Political transformation in South Africa was necessary, and the way to reach it was through political realignment, the United Democratic Movement’s (UDM) Bantu Holomisa said on Sunday at a meeting between his party and the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) in Kempton Park.
Holomisa said possible co-operation would be discussed between his party and the PAC. This included the restructuring of the Independent Electoral Commission, access to ”state-controlled electronic media”, and speaking time for opposition parties in parliament.
Other topics of discussion would include nepotism, unfair distribution of resources, rural development and education. Holomisa said realignment was not an alliance of political parties.
”It is a re-drawing of the political map, a re-alignment of ideas, the regrouping of people around new concepts that have been thrown up by the changes that have taken place.”
On Tuesday the secretaries-general of the two parties said the UDM and the PAC could form a pact at the next election.
PAC secretary-general Thami ka Plaatjie said the purpose of collaboration would be to provide a black-led opposition party.
”We want an alternative voice for our people. It is scandalous that we have the Democratic Alliance as the opposition party in a country where majority of the people are black,” Plaatjie said.
Holomisa said South Africans were still voting along racial lines with black people voting for traditionally black parties and whites voting for white parties.
”We would like to note that there is a strong opinion that the transformation process cannot be confined to the economic sphere only and that in the political arena transformation is also needed,” Holomisa said in a speech prepared for delivery.
An analysis of the changing socio-political order in South Africa suggested that shifts would occur along the lines of interest groups, distinguished by ”common concerns and aspirations and not along racial lines as we witness today”.
Holomisa said in light of this, the transformation might culminate in the emergence of two major political parties.
He said the emerging political groupings would represent the established order on the one hand, and those voters who had seen themselves as previously marginalised on the other.
Holomisa lashed out at the African National Congress (ANC), calling the party ”power hungry”.
”People are looking for a strong alternative… In the townships and in the rural villages people feel neglected by the ANC.”
He said even opposition parties were failing their supporters, referring to the Democratic Alliance (DA) and New National Party (NNP) who ”left their voters behind to engage in a messy and unseemly squabble”.
”Voter apathy and disillusionment is a growing threat to our fragile democracy… One political party after another loses its credibility through corruption, lack of delivery, funding scandals and a whole host of ridiculous and unacceptable debacles.”
He said his party was committed to realignment and has recently instructed its management committee to reach out to Afrikaans-speakers.
”Similarly, our commitment to realignment was the motivation behind my meeting with former president Nelson Mandela… And so too, today’s (Sunday) meeting with the PAC is part of the UDM’s continuing initiative towards realigning the political landscape.”
Holomisa said people tend to hang on to old ideas, one of these being that the ANC was the only party that could drive democracy and liberty in the country.
”South Africans must rid themselves of this self-imposed prison of their preconceptions, and see the ANC for what it has become and not what it was or proclaims to still be.
”They are not satisfied with the majority that they already have and if they cannot get more votes at the polling stations, they lure political leaders with promises of personal positions and benefits.
”To swallow AZAPO and the NNP is not political realignment. Paralysing opposition by giving them cabinet positions is not political realignment. It is merely the ANC feeding on its political opponents.”
He said the UDM was committed to building a strong alternative for a future government. – Sapa