Solidarity Movement welcomes phasing out of lockdown 

The Solidarity Movement welcomes the process of phasing out the lockdown but believes the regulations should have been relaxed more so that people who can perform their work in a healthy way could return to work. If this does not happen it would be a case of “too little too late”, and there is the danger that government may let many people die of famine in its attempt to prevent the virus from killing people.

The Movement also welcomes the fact that many of our proposals appear in government’s new regulations as such proposals are in line with best practices that have been successful in other countries. Among others, this includes measures to promote healthy work as well as smart restrictions that will focus on those parts that are worse off during the epidemic.

Flip Buys, chairperson of the Solidarity Movement, says the biggest mistake government is making is to think that the state, instead of the private sector can kickstart the economy again. The South African state cannot afford to get the wheels of the country’s economy turning again through large monetary injections as is the case in rich countries.

That is why the only solution is to free the private sector to pump large amounts of money into the economy. Such money should be obtained by dramatically easing taxes for the next year, selling loss-making public enterprises, cutting government spending, and raising the subsistence allowance for the poor for the next year.

Investor confidence

At the same time, government must urgently restore investor confidence to attract capital to the country by doing away with harmful policies and by prosecuting state capturers who, so far, have gone scot-free. Policies that need to be abandoned in the national interest are expropriation without compensation, the planned nationalisation of health care and talk of using pension money to subsidise loss-making enterprises. The racial and transformation prerequisites for state assistance are also divisive and discriminatory and should be relaxed as a matter of urgency. It is a pity that AfriForum and Solidarity had to bring court cases against these practices instead of government itself realising that a state of disaster is not a time to discriminate on the grounds of race.

The first three weeks of lockdown were necessary to halt the spread of the virus and to prepare the country’s health system for a large increase in sick people, but many of the lockdown regulations were unnecessary and aggravated the pandemic crisis by plunging the country into a bigger economic crisis.

By all indications, the Covid-19 epidemic will be with us for quite some time to come and thousands will get sick because of it. The fight against it is a marathon rather than a sprint and the country will need economic resources to finance this protracted battle. That is why it is so vitally important that Solidarity’s proposals on how all people, and not just essential workers, can return to work in a healthy way be implemented nationwide. Buys also emphasised that neighbourhood watch organisations should be allowed to help protect their local communities in partnership with the police.

The epidemic remains a serious threat and the phasing out of the lockdown does not mean that people can carry on with their lives as before but that there will be a new “normal” whereby everyone will have to look after each other’s well-being by maintaining social distancing and certain health protocols. It remains important to still protect people with underlying conditions, while the state must enhance its ability to test for the virus, to detect it and to treat sick people in collaboration with the private sector.

Finally, the Movement emphasises that decentralisation in dealing with the virus is essential for success in the battle against it. “The fragmented approach according to which different provinces can phase lockdown out at different levels is a welcome first step,” Buys said.

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History Fund

A fund to help promote the history of the Afrikaner.

FAK

The Federation of Afrikaans Cultural Associations was established back in 1929. Today, this Federation is still the organisation that allows Afrikaans-speaking people to be creative in their language and culture. It is a future-orientated cultural organisation offering a home for the Afrikaans language and culture and is proudly promoting the Afrikaner history in a positive way.

Solidarity Helping Hand

Solidarity Helping Hand focuses on social wellbeing and the organisation’s larger vision is to find solutions to address Afrikaner poverty.

Solidarity Helping Hand’s calling is to solve poverty through community development. Solidarity Helping Hand believes people have a responsibility towards each other and towards the community.

Solidarity Helping Hand is based on the ideas of the Afrikaner Helpmekaar* Movement of 1949, placing a specific focus on “help”, “togetherness” and “mutuality”.

*Helpmekaar, meaning to aid one another

Forum Sekuriteit

Forum Sekuriteit was founded to provide a leading, dynamic and effective security service in South Africa, thereby increasing safety in communities.

AfriForumTV

AfriForumTV is a digital platform that is online and free of charge, offering visual content to members and non-members. Subscribers can explore various channels on their television set, computer or cell phone in the comfort of their own home by using the AfriForum TV App. AfriForumTV is yet another communication strategy to make the public aware of AfriForum news and events, but also to offer entertainment in the form of movies and fiction and reality series. This content will be provided by AfriForum TV itself, institutions within the Solidarity Movement and external content providers.

AfriForum Uitgewers

AfriForum Uitgewers (voorheen bekend as Kraal Uitgewers) is die trotse uitgewershuis van die Solidariteit Beweging en die tuiste van Afrikaanse niefiksie, Afrikanergeskiedenis én prima Afrikaanse produkte. Dié uitgewer het tydens die 100 jaar-herdenking van die Anglo-Boereoorlog in 1999 ontstaan en aanvanklik gefokus op die publikasie van versamelaarsboeke oor dié oorlog.

AfriForum Youth

AfriForum Youth is the official youth section of AfriForum, the civil rights initiative that forms part of the Solidarity Movement. AfriForum Youth is based on Christian principles and our goal is to promote independence among young Afrikaners and influence the realities in South Africa by launching campaigns and actively taking a stand for young people’s civil rights. AfriForum Youth’s essence includes the acquisition of cultural freedom and the expansion of the Christian democratic ideological framework.

De Goede Hoop student residence

De Goede Hoop is a modern, Afrikaans student residence that maintains high standards. It is situated in Pretoria.

De Goede Hoop offers a home to dynamic students with Christian values and a passion for Afrikaans; a home where you as a young person can share in healthy student traditions and live your student life to the full in self-confidence and to do so in Afrikaans.

