Date: 01/02/2009

Source: Independent Democrats

Title: ID: de Lille: Speech by the ID leader at the party's 2009 election manifesto launch

'Good afternoon, goeie middag, molweni, dumela, sanibonani,

ID leaders, branches and structures, ID supporters and fellow South Africans, welcome to the launch of the Independent Democrats' 2009 Election Manifesto and thank you all for being here today.

We launched our party in 2003 and have taken part in two elections since then. In the National Elections in 2004, 267 000 South Africans voted for the Independent Democrats. In the Local Elections in 2006, over half a million South Africans voted for our vision and approach.

In these two elections, the Independent Democrats was the fastest growing political party in our country. The ID now has representation at all three levels of government, with MPs, MPLs and Councillors - all fighting for your rights on a daily basis.

The Independent Democrats is a part of Government in 26 municipalities across our country.

In the past year we have won 11 by-elections, while where we have not won, we have increased our support enormously.

The ID's membership has already passed 300 000!

Research shows that we are well on our way to doubling our support yet again and that 1 million South Africans will unite behind our vision and approach.

The same research shows that our support stretches from the richest to the poorest, from cities to rural areas, from black, white and coloured to Indian and from the very youngest in our country, to the very oldest.

Unfortunately our very oldest member could not make it here today because she does not like big crowds.

She is 103 years old.

Ma Johanna, ons bedank jou vir jou patriotisme en toegewydheid aan ons saak.

Ma Johanna het die einde van Kolonialisme en Apartheid gesien, maar haar boodskap aan ons nasie is dat sy steeds wag om die vrugte van ons demokrasie te smaak.

Dit is ‘n herinnering dat ons nog baie werk het om te doen!

Research conducted by Markinor shows that the ID has the most diverse support base of any political party in South Africa.

Over 26% of our support comes from black South Africans, 40% comes from Coloured and Indian people, and 29% from white South Africans.

This is proof that the ID is the most non-racial party in our country. The ID is also the least offensive political party in South Africa.

When asked who you would NEVER vote for, only 5% of people said they would never vote for the ID, while 8% said they would never vote for the ANC and 16% said they would never in their lives vote for the DA.

We should be very proud of this fact.

As more people learn about what we stand for and about our vision, our support will continue to grow.

The ID was born in the new South Africa and we recognize the urgent need for transformation to address and to bridge the divides of the past, which continue to disadvantage millions of our people.

We have enormous inequality in our country.

We cannot have a situation where millions are living in poverty, are hungry, suffering from disease, have poor education and no services - while others live lives of luxury, wealth and comfort.

Massive inequality and poverty cannot be the norm.

It is morally problematic and socially and economically unsustainable.

So we need transformation; we need to bridge the massive divides that we have throughout all sectors of our society.

To talk about equal opportunities and ignore transformation is an insult to everyone that has been disadvantaged by our past.

It is an insult to those who have taken responsibility, wish to make amends and are patriotic about our country.
And it is also an insult to the beautiful philosophy and spirit of Ubuntu: that we are people through other people.
Ubuntu is a gift to us all.

Ons is mense deur ander mense!
Umuntu Ngumuntu Ngabantu!
We are people through other people!
We must remember this.
We are all in this together.

There is one South Africa and it is up to all of us to make it work.

To those of you who don't know much about the ID, let me tell you a little about our approach.

We believe in `Social Democracy', where the state allows for free economic activity, but directs the market for the benefit and well-being of society.

The ID believes that government has a responsibility to ensure that every citizen has the basic necessities such as food, water, electricity, healthcare, education, safety and security.

Citizens also need to contribute to government through becoming active participants in their community's development.

So an ID government would be more humane, would put people first and would listen to you.

The ID has built a consistent track record in speaking truth to power on the most important challenges facing our country.

Our fight is a fight for social justice.

Die ID het ‘n konsekwente geskiedenis opgebou om waarheid tot mag te spreek ten opsigte van die mees belangrike uitdagings wat ons land in die gesig staar.

Ons stryd is vir sosiale geregtigheid.

We have taken on the ANC when it stole from the people in the Arms Deal and we have taken on companies who have stolen from the people through price-fixing.

