“Returning our Diamond will make us believe that Britain is remorseful for the exploitation of our people and our resources,” Vuyolwethu Zungula who is a Member of Parliament representing the African Transformation Movement (ATM), told Sri Lanka Guardian while joining the “Talk to Sri Lanka Guardian” series.
Mr Zungula is the President of the African Transformation Movement. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree in Business Management from Nelson Mandela University, and an Honours degree in Business Management from Unisa. He has been a Member of Parliament since 2019.
“All stolen minerals and other artefacts must be returned to the rightful owners,” he said.
Excerpts of the interview;
Question: Tell us about the African Transformation Movement (ATM) and its political vision to uplift the livelihoods of the country’s people.
Answer: The ATM is grounded by the ideology of Humanism where we subscribe to the concept of One race for everyone, the Human race. The ATM is a values-based organisation and one of our chief values is UBUNTU. We believe that corruption is the absence of UBUNTU. All those who abuse taxpayers’ money lack UBUNTU.
Q: You propose that South Africa withdraw from the Commonwealth while demanding “compensation for all damages done by Britain”. Tell us why your country should leave the Commonwealth.
A: The ATM believes in genuine sovereignty. The fact that a deal breaker to be a member of the Commonwealth is that members must agree that the Head must always be the Crown. This to us means agreeing to be subjects of the British Monarchy. We reject that notion. The continued exportation of our raw minerals to the UK is part of being a quasi colony.
Q: By endorsing the statement of known activist Thanduxolo Sabelo, you have reaffirmed that “the Cullinan Diamond must be returned to South Africa with immediate effect.” Tell us more.
A: We are told that Queen Elizabeth was a champion of Decolonisation. Returning our Diamond will make us believe that Britain is remorseful for the exploitation of our people and our resources. All stolen minerals and other artefacts must be returned to the rightful owners.
Q: What is the next step if the British authorities ignore your request?
A: They shall have declared enmity on the African people and we shall continue with our campaign against the disguised colonisation.
Q: You are a dynamic and outspoken young politician in the country. Give us some thoughts on the current political situation and your plan to overcome the challenges.
A: The country under Ramaphosa and his administration has become a failed state. As ATM we have initiated an Impeachment or will continue advocating for a No Confidence vote remove Ramaphosa.
The ATM will work with other like-minded parties to Put South Africa 1st and rescue it from the failed state situation. The key to that is transforming the minds of South Africans so we get to work together in service to the country. South Africa must aggressively work on a localisation campaign where raw materials are processed in the country before being shipped to other nations, South Africa must produce what it consumes. The oligopolies dominating our economy must be dismantled to allow for more participation in the economy. With these, we believe poverty and unemployment would be tackled and South Africans would enjoy a better quality of life.
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