TAC endorses Save South Africa
31 October 2016
The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) is officially endorsing the Save South Africa campaign. In this we are joining other progressive organisations such as Corruption Watch, SECTION27, the Anglican Church, Equal Education, the Active Citizens’ Movement, CASAC, Lawyers for Human Rights, the SA NGO Coalition, the South African Christian Leaders’ Initiative and the Evangelical Alliance of South Africa.
TAC members will take part in the Save South Africa march planned for November 2nd in Tswane. TAC will also contribute 300 marshals to help ensure that the march is safe and peaceful.
State capture, corruption, and the abuse of state power for political ends impacts all who live and work in South Africa – especially poor people. While these ills have now become pervasive in the state, we have first-hand experience of it in the public healthcare system:
- We have seen first-hand how corruption and patronage has weakened our public healthcare system in the Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, Kwazulu-Natal, Limpopo, and Mpumalanga.
- We have seen how state power and funds has been abused in the Free State to arrest and then prosecute community healthcare workers (the #BopheloHouse94) who took part in a peaceful protest after their unfair dismissal.
- We have seen how former Free State MEC for Health Benny Malakoane abused his power to obtain an emergency room bed for a relative of Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane.
These examples from the public healthcare system are indicative of a wider crisis in our politics. This crisis is now reaching a critical point where damage can be done that will take decades to undo.
We express our full support for Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan and other officials who are being victimised. We see no reason to doubt their commitment to the public interest.
The decision by National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) Head Shaun Abrahams to drop charges against Gordhan provides further evidence that the charges were baseless and politically motivated. It also affirms that Abrahams is not fit to lead the NPA – given how aggressively and publicly Abrahams announced the charges three weeks ago.
While we welcome the dropping of charges against Minister Gordhan, we are under no illusions as to the wider rot and corruption in government and the long struggle still ahead of us. By endorsing Save South Africa we are aligning ourselves with other progressive forces committed to fighting corruption and state capture for however long it will take.
TAC remains independent of all political parties and does not campaign for or against any specific political parties. We will take part in a civil society march on November 2nd and not in the marches of any specific political parties.
We believe that most people living and working in South Africa are not corrupt. We know that there are many good and hard-working people in the public service. We call on all good people to resist state capture, to speak out when they encounter corruption and not be intimidated by the behaviour of the Hawks. We also urge all who live and work in South Africa to get involved with the work of Save South Africa and other people’s movements campaigning against corruption and state capture.
We will not allow South Africa to be hijacked by a small group of unprincipled people. We will not allow our hard-won democracy and the hopes of all who live and work in this country to be trampled on. We will not fold our arms while our people are being betrayed.
It is time to Save South Africa. Come join us on the streets on November 2nd.
Issued by Anele Yawa, TAC General Secretary, 31 October 2016
