REMARKS BY PRINCE MANGOSUTHU BUTHELEZI MP, IFP PRESIDENT TO THE JOINT OPPOSITION RALLY AGAINST SECRECY AND CORRUPTION, Pinetown Civic Centre, September 28 2012
When the leaders of South Africa's people gathered at the negotiating table to shape a new democratic dispensation, the IFP stood firm on several fundamental issues. For one, we demanded the inclusion of a Bill of Rights in South Africa's Constitution. We were amazed at the ANC's conviction that a democratic government could not possibly infringe on the rights of its people. Their naivety was exposed and the IFP sensed danger.
Eighteen years into democracy, we have been left with no doubt that a democratic government can indeed infringe on the rights of its people. Perhaps the greatest evidence yet is the ANC's determined pursuit of the Protection of State Information Bill, in the face of public outrage and unanimous dissent.
Everyone has opposed this Bill, from former Ministers to NGOs, from traditional leaders to COSATU, from churches to the media. Without exception, South Africa has rejected what we now call the Secrecy Bill. But still it stands. How is it possible that Parliament is about to pass legislation that the whole of the country has rejected?
Democracy is about Parliament expressing the will of the people. Why then is Parliament adopting a law that the people don't want? Who is the ANC representing? That is the question we in the opposition have joined hands to ask. This cuts across any ideological divides in the opposition, for we all represent the people, and the people are not being heard.
Instead, the ANC is representing the will of the spies, the secret services and the State security apparatus. Under the Secrecy Bill, if Government wants to keep anything secret from the people, it will. The media, which has been so adept at exposing high-level corruption, will be silenced. There will be no public interest defence for those who tell us what corrupt leaders are doing. This is wrong.
We in the opposition have joined forces to stop this Bill, and our efforts have met with small victories as we saw parts of the Bill changed. But the final battle has not been won, for this Bill still stands and the worst defects in the Bill remain. We will continue our fight, as we do here today, because losing the battle will destroy this country's last firewall against corruption.
Corruption is a cancer eating away at the heart of our nation. With every Rand misspent or mismanaged by Government, we the people lose confidence in our leaders. With every corrupt tender, illegally enriched official and abuse of power, the chasm between Government and the citizenry opens. We are left with poverty, crime and despair. These are the offspring of corruption.
There is corruption at every level of government. This was my response to President Zuma's State of the Nation address this year.
The ANC has proven lethargic and blasé in the face of corruption. Thus we in the opposition have accepted the responsibility to stand up as South Africa's moral guardians. We know that secrecy and corruption rob our country of service delivery. We are saying NO to secrecy and NO to corruption.
Indeed, we are standing today to form a Coalition Against Corruption.
This Coalition is saying YES to transparency and accountability, for honest governance doesn't happen by virtue of empowering leaders on the basis of their liberation credentials or their loyalty to the ruling Party. Honest governance is the result of the people holding leaders accountable. To do that, the people must know exactly what their leaders are up to.
The Coalition Against Corruption is committed to that goal. We are blowing the whistle on corruption, and on the secrecy that allows corruption to flourish.
My philosophy in life has always been to keep my integrity. Thus, even when I have stood alone for the sake of my principles, I have still taken that stand. I would do it now. I would stand against corruption even if I were to stand alone.
But I thank God that today I stand with men and women who share my convictions, for the sake of South Africa. The Coalition Against Corruption is not just for political leaders. It is for you. It is for every honest citizen of goodwill who will stand with us and blow the whistle on corruption. As we depart from this venue let us remember the Apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesians Chapter 5: Verses 15 to 16 which read;
"SEE THEN THAT YOU WALK CIRCUMSPECTLY, NOT AS FOOLS BUT AS WISE, REDEEMING THE TIME."
The IFP is blowing the whistle. Will you?
Issued by the IFP, September 28 2012
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