At the heart of democracy is accountability; in other words the certainty that the voters can hold the politicians responsible for their behavior. There can be no doubt that our electoral system has been exploited by unscrupulous politicians who put the interests of the party before the interests of the Nation. A UDM government will immediately initiate reform of the electoral
system to increase accountability and give the voters more power.

The first major step we will take is the introduction of constituencies into the PR system to ensure that politicians have a specific geographically-defined community they represent.

Secondly, we will change the electoral laws to allow for a separately elected President, as is the case in many of the democracies across the globe; in that way we will put the power back in the hands of the voters to determine who their President will be. This ANC practice of a few unelected people imposing their choice of President on the Nation is profoundly undemocratic and must come to an end.

The UDM supports sustainable environmental development, meaning that the prosperity we create today must not leave future generations without useful resources. The UDM believes that, through the implementation of bio-diversity programmes, thousands of jobs can be created.

The UDM believes that it is possible to generate job and business opportunities whilst being environmentally responsible. A UDM Government will pursue the following objectives: Tax incentives must be provided to the private sector and other institutions that invest in the development of technologies for conservation and sustainable use of bio-diversity programmes. Similarly more active enforcement of the environmental law is required. Individuals or organizations that contravene these laws must be penalized.

The massive number of environmental laws and regulations must immediately be consolidated into one concise and effective law. In South Africa in particular, and in the world in general, we are facing three major environmental crises: climate change, water scarcity as well as the energy crisis. These three challenges pose massive threats and require concerted National and international responses. A UDM Government would be a champion of these causes locally, on the continent and in international forums.

The UDM is committed to protecting and promoting the constitutional right of all South Africans to basic health care, and providing proper and immediate responses to the major health risks facing the country.

Too many people in our country still cannot access proper health care. Too many clinics and hospitals have fallen into squalor. Too many people and babies have died unnecessarily of HIV/AIDS and other preventable diseases.

The UDM commits itself to health care that is linked to other social cluster portfolios, recognizing the role of social welfare, water and sanitation, basic life skills and awareness to improve the basic health of the Nation. In this greater context the UDM believes that housing is pivotal, recognizing that all the fundamental human needs culminate in an adequate place of shelter. The UDM has proposed in its Public Works, Housing and Economic policies, a major initiative to create productive and safe environments, through Planned Sustainable Development programmes. The aim is to assist the people and communities of South Africa to improve their quality of life.

Much of the infighting in the ANC has been driven by the desire to cash in on these lucrative state contracts, not because of any policy differences. The ruling party has also institutionalized nepotism with its so-called 'deployment of cadres', which elevates party membership above qualification or ability, and which has bred a culture of mediocrity, incompetence and corruption in many parts of the civil service as well as municipalities.

As a result the ANC has systematically attacked the judicial system in order to protect its wayward members. Can you trust the 'new' or the 'old' ANC to address corruption when they have presided over the systematic looting of state resources?

You can trust the UDM to swiftly eradicate corruption as demonstrated by our track record over the years of consistently and fearlessly exposing corruption wherever and whenever we find it.

A UDM Government will bring back the Scorpions as an independent investigation unit with a clear mandate to investigate and prosecute corruption and organized crime. We advocate a correct relationship between politicians and officials. The current culture of political interference in the daily administration of our government causes bureaucratic chaos and fuels corruption and tender fraud.

Our tertiary education institutions do not provide fair access to deserving students, suffer from high dropout rates, and do not produce enough graduates who can fill the skills shortages in the economy.
For the economy to grow and be internationally competitive our poor curriculum, maladministration and squandering of resources must stop.

Can you trust the ANC to deliver quality education when they have somersaulted so many times on policy that not even they know where they are heading? Indeed, can you trust them when a string of ANC Education Ministers have made promises, such as addressing illiteracy and numeracy, and each one has failed spectacularly?
You can trust the UDM to apply the necessary political will to translate the large education budget into real education, because what is needed isn't complicated policy but getting back to the basics. Teachers must teach; students must study; and a culture of learning and discipline must be restored with the reintroduction of regular school inspections.
The UDM supports free public education from primary school until Grade 12, as well as more Government assistance for students studying in select subjects, such as Engineering, that will contribute to the overall economic and social development of the Country.

A concerted and holistic revamp of the criminal justice system is urgently required. The courts are dysfunctional; unethical lawyers cause unnecessary delays, witnesses lose interest, dockets disappear and prosecutors are often overworked and under-prepared. What is required, among others, is more strenuous minimum sentencing for violent crimes.

The ANC neglected that and rather focused on disbanding one of the few successful parts of the criminal justice system – the Scorpions. The correct way to manage the police is to encourage the best and the brightest to rise through the ranks; thereby ensuring that the people who command the police force understand policing.

The ANC parachuted in a National Police Commissioner with no policing experience, who is now facing criminal charges. There must still be civilian oversight through the Secretariat, as provided for in the Constitution. Together the civilian oversight and police management must produce a doctrine for policing in a constitutional dispensation. Violent crime, sentencing.
The UDM wants to protect you, unlike the ruling party who seem intent on protecting its own from the law.

The economic cake needs to be expanded. It is no use to simply give bigger slices to a selected few ruling party members whilst discouraging the growth of the economy. There are many different ideologies on the economy, but there has never been consensus or consultation on what sort of economy would fulfill the needs of all South Africans.

A UDM Government will call a national indaba on the economy (along the lines of CODESA). Where will a UDM Government find the additional funding required to implement this manifesto? This is a matter that we will table at the proposed Economic Indaba; we propose that spending priorities need to reassessed in consultation with all stakeholders.
 
We also believe that it is possible to cut costs by reducing the wastage caused by corruption, ending the over reliance on consultants, and stopping rollovers.

Further savings can be achieved by lobbying the UN for funding the SANDF's involvement in international peacekeeping missions, as well as reassessing excessive spending on municipal and provincial executive salaries. A significant saving can also be achieved by reducing the waste of taxpayer money by government departments placing advertisements that are simply pro-ANC propaganda.