Cyril Ramaphosa: our journey is not yet complete

We have come far since we cast our ballots 30 years ago,
but we have much further to go, writes Cyril Ramaphosa

On the 27th of April 1994, millions of South Africans cast their ballot in a democratic election for the first time. That momentous day was the culmination of decades of struggle, the struggle to liberate our people from suffering and oppression, from poverty and inequality. As we stood in the voting queues, we turned to one another, South Africans from all walks of life, and spoke of our joy. We embraced friends and strangers alike, encouraged by a sense of a common future. We placed into that ballot box not just a vote, but a dream of the country we wanted to build. It was the dream of a South Africa that, in every sense, belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity.

It is this dream, of a free and united people, that is woven into our democratic Constitution, which articulates the aspirations of the South African people and provides the means through which we will achieve those aspirations. It has guided our collective efforts over the last three decades to fundamentally change our country for the better, and it must stand at the centre of the work we do now to build a better life for all.

Ove the past thirty years, we have been on a journey towards a new society. We have cast off the tyranny of apartheid and built a democratic state based on the will of the people. We have nurtured strong institutions to protect the fundamental freedoms and human rights of all people. We have transformed the lives of millions of South Africans, providing the necessities of life and creating opportunities that never existed before.

Access to education, healthcare, food, water, and shelter have been radically expanded for all South Africans. We have worked to correct the injustices of the past, to provide work, skills, land, and opportunities for the advancement of all our people.

Today, South Africa is a diverse and competitive economy whose minerals, agricultural products, and manufactured goods reach every corner of the world. South Africa today is an integral part of the community of nations, extending a hand of peace and friendship to all countries and all peoples.

We can all be proud of the great strides we have made towards building a non-racial and prosperous South Africa that leaves no one behind. However, as we celebrate thirty years of democracy and freedom, we must recognise that many South Africans are still yearning to live and enjoy the full South African dream and promise.

In this seminal year of celebrating three decades of our democracy and freedom, and holding our seventh national and provincial elections, we remain true to the path on which we set out in 1994. We must double our commitment to fulfilling the pledge that we made of a better life for all.

We are making headway in addressing a number of challenges that we are facing as country. We are on course to unblock the backlog at our ports. The implementation of the Energy Action Plan through the National Energy Crisis Committee is on track to reduce the severity of loadshedding and ultimately to end it.

We are at war against corruption and our law enforcement agencies are dedicated to prosecuting the perpetrators of state capture and recovering stolen funds. More than 200 accused persons are being prosecuted and more are under investigation. Stolen funds are being recovered with freezing orders of R14 billion that have been granted to the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit for state capture-related cases, and around R8.6 billion in corrupt proceeds have been returned to the state.

We are adding more capacity to the police to address concerns about crime and the safety of families and communities. Between 2022 and 2025, 30 000 police would have been added to bolster crime fighting in the South African Police Service.

Our efforts in human development are showing results with basic education outcomes steadily improving across a range of measures and our health system continuing to have a great impact on people’s lives. The National Health Insurance will provide free healthcare at the point of care for all South Africans, whether in public or private health facilities.

We are working to scale back high levels of unemployment, in particular youth unemployment. The Presidential Employment Stimulus has created more than 1.7 million work and livelihood opportunities. Additional funding has been made available to widen this programme.

We will continue to enforce transformative laws and implement programmes that enable black South Africans and women to advance in the workplace, become owners and managers, acquire land, and build up assets.

We are forging ahead with redistribution initiatives that have seen around 25 percent of farmland in our country in the hands of black South Africans, bringing us closer to achieving our target of 30 percent by 2030. As we continue rebuilding our industrial base, we will build on the foundation of the last five years, in which we have supported around 1 000 black industrialists with funding and other forms of support, creating more than 90 000 jobs and contributing many billions of rands to our economy.

We have laid a foundation for growth through far-reaching economic reforms, and with an ambitious investment drive that has exceeded our targets. We will build on the progress we have made in establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area, which will transform South Africa’s economy and that of the continent by creating new jobs and increasing economic participation. And we will place Africa’s economic development at the top of the agenda when we host the G20 in 2025.