We will continue to fight for the realization of the Constitutional rights of our people, especially of the marginalized: the poor, women and children and people with disabilities.

For too long people with disabilities have been excluded from mainstream society and treated like second class citizens.

[The ID Manifesto has also been printed in Braille].

The ID believes in people-centred development, where ordinary people are given the opportunity to be involved in decisions about the development of their communities, towns and cities.

Where we are in government, our approach is to listen to and include communities in decisions that affect their lives.

We have a vision of a South Africa where you can live your life fully and freely.

A South Africa free from poverty, crime and unemployment, where you are given excellent healthcare, the dignity that comes with having a home and the opportunities that come with education.

And this vision is something we are striving for.

Fighting for your rights is important, but it is not enough.

We also need to offer solutions.

The ID's approach is and always has been a positive one: of fighting for rights and offering solutions.

All the way through our manifesto we outline practical solutions that will improve the lives of all our people.

In fact, there are approximately 100 solutions that we have proposed in our full manifesto.

Together they represent a holistic plan, with one solution often feeding into another.

These solutions speak to the main issues that face us as individuals and as a country: jobs, crime, corruption, HIV/Aids, housing and education.

This Manifesto we are launching today is therefore about you.

And about finding solutions to your problems.

In our manifesto summary we have listed our "Top Ten Solutions" which we believe will improve your life and build a great South Africa.

Let me now give you an overview of our Top Ten Solutions.

The ID wants a country in which everyone can live a prosperous life free from poverty.

It is a sad reality that despite the wealth of our country, half of our population still lives in grinding poverty.

Half of those who live in poverty do not receive any social assistance from the Government.

The first of the ID's Top Ten Solutions is to introduce a Minimum Income Grant, which will be funded through taxing luxury goods, cigarettes and alcohol.

This grant would lift millions of our people out of poverty and stimulate local economies and businesses, thereby increasing economic growth.

Our second solution focuses on dealing with crime.

Here we have a comprehensive Twelve-Point Plan for dealing with crime.

Part of this plan is to train and hire another 5000 social workers who can work to heal our communities and get to the root causes of crime, drug abuse, teenage pregnancy and other complex social problems.

The ID would bring police numbers up to 200 000, train and recruit more detectives and forensic scientists, tighten up bail laws and re-introduce night courts.

We would also provide funding to community policing forums, so that they have the resources to take on the criminal minority that is holding our country hostage.

Thirdly, the ID is determined to build an economy that works for all of us and not just a privileged few.

Forty percent of South Africans are currently unable to find work and as the global financial crisis deepens, tens of thousands of our workers are losing their jobs.

70% of our young people are unemployed.

Job creation is therefore our number one priority.

The ID would introduce a wage subsidy for work seekers between the ages of 18 to 25, which would create jobs by encouraging companies to hire more people.

The ID would decrease the costs of doing business by cutting red tape and providing quality infrastructure, such as affordable telecommunications and public transport.

We would stimulate competition in our economy by breaking up the monopolies that are holding our economy to ransom and preventing new entries onto the market.

The ID would start by focusing on the telecommunications and energy sectors, where the government currently holds a monopoly.

Fourthly, the ID's solutions to our energy crisis will position South Africa as a world leader in renewable energy and create hundreds of thousands of jobs over the next two decades.

Eskom's inability to provide reliable electricity has already cost our economy over R50 billion.

We would democratise energy by ending Eskom's monopoly and opening up the grid to other suppliers and focusing heavily on renewable energy.

There is no reason why South Africa cannot be one of the leading countries in the world in terms of renewable energy.

Besides helping with climate change, we could create a whole new industry and create thousands of jobs across a variety of sectors.

iLanga, uMoya namanzi zinika isizwe amandla!
Ons sal die son, die wind en water gebruik as kragbronne vir ons land!
The sun, the wind and water will power our nation!

Fifthly, the ID would save taxpayers billions of rand by ending all spending on weapons and the nuclear industry.

The Government has already wasted R8 billion rand on the PBMR nuclear experiment and R5 billion on arms manufacturer Denel.

The Government plans to waste another R12 billion on the PBMR and spend R700 billion on conventional nuclear power over the next 20 years.

