A middle-aged man approaches United Democratic Movement (UDM) leader Bantu Holomisa in a Sandton restaurant. "I want to tell you, general, that I am very proud of you," the man says. "You are really outspoken and I respect everything you do … I will vote for you — there is nobody else I will vote for, not even the DA," he says before walking away.
Holomisa laughs and gestures with his hands in a silent, "I told you so".
Before the interruption, he was describing the headway his party has made since its inception 20 years ago, when he was kicked out of the ANC.
"The people who have been voting for us have been the old people, but now we are getting interest from the middle class, young professionals and the unemployed," he says.
Holomisa believes the UDM is a real alternative for voters who are tired of the country’s political landscape.
"You talk of discipline, which has been displayed, consistency and a party which is more about the country and its people rather than individuals or a particular ideology or fighting for a particular privilege. It is accommodative, it is the right political party," he says.
It’s not going to help to take any nincompoop and make him or her a minister of defence or finance and he has no clue about it.
Holomisa has been one of the most outspoken opposition leaders on corruption under the ANC-led government. The UDM was the first party to approach the courts in a bid to have a vote of no confidence in President Jacob Zuma conducted through a secret ballot. The party won in court but lost in Parliament because it could not persuade sufficient ANC MPs to vote with the opposition.
After the local government elections in 2016, the UDM joined a DA-led coalition and the alliance took three metros — Johannesburg, Tshwane and Nelson Mandela Bay. They are hoping to unseat the ANC in national government in 2019.
However, Holomisa says a coalition national government would not take the same shape as it has at local government level — this would depend on the politics between now and then.
It is too early to say who the UDM will team up with in 2019.
"I’m not choosing, but I want to serve in an institution where I am free and where the UDM’s vision and policies will be accommodated," he says.
"The DA still has a lot to learn, there is no doubt about that, and they need to understand the political landscape of SA and the thinking on how to do things … I hope they are on a learning curve," he says.
Holomisa says the UDM does not place conditions on coalition agreements and is not interested in gaining positions in the government. "It’s not about positions, it’s about the country and the people."
Although he does not rule out working with the ANC — the UDM co-operated with the governing party when Thabo Mbeki was president— Holomisa says he will not work with an ANC leadership that will perpetuate Zuma’s legacy.
He was expelled from the ANC in 1996 for speaking out against corruption in the party. He has no regrets and says he feels vindicated.
Madiba, eight days after I left the ANC, was asked what things he did not handle properly … He said later on, ‘little did I know … that even our comrades are corrupt’. He saw it.
"Thank God I was the first one [to speak out] when it was not fashionable to do so, and now I am celebrating because I have been vindicated," he says.
"Madiba, eight days after I left the ANC, was asked what things he did not handle properly … the issue of Bantu and that of Sarafina II … he cited those. He said later on, ‘little did I know … that even our comrades are corrupt’. He saw it."
Holomisa says the scale of corruption is now much worse, especially since Zuma assumed office. "Zuma came with the idea of conquering. He conquered the key strategic institutions. Luckily, he could not manage to conquer the judiciary," he says.
He has ideas on how to root out the corruption and the chief task would be to depoliticise the public service. SA needs a "career civil service" led by the Public Service Commission and not politicians. The commission has powers, but they are not being used properly.
"The ANC from 1994 have usurped the powers of the accounting officers. Those directors-general are just robots, that’s why most of them maybe just help themselves," Holomisa says.
"Train the people, invest in training and then you will reap the rewards. The ANC can’t [transform the public service] because you will find the [directors-general] and chief directors are chairpersons of branches and sometimes they do party work in their offices."
Cabinet ministers should also have expertise in the fields they are leading. "It’s not going to help to take any nincompoop and make him or her a minister of defence or finance and he has no clue about it."
Holomisa is confident the rot in state-owned enterprises is easy to fix — all that is required is the appointment of competent CEOs who account to Parliament and not their boards.
Earlier in 2017, when citizens, opposition parties and civil society took to the streets to call for Zuma’s removal, Holomisa tabled the idea of a national convention. Since then, a mission statement has been compiled by role players and he hopes the convention will happen in 2018.
"It is a vision for taking us out of this.... We talk land, economy and education. We have no consensus on how to move forward and this document will help to know what areas the opposition parties have identified," he says.
Each opposition party made submissions for the statement and a steering committee was established. They are now looking at the funding model.
Holomisa says the state should fund it to ensure the convention will not just be a talk shop. This would mean the resolutions could go directly to Parliament if there is a need to amend laws or the Constitution.
The past two decades have been difficult, but Holomisa is not ready to hang up his boots.
"The centre is not holding, so why would I quit when I’m beginning to see some vindication of what I have been campaigning for for years — promoting good ethics in governance, betting on a ticket of anticorruption and on a wicket of integrity, dignity and prosperity?"
Holomisa says young members of the UDM are making an impact and will be party leaders one day. "They have master’s degrees now, they are graduates and they can face the world."
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