Investment in infrastructure is gaining momentum and starting to yield results. New and innovative funding mechanisms will be used to increase construction of infrastructure. Bulk water projects are under construction across the country to improve water supply to millions of residents in villages, towns, and cities. Roads and bridges, human settlements, schools, hospitals, and clinics are being built or upgraded.

As a country we have achieved phenomenal progress, however, we must still confront the lasting effects of our apartheid past, which remain visible as we travel from suburbs to informal settlements, from rich farmland to poor villages.

We have come far since we cast our ballots 30 years ago, but we have much further to go. Our journey is not yet complete.

Cyril Ramaphosa is the President of the Republic of South Africa.

A sense of a
great foundation

Prof JJ Tabane takes a look at South Africa’s 30 years of democracy and finds that while we have made some great strides, a lot of work still needs to be done in the next 30 years...

It is important, as we reflect on three decades of our democracy, to remember where we come from and what we inherited. This will put any reflections into perspective. The apartheid government was a pariah in the world, requiring great effort from the new government to reposition a nation that was being born. We inherited an almost bankrupt state requiring economic rejuvenation. We inherited great inequality in the work place and across society requiring great strides in redress. Finally, we also inherited a skewed distribution of resources along racial lines, such as landlessness as well as absence of basic services such as housing, water, and electricity. To reverse these inequalities was always going to be a mountain to climb. The 30-year review published elsewhere in this edition paints us a picture of how far the country has come in dismantling this ugly legacy.

Given so much evil that had to be dismantled in favour of the good, I believe that the overall assessment of the three decades is a sense of a good foundation. Our democracy is intact, and what we need to do is build the rest of the house to achieve full liberation. We have a Constitution that is world-renowned and contains freedoms that we now take for granted, but which did not exist before 1996. These freedoms, summed up by the Bill of Rights, are a foundation of the freedom whose dividends must be shared by all.

Our Constitution provides a sense of a foundation we can build on. The checks and balances that come through Chapter 9 institutions are highly commendable and create a safety net to support the democracy, regardless of who is in power. For me, this is a sense of hope that despite the challenges that are well-documented, we can be assured of accountability. A lot of people are relieved that we have an NPA that is being cleaned up despite the slow pace. The independent judiciary has been one of the shining lights of our democracy. While there are issues of transformation and administrative independence, this part of our state has been the last line of democracy. In the 30 years, the judiciary has proven its independence as a custodian of our Constitution.

This is a foundation we should all be proud of, and any new government cannot discard this, but only improve it. There is a huge debate, for example, about the amendment of the Constitution to allow for land reform. This still does not amount to throwing the baby out with the bathwater. It is focused on conquering the next struggle of economic freedom for the marginalised. The Constitution is an instrument of transformation. There is a sense in which the second-generation rights have not come into full realisation. While we have 90 percent of the population having access to water, the AG bemoans the fact that 50 percent of municipalities don’t have a water management plan and 49 percent don’t have a sanitation plan. So, in this case, the foundation exists, but the implementation falls short, thus reversing that gain.

There have been several positive developments in South Africa during the 30 years of democracy since the end of apartheid. Some of the key advancements that solidify this foundation include:

Political Transformation

The peaceful transition from apartheid to democracy in 1994 was a significant achievement. South Africa’s political system has become more inclusive and representative of the population.

Reconciliation

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission played a crucial role in promoting healing and reconciliation among South Africans by allowing victims and perpetrators of apartheid-era crimes to share their stories.

Economic Growth

South Africa has seen some economic growth and development since the end of apartheid, with improvements in infrastructure, education, and healthcare.

Social Progress

There have been advancements in social areas such as access to education, healthcare, and housing for many South Africans, although challenges remain in addressing inequality.

