President Cyril Ramaphosa raised concerns about what he believes to be the exclusion of minorities in South Africa’s political landscape at the celebration of 40 years since the formation of the mass movement called the United Democratic Front (UDF).
“As a government, we have expressed our determination to ‘leave no-one behind’, which is in keeping with the spirit of the great UDF. The reality is that despite our gains, millions of our citizens feel left behind.
“Many Coloured and Indian compatriots who were the backbone of the UDF feel excluded from our nation’s political life, and point to their under-representation in decision-making structures as evidence of this.
“Many white South Africans wrongly believe there is no place for them in South Africa today, and some have drifted towards laager-style politics and a siege mentality,” Ramaphosa said.
The President said women even feel more marginalised, unprotected and they continue to suffer in the hands of men.
“Women feel marginalised and unprotected as they are preyed upon in their homes, at schools, at places of higher learning, and even in church,” he said.
He also said the youth have lost faith in the country’s politics.
“Young people – a third of our population, are feeling the cold winds of exclusion from opportunity. They see politics as the preserve of old people and aren’t voting. By far those who feel most excluded and neglected are the urban and rural poor, the unemployed and society’s most vulnerable.”
Ramaphosa said the government should fight against this exclusion for the betterment of the country and the dignity of all those marginalised be restored.
“This is the tide that must turn. This is the war we have to wage. Against exclusion, marginalisation and inequality in all its forms. And so when we make a call for a stronger civil society, for transformation, for accountability, we must be as committed as the UDF was to leaving no-one behind.
The resurgence of people’s power as a force for positive change, with its calls for an active citizenry, has come at the right time. We remember Amilcar Cabral’s words that ‘the people are not fighting for ideas, but to win material benefits’.”
Ramaphosa said what matters the most to South African people is that they want a better life for themselves and their children. They want to lead lives of dignity, in security and to have decent work.
“Affording one’s rent, putting food on the table, having running water and decent sanitation, sending one’s children to school – these are the bread-and-butter issues the UDF was seized with helping people secure.
“It was part of its political activism. When the UDF was at its most powerful, South Africa was a different place. The enemy was clear. Today the threats to the wellbeing of the South African people come in many guises. These threats are corruption, malfeasance and abuse of public office for personal gain.“
Ramaphosa said there is a need to fight against social ills and bad norms such as patriarchal attitudes, sexism and misogyny that are fuelling violence against women and children.
The President also called out immoral business practices that hurt the poor, the most common practices being price gouging, the exploitation of tenants by landlords, illegal evictions, selling unsafe food and predatory lending, he said.
And lastly he addressed the xenophobia, homophobia, tribalism and all forms of chauvinism that are breeding fear, mistrust and even stoking violence within and amongst communities.
UDF was disbanded in 1990 after the unbanning of the ANC, the South African Communist Party (SACP), the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) along with other organisations.
