The Unemployed People’s Movement (UPM) has a long and rich history in the struggle against corruption and lack of transparency and accountability in Makhanda.
Since 2009, the people’s movement has been the voice of the people in Makhanda to speak against acts of corruption and incompetence.
The late founding member of UPM, Comrade Ayanda Kota, was a known activist for social justice and anti-corruption. Some people used to call him ‘whistle blower of corruption’. He was the main voice in the campaign against corruption.
One would remember our intervention when houses of Extension 10 were wrongfully allocated to people who did not deserve them. At some point the officials sold some of the houses to friends and comrades.
The UPM fought fearlessly to challenge that.
For more than a decade, we have been telling the truth to the people that the water crisis in Makhanda is also developed by acts of corruption.
When the Kabuso Report came out, we were one of the organizations that publicized it.
In 2019, the UPM took Makana Municipality to court so that they could be dissolved and be placed under provincial administration.
Corruption was one the main reasons for us to litigate against Makana Municipality.
In early 2020, a landmark judgement was handed down by the High Court that this municipality must be dissolved.
Because of love of power and greediness, they appealed the judgement.
Makana Municipality was then ordered by the High Court in Bloemfontein to establish a financial recovery plan. The aim of establishing a financial recovery plan was to develop solutions to the socio-economic problems Makhanda is facing even now.
The SIU visit is something we cannot claim as the people’s movement. However, we strongly believe that the whole process has followed after numerous attempts by the UPM to expose Makana Municipality as a corrupt institution to the public.
We were not shaming them, but our main aim was to make the people of our locality and the whole country aware that they have the power to fight and win when they speak as a collective against lack of accountability and corruption.
People who claim and tell lies to the people saying that they are responsible for the arrival of the Hawks and SIU must hang their heads in shame. All of this followed after our footprint in the fight against corruption, ignorance and incompetence.
Anti-colonial freedom fighter Amilcar Cabral teaches us that we must tell no lies to the masses of our people and we must never claim easy victories.
Issued by the Unemployed Peoples Movement and Makana Citizens Front