International Standing

South Africa has become a respected member of the international community, playing a significant role in regional and global diplomacy, and hosting major events such as the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

While South Africa has made significant strides in the 30 years since the advent of democracy in 1994, there have been some negative developments that threaten the foundation laid by our Constitution. Some of these include:

Corruption

Corruption remains a significant challenge in South Africa, with allegations of high-level corruption involving government officials and state-owned enterprises. This has undermined public trust in the government and impeded development efforts. The biggest issue here is less about corruption and more about the sense of no consequences. As we speak, we have had various commissions—the Seriti Commission, Farlam Commission, the TRC, to the Zondo Commission. Out of all these commissions, few have been made to fall on their sword. This is a serious concern in the South African 30 years of democracy story.

Unemployment

Despite efforts to reduce unemployment, the country continues to face high levels of joblessness, particularly among young people. This has led to social unrest and economic instability. At some point in the first ten years of democracy, we were at a 23 percent unemployment rate; this has now skyrocketed to over 40 percent with the extended definition.

Income Inequality

South Africa has one of the highest levels of income inequality in the world, with wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, while many people live in poverty. This has contributed to social tensions and disparities in access to basic services. South Africa, with all its achievements, remains the most unequal society in the world. This is a big challenge for whoever is to lead this country over the next 30 years.

Crime

Crime rates, including violent crime, remain a serious concern in South Africa. This has a negative impact on social cohesion and economic development, as well as the overall safety and well-being of the population. The crime statistics paint a scary picture of the safety promised by both the Freedom Charter and the Constitution.

Service Delivery

Many communities continue to face challenges in accessing basic services such as water, sanitation, and healthcare. Poor service delivery has contributed to frustration and dissatisfaction among the population.

It is my overall view that most of these problems are intractable. The foundation laid by the democratic framework gives us lessons that any government must heed. The strengthening of institutions like the NPA can reverse the onset of corruption. The strengthening of the AG office can also deal with the habit of wasteful expenditure.

The onset of poor economic growth exacerbates unemployment. Added to this, there is a need to strengthen network industries such as energy and rail. In other words, the foundation that the 30 years have set in motion now needs to be built on in a more deliberate and fast-tracked manner to avert a poverty time bomb.

For the poor who had no houses, no water, and no electricity in 1994, the 30 years have given them dignity. But after 30 years, dignity is not a sustainable offering.

We have to take our country to the next level where the economy will remove 26 million people from a welfare net and give them an active economic existence where they can realise their full potential.

Prof JJ Tabane is the editor of Leadership and BBQ Magazines, an adjunct professor of Media Studies at the University of Botswana, author columnist, and anchor of ‘Power to Truth’ on eNCA.

The state of our nation through a jurisprudential lens

Former Chief Justice of South Africa,
Mogoeng Mogoeng, takes a look at the state of our nation through a jurisprudential lens

 The dawn of our democracy promised a very bright future. Maladministration and corruption were a laughable possibility. For we were acutely aware that they would sabotage the translation of our aspirations to a lived reality and soil our glowing struggle and democratic credentials, fulfiling prophecies of another failed African State. Seemingly, there was an unwavering commitment to redress the injustices of our past, improve the quality of life, and ensure that the land and its wealth do get to belong to us all.

Projects like the Reconstruction and Development, the Truth and Reconciliation that promised genuine reconciliation, justice and peace, Moral Regeneration, a real concern about teenage pregnancy as opposed to the inculcation of a culture of sexual intercourse at the age of 12 years, all inspired by ubuntu that has since been masterfully dichted, the demilitarisation of the police, the establishment of an independent Judiciary, anti-corruption agencies and Chapter 9 institutions, all pointed to a stable, peaceful, just, and prosperous nation 30 years down the line.

Admittedly, the primary responsibility to fulfill our constitutional vision lies with the legislative, executive, and judicial arms of the State. Enabling jurisprudential guidelines were necessary to realise these dreams. And our courts put their best foot forward.

