SADTU and POPCRU express dismay

SADTU's and POPCRU's reaction to the scenes from parliament displayed during the 2015 State of the Nation Address SONA

As public sector unions we want to jointly register our utter dismay and shock at the scenes that came from Parliament during the State of the Nation Address. What we saw was nothing short of an attempt by some opposition parties to undermine our institutions of democracy. It was indeed a sad day in our country when those that were voted for and given the privilege by our people to occupy seats in parliament turned it into a war zone.

The hooliganism disguised as seeking accountability from the executive displayed by the so-called Economic Freedom Fighters in particular left us with a very bitter taste. The EFF went to Parliament with no intention to engage the executive and be part of the solution to our challenges but rather to unleash anarchy. It is a great pity that this, they are doing at the expense of the very Constitution that they purport to be defending.

Frankly, it does not surprise us that the EFF found its self running mates in the form of their strange bed fellows, the Democratic Alliance. Even though these two organisations sit on the opposing extremes of the ideological spectrum they have clearly agreed that they have one common enemy, the majority of South Africans who still have confidence in the ANC.

We want to remind these two strange bed fellows that at some point they will have to make peace with one reality, the ANC is the ruling party and was just recently given an overwhelming mandate by our people including us as the workers. We find it highly unacceptable that they want to overturn the ANC's electoral victory through theatrics and stunts in Parliament.

The democracy that we enjoy today came as a result of an enormous sacrifice, bloodshed and loss of lives. People of this country died for this democracy for these members to be elected to be public representatives. Their actions dishonour the lives of those who paid the ultimate price and suggest to reverse our gains.

In 1994, during his inauguration the former President Nelson Mandela said "never shall it be that this beautiful country will once again be the skunk of the world", as the public servants of this country we will see to it that our hard won constitutional democracy is not reduced into a subject of ridicule by the world. We want to suggest to the EFF that what is needed is a clear political programme to change the lives of our people; they cannot solely rely on anarchy and making news headlines for all the wrong reasons to advance their political programme.

We commend the ANC Members of Parliament, the presiding officers and the President himself for displaying political maturity in the face of extreme provocation by these hooligans. We want to re-iterate that as the public servants, we remain fully confident in the leadership of the ANC and the President. We will unashamedly work jointly with the ANC government and move this country forward.

As these three public sector unions we welcome the address as delivered by the honourable President, he detailed how far we have come as a country and where we are headed.

We noted in particular that during last year's SONA the President committed to re-opening the South African Police Service Family Violence, Child Protection and Sexual Offences Investigation Unit which today has secured 659 life sentences against perpetrators of crimes against women and children. We applaud the government's decision in this regard as it creates a sense of security for the vulnerable.

We also want to express our appreciation of the government's recommitment to ensure that all schools become centres which are ideal for teaching and learning. The fact that more schools have for the first time since the last SONA received the appropriate infrastructure such as sanitation, water and electricity is a step in the right direction. We will continue to support the work of the Accelerated School Infrastructure Delivery Initiative to ensure that it delivers on its mandate, the building of more ideal schools and the upgrading of existing ones to required levels.

Not only do we want safer schools but we want safer communities as well and we are happy that the President alluded that the government was working hard to combat crime.

A point that was highlighted by the President and which we support  is that protesting is a right guaranteed by our constitution, this right must however be exercised with responsibility. It is in this context that we want to urge members of communities engaged in various struggles not to compromise the rights of others in a quest to be heard such as learners who must acquire an education.

We welcome the cash injection of R23billion promised by the government to bail-out power utility Eskom. We believe that this will go a long way towards addressing the power outages that we have been experiencing and save the utility. We call upon the government to speed up the construction of the new power stations including the exploration of alternative and greener energy sources in order to prevent future load shedding.

We are pleased with the employment statistics shared by the President although we believe a lot still needs to done. During the African National Congress's manifesto last year, the party announced six million work opportunities in which more than 850 000 have been created. We pride ourselves to be part of an alliance that delivers its promises to its people.

Statement issued by Mugwena Maluleke, SADTU General Secretary, and Thandi Shimange, POPCRU 1st Deputy General Secretary, February 16 2015

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