The ID says taxpayer's money must be used more effectively to create jobs and to invest in sustainable energy sources.

Sixth, an Independent Democrats government would provide all schools with infrastructure, improve teaching and introduce a Child Education Grant, which would help children gain access to money for school fees, uniforms and transport.

Within 2 years every school will have access to electricity, water and sanitation. Within 5 years every school will have a library, a functioning science laboratory and free internet connectivity.

Teachers will be given training and performance bonuses and those that are unwilling to teach our children will be removed from the system.

Our seventh solution is to improve service delivery.

What we need is service delivery to the poor - not poor service delivery! In order to do this, however, we need a public sector and public servants that are free from corruption and mismanagement.

Ons sewende oplossing is om dienslewering te verbeter.

Wat ons nodig het, is dienslewering aan die armes - nie armoedige dienslewering nie!

Ten einde dit te kan doen, benodig ons ‘n openbare sektor en openbare amptenare wat vry is van korrupsie en wanadministrasie.

An ID government would therefore fire any Minister whose department receives a qualified audit for two years in a row.

Budgets must be spent and not rolled over year after year.

South Africans want a government that can spend its money as well as it collects it.

Corruption must also be rooted out, but this will not happen when you have a ruling party that is willing to condone corruption and even reward corrupt leaders.

The ID's eighth solution will be to put criminals in jail and not in Government.

As all of you probably know, the ID has put quite a few politicians in jail and in court! Oilgate, Travelgate and the Arms Deal have been conveniently swept under the carpet by the current Government.

An ID Government would bring back the Scorpions and institute a judicial commission of enquiry into Arms Deal corruption.

The ID's ninth solution would fix South Africa's health system. Many of our people do not have access to quality healthcare.

There are devastating inequalities in the system. 65 percent of doctors serve the 7 million people who are fortunate enough to have medical aid, while 40 million people are served by the remaining 35 percent of doctors.

The ID will take some of the burden out of the public healthcare system by gradually introducing a National Health Insurance.

This will extend medical aid to more South Africans.

In addition, the ID would ensure that the 55 000 vacancies in the health sector are urgently filled and that doctors and nurses are given the administrative support necessary to perform their life-saving jobs.

Our tenth solution is in line with our belief that we have to place emphasis on those areas where the greatest levels of poverty are found.

The ruling party has neglected the rural areas over the past 15 years and we have seen over half a million jobs lost in agriculture alone as a result.

The ID would introduce a comprehensive rural development strategy that will unlock the potential of these areas.

This strategy would include infrastructure roll-out such as roads, water, sanitation, electricity, clinics and schools.

We will give more support to farmers and we will create local markets for their goods.

These are our Top Ten Solutions.

We have approximately 100 in our full manifesto, which you can find on our website.

I want to say to all South Africans today that these solutions can only become a reality if there is the political will to implement them.

The ID has the political will - we have a proud track record of fighting for your rights and offering solutions over the past 5 years.

We have been consistent in doing so.

These solutions can only make a difference in the lives of our people if we have your support.

Some of you might ask, "what can I do to be a part of the solution?"

There are many, many things you can do.

You can get involved in your communities, in community organisations, community policing forums and religious organisations.

You can send questions to the ID that we can ask Ministers and Government Departments when you feel that government is not accountable to you.

You can sign the ID's crime and corruption pledge and you must report crime and corruption.

You must also make a commitment to not buy stolen goods.

You can send your ideas and solutions to us.

Call us or email us so that we can assist you.

All our contact details are on our website.

And one of the most important things you can do is to refuse to give up hope.

In closing I want to remind everyone that no vote is wasted because we have a `proportional representation' system of voting, which means that every vote counts.

A vote for the ID will not be wasted or split the opposition.

On the contrary, when you vote for the ID you will be strengthening the opposition, because a vote for the ID will increase our representation in parliament, adding to our strong and principled voice of fighting for your rights and offering solutions.

By voting for the ID you vote for the vision and solutions in our manifesto.

It is a vote that will fight for you and offer solutions to your problems.

So we invite you to be a part of the Solution. And Vote ID.

Thank you, dankie, Ke a leboga, siyabonga, Enkosi.'