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Future South Africa, a new broad front of civil society organisations, has called on all South Africans to support the ‘National Day of No Confidence’ in President Jacob Zuma on August 8.

FutureSA was launched today at the Ahmed Kathrada Auditorium at Mancosa in Johannesburg. This followed the Conference for the Future of South Africa, hosted by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation and the Save South Africa campaign on Mandela Day, where resolutions were taken to establish a broad civil society front to end state capture, and reclaim the future. 

The call to participate in protest action on the National Day of No Confidence was made by patrons of the newly formed front.

The growing list of patrons come from a variety of sectors. They include: Sheila Sisulu, Mavuso Msimang, Kumi Naidoo, Adrian Enthoven, Prema Naidoo, Zwelinzima Vavi, Bruce Fordyce, Shaukat Fakie, Reverend Giet Khoza, Wayne Duvenage, Cas Coovadia, Mosibudi Mangena, Vuyiseka Dubula, Sydney Mufamadi, Sipho Pityana, Ela Gandhi, Bonang Mohale, Terrence Nombembe and Zac Yakoob.

The patrons, who will provide guidance and assistance to the organisations, are supported by a steering committee of representatives from groups involved in the formation of FutureSA, and a broader ‘council of organisations’.

Representatives of the patrons’ groups urged South Africans to come out in their numbers on August 8, when parliamentarians will be voting in a motion of no confidence against Zuma.
“We are calling for a lunchtime shutdown on August 8. From 12pm to 2pm we want ordinary people - be they at home, at the workplace or school – to take to the streets and make their voices heard. For those in Cape Town, we urge you to join the march to parliament against Zuma.

“Protest action in other areas will be communicated (See @future_sa_, @_SaveSA and @KathradaFound on Twitter for updates). For those unable to make it to any central points of activity, we urge you to organise your own picket – on a bridge, in your community, at your school, office or religious centre. At the same time, make sure to invite the media, as well as share images of your protest action on social media using the hashtag #FutureSA.

Leading up to the 8th, we encourage citizens to plan, or support initiatives, such as:

- Sports organizations should symbolically dedicate their games over the weekend, making a statement against state capture.
- Faith based movements are encouraged to engage in reflection around issues of state capture as well as pray that MPs put the country first in the motion of no confidence.
- Support the August 7th march in Cape Town, by the #UniteBehind movement and others.
- On the evening of August 7th citizens can symbolically switch off their house lights from 20:00 - 21:00.
- On the 7th and 8th we call on citizens to drive with their car lights on the whole day as a show of support for the motion of no confidence.
The patrons said citizens “must ensure that parliamentarians hear the call of ordinary South Africans clearly, and put the interests of the country first”.
As elected representatives, parliamentarians were “duty bound” to vote Zuma out of office, and steer the country away from the path of “corruption, state capture, inequality, racial tensions, patriarchal values and a deepening national crises”.

“Our people struggled against colonialism and apartheid for centuries…The people of South Africa have a strong tradition of resistance to any form of authoritarianism, and we are determined to continue that tradition. We believe that by standing up against state capture, we can rebuild the integrity of our hard-won democracy.

“The National Day of No Confidence must be the start of that process – one in which citizens come together to demand clean governance and in effect, a better future for our children.”

“Already, there are signs that pressure being brought by civil society as well as mass protests are beginning to bear fruit. We must continue to support and encourage work such as the SACC report, the OUTA submissions to parliament, the Corruption Watch campaign on the appointments of the SAPS and Hawks’ heads, the inquiry started by Parliament into state capture, the announcement that the NPA has established a task team to investigate state capture, the discussions on funding for political parties, as well as the actions by regulatory bodies to look at the roles of KPMG and others.

The cumulative effect of these efforts indicate that sustained action against state capture must be supported and intensified so that we can indeed, reclaim our future.”

Issued by Ahmed Kathrada Foundation