Johnathan Paoli
THE United Democratic Movement (UDM) has officially welcomed controversial Thuja Capital CEO Mthunzi Mdwaba to the party, with UDM president Bantu Holomisa dismissing criticism against Mdwaba as nothing more than malicious rumours.
Holomisa said the party was expecting a lot of contribution from Mdwaba in relation to both labour and socioeconomic issues which the people of the country were facing.
Mdwaba has been making news headlines lately after the South Gauteng High Court ruled found him guilty of making defamatory and false statements about Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana over allegations of a R500 million bribe over a Thuja Capital and the Department of Labour venture.
In addition, the businessman is facing a lawsuit from Labour Minister Thulas Nxesi, in conjunction with a case from the ruling party’s SG Fikile Mbalula after implicating the pair in the same R500 million bribery allegations.
However, the UDM leader reiterated his support for the party’s latest member and said that in light of the absence of any formal charges or arrest, he would not partake in idle and baseless gossip.
“We want the other side of him. There is this gossip side – we don’t have any idea of how one can handle that. He has not killed anybody; he has not stolen any government money,” Holomisa said.
The party is expected to launch its manifesto on 2 March and Holomisa said that he was looking forward to the contributions of Mdwaba as well as other new members of the party, which include trade unionist Tahir Maepa who also joined the party from the Public Sector Commercial Union.
Mdwaba said that he was looking forward to collaboration and that he was joining the UDM because it was on the right side of history and that the party had been fighting corruption in the country for many years.
Mdwaba said that there were millions of people who were unemployed in the country and that this was a catastrophe waiting to happen and that the UDM had shown in the past that it was the party that stood for all the right things and that he was leaving the ruling party permanently.
“Why the UDM? The UDM has for many years stood on the right side of history, and has fought corruption. It has quietly done its work. They inform me they write letters on a daily basis that appear on their website to fight for the normal men and women on the ground, ” Mdwaba said.
He said that the country had fallen short in terms of its sustainable development goals and that it needed to correct a lot of things that have gone wrong in the government.
“When I look at that, when I look at the youth of this country and I look at the potential the youth of this country has, and I look at what is possible, I think the UDM will deliver that. We believe the UDM can deliver that. We want to be part of that. We want to be part of a country that is consistent, that is reliable and coherent in processes,” the CEO said.
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