‘Millions of South Africans still feel left behind’: Ramaphosa on 40th anniversary of UDF

President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged on Sunday at the 40th anniversary celebration of the founding of the United Democratic Front (UDF) in Johannesburg that despite the gains after the dawn of democracy, millions of SA citizens “feel left behind”.

The UDF was launched 40 years ago at the Rocklands Community Hall in Mitchell’s Plain, Cape Town, as a popular front “to bolster the tide of the struggle” against apartheid.

Addressing some of the founding members of the organisation, the president described them as “torchbearers in the onward march towards a free country, and we salute you all. It is heartening that you remain committed to playing an active role in the political life of our country”.

“We remember the many UDF leaders who are no longer with us, who kept our people’s hopes alive: Griffiths Mxenge, Victoria Mxenge, Sister Bernard Ncube, Rev Beyers Naudé, Archie Gumede, Billy Nair, Albertina Sisulu, Winnie Madikizela-Mandela and the many leading lights of the movement,” he said.

“We also remember the many UDF activists who were detained without trial, tortured and killed by the regime, and the many, many men and women from across South Africa who made up the rank and file of the UDF.”

However, he cautioned that many, including some gathered at the event on Sunday, were disappointed that the nonracialism and unity embodied by the UDF had been lost.

“We are alive to the reality that in a number of respects the democratically-elected government has fallen short of meeting the needs of the South African people,” he said.

“Corruption, wasteful expenditure and general malfeasance are rot that must be excised before they completely reverse our democratic gains.

“However, this important occasion should not be remembered for having been a drawn-out history lesson, or another opportunity to dissect the shortcomings of the government of the day.

“Let us remember what we are all fighting for. The biggest enemy of the people is poverty. This is the tide that must turn. This is the war we have to wage. Against exclusion, marginalisation and inequality in all its forms.

“And so when we make a call for a stronger civil society, for transformation, for accountability, we must be as committed as the UDF was to leaving no-one behind.

“The resurgence of people’s power as a force for positive change, with its calls for an active citizenry, has come at the right time.”

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