Study Fund Centre

THE HELPING HAND STUDY TRUST (HHST) is an initiative of Solidarity Helping Hand and is a registered public charitable organisation that makes it possible for indigent Afrikaans students to study by granting interest-free study loans to them.

At the moment, the HHST manages more than 200 independent study funds on behalf of various donors and has already made it possible for more than 6 300 indigent students to study by having granted financial aid totalling R238 million.

S-leer

Solidarity’s centre for continued learning is a training institution that offers continuing professional development to professionals. S-leer aims to assist working people to achieve their career goals through seminars, short courses, and by offering discussion opportunities and e-learning opportunities in which relevant themes are discussed and presented.

Solidarity Youth

Solidarity Youth prepares young people for the labor market, stands up for their interests and help them to join the Network of Work. Solidarity Youth is a tool to help young people with career choices and is a home for young people.

Solidarity Legal Fund

A fund to oppose the unlawful implementation of affirmative action.

Solidarity Building Fund

A fund specifically aimed at building Solidarity’s training institutions.

Solidarity Financial Services (SFS)

SFS is an authorised financial services company that forms part of the Solidarity Movement. This institution’s vision is to promote the future financial wellbeing, financial security and sustainability of Afrikaans individuals and businesses. SFS does so by offering competitive financial services and products that are available in Afrikaans, while also offering excellent service, all with a view to a greater cause.

Our centre

The Community Structures Division currently consists of two medical support projects and three community centres, namely Ons Plek in the Strand, Derdepoort and Volksrust. The three community centres were established to provide safe kindergarten and/or after-school care in the respective communities. The community centres are currently accommodating a total of 158 children in the respective after-school centres, while Ons Plek in the Strand has 9 pre-school children and Ons Plek in Volksrust has 16 pre-school children in the pre-primary school.

Support Centre for Schools (SCS)

The vision of the Support Centre for Schools (SCS) is to (help) ensure the future of Christian, Afrikaans education by helping to maintain quality education where it already exists and by helping to create new capacity where it is needed.

The SCS’s goal is to assist every Afrikaans medium school in the country to continue to offer world-class education in the future that keeps in pace with the latest research and international best practices.

Sol-Tech

Sol-Tech is an accredited, private vocational training college that is founded on Christian values and uses Afrikaans as medium of instruction.

Sol-Tech focuses on vocational training that leads to the acquisition of nationally recognised, useful qualifications. The qualification students obtain from Sol-Tech serves as a basis for further study and ultimately to obtain a recognised engineering qualification. Sol-Tech therefore has as its aim to realise young people’s future dreams as far as career development is concerned and does so through goal-specific training. Sol-Tech wants to be there today, tomorrow and the day after tomorrow to provide a service to young people.

Akademia

Akademia is a Christian higher education institution that plays a leading, open-minded and critical role in the current day university system.

Akademia strives to provide an academic home where both the mind and the heart are shaped with a view to a meaningful and free future.

Akademia is building on from what we have received from the past to pass it on to the next generation in a better condition.

AfriForum Publishers

AfriForum Uitgewers (previously known as Kraal Uitgewers) is the proud publishing house of the Solidarity Movement and is the home of Afrikaans non-fiction, products related to the Afrikaner’s history, as well as other prime Afrikaans products. The publisher recently shifted its focus and will only publish internal publications of the Solidarity Movement from now on.

Maroela Media

Maroela Media is an Afrikaans internet news hub where you can read everything about what matters in your world – whether you live in South Africa or live elsewhere and want to be part of the Afrikaans Maroela community. Maroela Media’s Christian character is at the heart of its editorial policy.

Kanton Investment Company

Kanton is a property investment company established by the Solidarity Movement. The Solidarity Movement’s properties form the basis of the portfolio that will be further expanded through development.

Kanton is a partnership between culture and capital and focuses on providing sustainable property solutions at a good return to institutions in the Afrikaans community so that they can achieve their goals.

Wolkskool

Wolkskool, a cloud-based school, is a product of the Support Centre for Schools (SCS), a non-profit organisation comprising a team of education experts, that strives to help ensure quality education through medium of Afrikaans. Wolkskool offers a platform where learners have 24-hour access to video classes, exam papers, worksheets with memorandums and online assessments.

Ajani

Ajani is a registered private company that offers placement opportunities to artisan students in particular.

Begrond Instituut

The Begrond Institute is a Christian research institute that assists the Afrikaans language and culture community in obtaining biblical answers to important life questions.

Sakeliga

An independent business organisation

Pretoria FM en Klankkoerant

A community-based radio station and news service

Saai

An agricultural network for family farmers that strives to look after the interests of family farmers by protecting and promoting their rights.

Our shop’

Ons Winkels is Solidarity Helping Hand’s donation shops. There are 120 shops nationwide where members of the public can donate second-hand items such as furniture, kitchenware, linen and clothing. The shops receive the donations and sell high quality items at affordable prices to the public.

AfriForum

AfriForum is a civil rights organisation that mobilises Afrikaners, Afrikaans-speaking people and other minority groups in South Africa and protects their rights.

AfriForum is a non-governmental organisation – registered as a non-profit company – with the aim of protecting the rights of minorities. While the organisation functions according to the internationally-recognised principle of the protection of minorities, AfriForum specifically focuses on the rights of Afrikaners as a community living on the southernmost tip of the continent. Membership is not exclusive, and any person who can associate themselves with the contents of the organisation’s Civil Rights Manifest may join.