OUTA is financed through a Crowd Funding platform
OUTA made a humble beginning in March 2012 as a civil activism movement in the Gauteng Province of South Africa, against the introduction of e-toll collection scheme by the ‘South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL)’. Back then it was known as the ‘Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance,’ and had the single point agenda to stall the Gauteng’s e-toll scheme. In 2016, they changed their name, retained the OUTA acronym, and widened their intent and mission – “A prosperous country, free from the abuse of authority and governed by the efficient use of tax revenue”.
From just five members in 2012, today OUTA has about 40 dedicated and activist-minded comrades.
OUTA’s Mission Statement: To be a trusted vehicle for positive change, promoting and advancing the South African Constitution and other democratic processes by:
- Challenging the taxation policy and the regulatory environment (as a whole or part), as and when deemed as being irrational, unfit or ineffective for their intended purpose
- Questioning and challenging the squandering, maladministration and corrupt use of taxes, using our clear and effective methodology, and then to hold those responsible for the maladministration and/or corruption, to account for their behaviour and actions.
Believe it or not, but the Non-Profit Organisation has its own 13 page Constitution which has the abiding values of – “Integrity, accountability and a responsible stewardship of South African resources”.
From just five members in 2012, today OUTA has about 40 dedicated and activist-minded comrades. The Organisation, at any point of time, has 4 to 9 Boards of Directors who are headed by the Chairman, Mr Wayne Duvenage. The modus operandi of OUTA involves a focused agenda based approach involving Active Citizenry and Crowd Funding, which is backed by a strong social media and journalism.
Active Citizenry is a citizen driven initiative and finds virtue in the fact that citizenship is the act of people going beyond their day-to-day lives, participating in various activities, trying to make a difference in other people’s lives, eventually impacting the society as a whole, be it at the local community level, the national level or even impacting the democratic principles that affect the common populace.
OUTA is financed through a Crowd Funding platform, which is almost opposite to the mainstream approach of a capital finance for any form of investigative journalism. This allows the organisation to tap the collective efforts of the citizenry, primarily via social media and online publicity and provides a greater reach and exposure to the cause.
The Indian Parallel
Corruption and maladministration is the unwritten truth of every democracy. Governments across the board lack transparency, coherent approach and public engagement while planning and executing developmental and welfare projects for the Nation and Citizens. It is the hard earned money of the taxpayers which goes under the hammer, and unfortunately, there is everything in this process except integrity, honesty and loyalty. This leads to significant loss of revenue which could otherwise be utilised to provide essential services to society.
With due humility and humbleness, one would like to state that PGurus challenges these serious issues which are bugging India, and endeavours to expose those responsible for poor governance and corruption. We are committed to providing a fair, unbiased and accurate analysis of India and its dilemmas; and our mission is to inform the masses to the extent possible, about the evils of our society and country, so that one can decide what is right for him.
Very much like OUTA, we work on citizen driven investigative journalism and expert analysed opinionated intelligence. It is our earnest endeavour to give you news that is unbiased and objective.
The Indian Connect
No, we are not talking about Mahatma Gandhi and his Satyagraha in South Africa. OUTA has recently unearthed a mega scandal involving the famous Indian-born South African business tycoons – “The Gupta family”.
The Gupta’s have a strong & long association with Mr Jacob Zuma, the President of South Africa; the conglomerate is colloquially known as “Zupta”.
The family moved from Uttar Pradesh to South Africa in 1993, shortly before the South Africa’s first elections, and established a small company by the name of Sahara Computers. In a span of 23 years, Atul Gupta (the second brother) has become the 7th wealthiest man of South Africa with an estimated worth of US$773.47 million. In April 2013, the family came to lime light for their big fat extravagant Indian wedding, when some 200+ Indian guest landed in a private jet at the South African Air Force base at Waterkloof.
The Gupta’s also have a strong and long association with Mr Jacob Zuma, the President of South Africa; and this Business Man-Politician conglomerate is colloquially known as “Zupta”.
However, this is not the OUTA’s Indian Connect. There is an unthinkable story that transpired between the Gupta’s and some Indian Public Sector banks, which has been exposed by the OUTA.
To be continued…
Note:
1. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of PGurus.
A travel junkie, she enjoys exploring the road untraveled with her husband.
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Dont tell me.. we r being looted by people from africa now