We cautioned against impermissible intrusion into the operational terrain of the other arms. We also highlighted the indispensability of fidelity to the oath and impartiality, without which courts would lose the only weapon they have to enforce compliance with orders, public trust. And so did we, the risk of unwittingly aiding and abetting a subversion of our foundational values and non-compliance with ethical and constitutional obligations “by allowing legal sophistry or technicalities to obscure commonsensical realities”.

The potential corruption of politicians and political parties by private funders exercised our minds. Legislation on private funding is thus traceable to our jurisprudential directive, as is the participation of independent candidates in national and provincial elections. All this and what follows conduce to corruption-busting and accelerated implementation of good governance benchmarks. The President had to be reminded that “the nation pins its hopes on him to steer the country in the right direction and accelerate our journey towards a peaceful, just, and prosperous destination, that all other progress-driven nations strive towards on a daily basis. He is a constitutional being by design, a national pathfinder, the quintessential commander-in-chief of State affairs and the personification of this nation’s constitutional project”. The weightiest responsibilities he bears necessitated a facilitation of his success. Accordingly, Cabinet and key functionaries even in State-owned enterprises serve at his pleasure. Their competence or incompetence is his.

Parliament holds the Executive accountable. It has the authority to dethrone an under-performing or corrupt President and Cabinet. It is the ultimate corruption-busting agency that allocates resources and must ensure their cost-effective deployment. The oath of office and constitutional obligations of each MP, militates against mechanical compliance with political marching orders that are at variance with them. And that is the thrust of our jurisprudential guidelines. In reality, the actualisation of national aspirations lies largely with the Executive. Almost all legislation is initiated and implemented by them, aided by officials of their choice. They are senior Members of the ruling party and Parliament. The Deputy President is the Leader of Government Business in Parliament. Their binary roles in both arms have the inescapable consequence of undermining the independence and efficacy of Parliament. Thirty years down the line, it’s probably time for a constitutional predetermination of a secret ballot for all highly controversial matters including the exploration of impeachment possibilities against all key State functionaries. This would enhance Parliamentarians’ fidelity to the oath and constitutional obligations.

Parliament passed useful legislation to help transform the economic landscape. Our courts addressed the gross inequalities that flow from assigning 87% of our land and mineral resources to 13% of the population. And so was the possible realisation of economic development, growth, and justice. It was emphasised that our constitutional vision frowns upon near-absolute individual property rights. For that would perpetuate the exclusive enjoyment of our mineral resources by a few. It would also undermine the transformation of our economy and access to land and minerals to the systematically impoverished people.

On another occasion this warning was sounded: “It ought never to be acceptable for any of us, talk less of over-indulge, in the unconscionable practice of seeking to record the highest profit margin possible by any means necessary, in wanton disregard for what that would do to the rest of humanity. Neither should the historic exclusion of some from meaningful participation, particularly in the mainstream economy, be normalised. For it seems to be one of the most stubborn injustices of our past that require a more deliberate, intentional, and systematic confrontation appropriately enabled by independent, incorruptible, efficient, and effective law enforcement and justice-dispensing institutions.

“Colonialism, neo-colonialism and apartheid orchestrated an institutionalised concentration of ownership and control of all things of consequence in our national economy along racial lines.

“Unsurprisingly, the commanding heights of the corporate sector are seemingly the exclusive terrain of our white compatriots. It is this indisputable reality and our shared commitment to ensuring that South Africa really does get to belong to all who live in it, that the constitutional imperatives, laid out in the Preamble, to improve the quality of life of all citizens and free the potential of each are realised, that the likes of the Competition Act had to and got to see the light of day.

“While we are there, reflect on whether the collusions, illicit money flows, and other economically injurious practices reportedly perpetrated by the corporate sector are made to endure the punishment, public exposure and ridicule, that their apparently corrupt behaviour deserves and whether there is a demonstrable commitment through their actions, as opposed to progressive and empty slogans, to the attainment of our constitutional vision.”

Thirty years is sufficient to make self-evident life-changing progress consistent with the objectives of the liberation struggle. We have made progress. But it’s a far cry from what could have been, had maladministration, corruption, and consequence-management been continually prioritised, in line with our judicial pronouncements.

