelungelo loku thatha inxhaxheba kuphuhliso lwelizwe noku-xhamla kuwo onke amathuba emisebenzi yase kuhlaleni. Thank you
Admin
18 Jun, 2014
SONA 2014 – Bantu Holomisa reacts on behalf of UDM
Address by Mr Bantu Holomisa, MP in the National Assembly during the State of the Nation debate (SONA 2014) Chairperson of the NCOP, Mister President and Deputy President, Honourable Members; I wish to thank all the people, who gave us the mandate to once more contribute in building a better South Africa. We will do our best to serve you. Chairperson of the NCOP, To achieve meaningful socio-economic transformation, the United Democratic Movement (UDM) believes that South Africans of all races should engage in a structured debate about our policy direction and priorities. This debate would, in addition to other issues, discuss the need to review the current over reliance on population size as a major determining factor in the allocation of resources. We believe that when allocating resources more emphasis should be placed on the developmental needs and economic disparities of each Province. This will go a long way towards addressing past imbalances and backlogs. Given the increased role the state now plays in the economy, it is important for us to reach some form of consensus about the macroeconomic blue print that will help take the country forward. We call for this because we are of the view that State intervention that results in higher public debt, high inflation and more inefficiency defeats the purpose of the exercise. A discussion on how best Government should pursue our developmental needs and objectives through state intervention would help locate the National Development Plan (NDP) in the right context. It would also ensure that steps are taken to provide the essential policy details necessary for the implementation of the NDP. The recently approved Defence Force Review should also form part of this broader discussion as it together with peacekeeping missions has cost implications for the country. Mister President, We welcome steps Government has taken to ensure sustainable mining and to improve the socio-economic conditions of the mine-workers. We however believe that they do not go far enough. To deal decisively with mining, the UDM calls on Government to set up a Commission on mining to, among others, investigate and advise on the following: a. the socio-economic conditions of the workers and surrounding communities. b. mine-workers’ access, or lack thereof, to a provident fund worth billions of Rands. c. how the workers’ money has been invested, especially in cases where the workers were retrenched, or have retired or passed away. d. the ownership of mines and mineral wealth, the allocation of mining rights, as well as who benefits from these mines and, e. the much talked about beneficiation programme. Finally, to turn around the local government, we believe that Minister Gordhan needs to conduct a proper skills audit to ensure that the right people are employed in the right places. We further call on Minister Gordhan to ensure that politicians are not involved in the awarding of tenders. Nxamalala, we look forward to join you in your cleanup campaign for our environment during Nelson Mandela Day. Thank you.
Admin
18 Feb, 2014
Speech: Debate on State of the Nation Address by Bantu Holomisa
Mister Speaker, Mister President, Deputy President and Honourable Members, State of the Nation Address debates give South Africans an opportunity to participate in discussions about issues that affect our country. We should therefore not underestimate the value of this important democratic practice in strengthening our democracy. Elsewhere in the world such opportunities do not exist. Mister President, allow me to apologise in advance for not being able to stay for the entire duration of this debate. I have to go to Pretoria to finalise the submission of the Defence Force Service Commission (DFSC) to the Portfolio Committee on Defence. I also need to prepare for my trip to Bloemfontein to attend the National Defence Force Day celebrations. I hope you understand Sir, because you assigned me this task. Mister Speaker, The 2014 State of the Nation Address debate takes place at a time when South Africa marks 20 years of freedom. This gives us an opportunity to reflect on the progress made and the challenges facing South Africa today. We acknowledge the good strides made since the attainment of our freedom. We also fully concur with you, Mister President, that South Africa is a better place to live in today than it was before 1994. However, contrary to popular belief, many South Africans do not have a good story to tell about our twenty years of freedom. Millions of South Africans in townships, rural and peri-urban areas still do not have access to land, houses, water and sanitation. Even in instances where services have been delivered the quality of the final product leaves much to be desired. As we speak, Government has to demolish and rebuild thousands of poorly built RDP houses around the country. There is also a general lack of maintenance of the existing infrastructure in many previously disadvantaged communities, which negatively affects the delivery of water and electricity. The real State of the Nation While the UDM acknowledges the impact of colonial and apartheid legacy on the South African economy, twenty years into our democracy there is clear evidence that poor economic policy choices, economic mismanagement and corruption have negatively affected our economy. Furthermore, over the last twenty years we have witnessed growing levels of tension and mistrust amongst the three main role players: government, labour and business. On the one hand, this mistrust has discouraged big business from investing billions of available cash in our economy. On the other hand, it has often resulted in illegal and violent strikes, which negatively affect the economy, depress the currency and investor sentiment. These strained and often volatile industrial relations have resulted in high unemployment rates. Millions of South Africans are unemployed – the majority of which are youth, while others live in abject poverty. Rising food prices and fuel costs have added to the misery by making it difficult for many South Africans to make ends meet. What adds insult to injury is that our education system fails to give our children the basic education they need to be economically active. In the meantime, levels of inequality increase at an alarming rate. The high levels of inequality are a direct result of corruption and policies that allow the rich to accumulate obscene wealth at the expense of the poor and marginalised. The most painful irony however is that of a former liberation movement that espoused egalitarian principles during the struggle years only to preside over the most grotesque and ever-worsening levels of inequality. Mister Speaker, Government has over the past 20 years taken decisions that have caused the country much embarrassment. Some of these decisions and transactions, which were laced with corruption include, but are not limited to, Sarafina II, the Arms Deal, Hitachi/Chancellor House/Eskom deal, the Dina Pule saga, the IEC and the South African Police Services’ (SAPS) lease agreement scandals, Nkandlagate scandal and so on. While talking about the Nkandlagate scandal, Mister President, we have noted your media comments over the past weekend regarding government’s spending of millions of taxpayer’s money on your private property. There is no doubt that this scandal has brought the country into disrepute. You keep telling us that you had no knowledge of these improvements, but you never tell us what steps you have taken to solve this fiasco. Mister President, had it not been for the media that exposed this scandal, there would have been no Public Works and Public Protector Investigations. We are concerned that in cases where senior ruling party leaders are caught with their hands in the cookie jar junior officials are made to take the blame. Even former President Nelson Mandela admitted to the widespread existence of corruption in the ruling party when he said in August 1998 that: “We have learnt now that even those people with whom we fought the struggle against apartheid’s corruption can themselves be corrupted.” Mister President, it seems other South Africans have a different story to tell. No one can dispute that: “Corruption destroys the gains of our freedom!” It also chases away the investors. Bearing this in mind, Government needs to take active steps to promote and entrench a culture of good governance. To root out corruption, the UDM believes that Government should introduce courts that are dedicated to handle corruption cases. Government should restore the powers of the accounting officers and ensure that there is no political interference. The role of political heads should be confined to that of oversight. The bleak picture I have sketched above about the strong prevalence of institutionalised corruption, reminds South Africans to never again put their eggs in one basket. Fellow South Africans, Over the past few years South Africa has been shaken by violent service delivery protests. People protest to register their dissatisfaction with Government’s dismal service delivery record. In most protests, lawlessness is regrettably celebrated, as both private and public properties are destroyed. What adds fuel to the fire is that the political leadership both at national and provincial levels does not make time to engage communities during protests. They instead rely on councillors and the police to extinguish the fire. We therefore join you, Mister President, in condemning the use of violence by all parties during protests. We will meet again when the new administration delivers its State of the Nation Address and its programme of action for 2014. Thank you.
