RISE UP! That’s the cry reverberating across the country as civic minded organisations rally together in a stand against the scourge of rampant corruption that is hampering service delivery and bringing the economy to its knees. A call has gone out to all citizens who are ‘gatvol,’ to rise up and take back their country from those who continue to plunder public coffers.
In Durban, local civic organisations across all communities, including Save Our Berea, met in Glenwood on Sunday, 21 June to discuss a proposed organised march in Durban under the civil banner of the United Front KZN, which will coincide with a mass march on the Union Buildings and Parliament on Wednesday, 19 August, by a coalition of eight trade unions and 29 civil society organisations. The march will be formally announced at the public launch of the United Front KZN on 30 June. The United Front KZN’s programme of action reflects the interests of all organisations and sectors in the province.
The coalition has come together to build an alliance against corruption and to call for social justice. It is a protest against Nkandla, e-tolls, golden handshakes, Eskom, looting of the state coffers, lack of accountability and public officials still holding positions after being implicated in corruption – basically everything South Africans complain about. It’s a mass call to action by civil society against corruption and is an apolitical initiative.
The movement started off as a tweet from former Cosatu general secretary, Zwelinzima Vavi, asking if people would be willing to march on the Union Buildings to protest against corruption and support the Public Protector. The support was overwhelming. Vavi said political parties had not been invited to attend, as the call was to all South Africans who are “gatvol,” to participate, regardless of political affiliation.
At the meeting on 21 June, representatives from local organisations signed and submitted a pledge to confirm their affiliation to the United Front. Organisations were also urged to submit issues they were struggling against, to ensure the program of action of the United Front reflected the interests of all organisations within the United Front of KZN.
Eric Tate from Arise and Act for a Just Society, said 21 years after the first democratic elections in South Africa, people still faced problems of non-delivery of services.
“The political and economic power elites have become increasingly arrogant, disregarding the entrenched constitutional rights and legitimate aspirations of the citizens, which was struggled for by generations of the majority of the oppressed in this country. The rich are getting richer and the poor poorer! Enough is enough! We call upon the youth, leaders and concerned citizens of all faiths, organisations and communities, to join the growing broad movement for socio-economic equality, non-racialism, justice and all the rights and freedoms enshrined in our national constitution,” said Tate.
He said while there were many organisations tackling the growing crises in the country, the Arise and Act for a Just Society were of the view that it was essential for all these bodies to network and unite to challenge injustice and oppression.
“The aim is for people to revolt against the status quo, as a revolution that is peaceful but effective is needed to overthrow the systems that oppress them. It is time to arise and act to remove the current ruling party out of office. A vote of no confidence should be given against the ruling party,” said Tate.
Save Our Berea’s Kevin Dunkley said the organisation supported the ‘Get up, stand-up, don’t give up the fight!’ call to civil action campaign.
“As South Africa lurches from crisis to crisis, the constant refrain in society is ‘What can we do?’ Well what we can do is unite by joining the coalition of prominent South Africans and civil society organisations who have taken a step towards answering that question. The present government has been allowed to trample all over our Constitution and abuse their power at will,” he said in a posting on the SOB Facebook page.
Dunkley said he felt this was a major, significant event and was the first step for citizens to take back their country.
Interested parties and organisations are invited to participate in the launch. To learn more, contact Themba Ngobese at NUMSA on email: ThembaM@numsa.org.za and 031 301 0296.