In conclusion, changes below could strengthen our institutions. The Judiciary has no say in the appointment of leaders/functionaries of Parliament, law bodies, academia, and the Executive.

Except for the President, none of them should thus have a say in the selection and appointment (acting and permanent) of Judicial Officers. The latter are best-suited to singularly determine the fitness and propriety of persons to serve at any level of their arm.

It is absurd that the proceedings and decisions of the JSC and JCC, which are generally led by the Chief Justice, the Deputy, the President of the SCA, and the most senior Judge President, should be reviewable and potentially set aside by their juniors, even acting ones. It could never have been so intended. To avoid this absurdity, delays, and other unintended consequences their constitutional insulation from reviewability is needful. The judicial capabilities of these most senior leaders don’t get diminished when they function outside the courtroom.

Additionally, the proscription of all from commenting on the merits of pending cases must be restored. Judicial Officers must never be primed to decide in line with popularised narratives. And the vision and fitness for purpose of Cabinet Members must be openly and rigorously tested in Parliament as should that of Presidential candidates at townhall meetings and television interviews. The best is yet to come!

Mogoeng Mogoeng is a South African jurist who served as the Chief Justice of South Africa from 8 September 2011 until his retirement on 11 October 2021.

30 years of democracy, partnerships and growth

On 27 April 1994, South Africa ushered a democratic era with the first free, fair, and inclusive elections and Nelson Mandela became the first democratically-elected President on 10 May 1994 with a commitment to build a society that works for all South Africans. In the 30 years since, South Africa has made tremendous strides to alleviate poverty, reduce inequality, build an inclusive society, and deepen its constitutional and democratic institutions and culture. Despite its socio-economic challenges, South Africa has a good story to tell and has built a nation brand anchored on democracy, partnerships, and growth, writes Thebe Ikalafeng.

In 2002, Brand South Africa was established and accountable to the Presidency, as the central agency to manage the reputation of the Nation Brand and drive messaging that enables the attraction of investment and tourism, and inspires South Africans to build pride and patriotism, and play their part in realising the South African vision—and ultimately as a catalyst to inspire the country’s global competitiveness.

Over the 30 years, there have been key initiatives, moments, and events that have helped to shape the nation brand and its standing in the world.

Constitution, governance, and human rights

The foundation of South Africa’s democracy is largely built on the new Constitution that was adopted on the 8 May 1996, and widely hailed as the most progressive and liberal in the world; underpinned by the laws and regulations that have helped to shape and strengthen South Africa’s democratic institution.

One of the key pillars of the Constitution is its upholding of Human Rights. South Africa’s protection of Human Rights extends to the protection of third generation rights, which is not common in developing countries, as it requires considerable government resources. The Constitution has been supported by the establishment of strong Chapter 9 institutions such as the South African Human Rights Commission, the Public Protector, and law enforcement organs such as the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), and Directorate for Priority Crimes Investigations (DPCI or The Hawks).

The Constitution has been a guiding foundation shaping how South Africa grappled with the challenges of a young democracy. Right from the onset when it established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a restorative justice body assembled in South Africa in 1996 after the end of apartheid, through to the State Capture Commission, the Commission on the Arms Deal, the Marikana tragedy, and the Ellis Park soccer disaster, among some challenges, the Constitution has guided how the country navigates its way through them honestly, openly, and fairly.

Further, South Africa is a world leader in areas such as corporate governance through the King Code, now in its Fourth iteration, as well as banking regulation through the Twin Peaks Model and Basel III, developed in the wake of the Global Financial Crisis.

Sports, arts, and culture

The highlight of South Africa’s re-entry into the global arena has no doubt been underpinned by its performance and contribution to sports, arts, and culture. The readmission into world cricket in 1991 and world rugby and soccer in 1992 ensured that the momentum for transition towards democracy was not derailed, even by cataclysmic events such as the assassination of South African Communist Party Secretary General Chris Hani, a year before the historic democratic elections.

