Solidarity Movement announces plan of R1 billion
The Solidarity Movement announced today that it plans to plough more than R1 billion into civil society in terms of its building plan over the next three years. The plan focuses on various areas of South African society, including job protection, civil rights, social support, language and culture, education and training, research and media.
The plan will be carried out by the 18 institutions which make up the Solidarity Movement. These institutions include trade union Solidarity, AfriForum, Solidarity Helping Hand, Sol-Tech, Akademia, Kraal Publishers, the FAK, Maroela Media and various financial and development institutions.
"We believe that we will strengthen civil society in South Africa through the Solidarity Movement's building plan. We want to create a future for our members, enabling them to live freely, safely, prosperously and sustainably in South Africa by means of a network of powerful institutions. The Solidarity Movement will also actively reach out to other civil organisations in order to protect cultural freedom, legal order, democracy and the Constitution," Flip Buys, Executive Director of the Solidarity Movement, said.
A large portion of the plan's budget will go towards training, which includes the construction of a new campus at a cost of R150 million where tertiary training will be offered. Die Kampus will be the home of all of the Solidarity Movement's training initiatives. They include technical college Sol-Tech which is planning to double its capacity within the next three years and to become one of the largest colleges offering technical training in South Africa. Die Kampus will also be home to higher education institution Akademia which will offer higher education all over South Africa by means of advanced telematic technology. It is envisaged that as many as 10 000 students will attend lectures at 50 study centres.
In terms of the plan, the Solidarity Movement will also radically expand the financial support offered to students. The Movement envisages to pay out R50 million per annum in bursaries within seven years.
"We believe that you invest in the next generation by means of training and education. Through training, you not only enable the youth to determine their future, but also stimulate economic growth which is beneficial for everyone in South Africa," Buys said.
The protection of rights is still a key facet of the Solidarity Movement's activities. Through trade union Solidarity and civil rights organisation AfriForum, several millions of rands will be made available to protect the rights of employees and ordinary citizens. Solidarity is also envisaging the development of a comprehensive programme to protect employees' rights in the new economy. In accordance with the building plan, AfriForum will decentralise its activities to communities and put special emphasis on municipal service delivery and community safety.
With respect to social support Solidarity Helping Hand's capacity will also be expanded and the focus will fall on the activities of the organisation's branches in communities. Helping Hand will concentrate on upliftment through training as opposed to upliftment through grants.
The Solidarity Movement also envisages a lot more activity in the areas of language and culture over the next three years. The FAK is planning various language-related and cultural activities and will be releasing a new songbook this year. Kraal Publishers will publish various books and Maroela Media will establish the biggest online meeting place for Afrikaans people.
Because a plan is only as strong as its intellectual depth, the Solidarity Movement's building plan makes provision for two research institutes. They are the Solidarity Research institute, focussing on labour and civil rights, labour economy and labour relations, and the NP van Wyk Louw Research Centre, focussing on the internationally-recognised idea of cultural freedom. Further, the establishment of an international office which will liaise with international forums and South Africans living abroad is also envisaged.
The building plan will be financed through all organisations of the Solidarity Movement, as each one will be responsible for financing its part of the plan. More than 200 000 people will contribute to the plan every month. "Solidarity members give R11 for the plan's development every month. Millions of rands for the building plan will be financed through these monthly contributions. The plan is therefore by ordinary people, for ordinary people," Buys said.
The plan will also be financed through the Solidarity Movement's financial and development institutions, namely the Solidarity Growth Fund, the Solidarity Financial Services Company, the Solidarity Investment Company and the Solidarity Property Company.
Read the Solidarity Movement's building plan at www.solidaritymedia.co.za
Statement issued by Dirk Hermann, Deputy General Secretary: Solidarity, April 18 2012
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