When South Africa won the 1995 Rugby World Cup, a moment that symbolised the hoped-for unity of a new South Africa by Nelson Mandela hoisting the trophy at Ellis Park with the captain Francois Pienaar declaring “we had 43 million people (black and white South Africans) behind us”, South Africa has since become the first country to win the Rugby World Cup four times. While the 1996 Bafana Bafana team won their only Afcon trophy, arguably South Africa’s finest achievement on the global stage in sport in the last 30 years is the successful staging of the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Having lost the bid to host the 2006 World Cup to Germany, South Africa watched how that tournament became a unifying moment for a nation. Then President of FIFA, Sepp Blatter, declared, “Africa and South Africa organised the best-ever World Cup because it was done with big heart, and every was happy.”

But sport isn’t the only area where South Africa has shown its influential character. South Africa has produced 12 Grammy Award winners between 1964 when Miriam Makeba won the first for Africa and Lady Smith Black Mambazo has led the pack with five. Recently, Tyla became the youngest African to win in the inaugural Best African Musical Performance with an Amapiano genre that has inspired the world.

In the arts, the iconic Ndebele visual artist, Dr Esther Mahlangu, the artist to be commissioned twice by BMW for their car art, has inspired the growth and appreciation of South African art.

South Africa has never ceased to inspire and entertain the world.

Africa’s leading economy and revenue authority

South Africa’s economy has evolved into the most industrialised, technologically-advanced, and diversified on the continent. South Africa’s GDP has grown from R1.4 trillion in 1994 to R4.6 trillion in 2022, according to Stats SA. From being an economy dominated by primary industries such as mining, and secondary industries such as manufacturing, South Africa’s economy is now being led by services, which account for two thirds, including real estate for finance.

South Africa’s economic growth has been at best, brisk, and at worst, stuttered, in the three decades of growth. After sustained growth in the first decade of democracy, economic growth became muted from a higher base, then after a period of a record 48 consecutive quarters of growth in the early 2000s, it got disrupted by the Global Financial Crisis in 2008/2009 and never truly recovered in the decade before the pandemic hit.

The foundation of South Africa’s economic success lay in sustained, successful revenue collection. The South African Revenue Services (SARS), which has been a centre of excellence in the public service, has collected in excess R2 trillion per year despite challenging economic conditions.

The economy is currently undergoing intensive reforms in the areas of energy, telecoms, logistics, and infrastructure in order to take advantage of global growth to pursue export-led, private sector-driven growth.

Improvements in education

One of the most overlooked achievements by the South African democratic government has been improvements in education. This is because, quite understandably, there is a propensity to focus on outcomes like reading, writing, and literacy and how these compare to international benchmarks at varying levels.

But a new report, ‘Census 2022: A profile of education enrolment, attainment, and progression in South Africa’, shows the strides made by government and other stakeholders in education in this area. “One of the most notable achievements is the significant increase in enrolment rates across all levels of education. Enrolment rates have seen unprecedented growth, reflecting improved access to education for previously marginalised communities, resulting in higher educational achievements,” according to Stats SA.

The report shows improved levels of access to and completion of primary and secondary school education, especially among black South Africans, with secondary education access tripling from 9.4% in 1996 to 34.7% in 2022.

While the South African Matric pass rate still reflects a worrying level of drop outs, especially among boy children, progress is being made.

In playing their part, the South African private sector has also supplemented government efforts with a heavy investment in education, supplementing the supply of learning materials, assisting in teacher development, and using technology to deliver education, including to underprivileged areas.

Exports

As the continent’s most industrialised nation and leading exporter of diamonds, gold, platinum, and other metals and minerals which account for almost 10% of South Africa’s GDP, South Africa has also established itself as a hub for motor manufacturing. In the Brand Africa 100 | Africa’s Best Brands, South Africa leads the continent as the major creator of the leading brands on the continent.

Tourism

Opening up to the world meant South Africa had the opportunity to showcase its natural beauty, technological sophistication, and its youthful exuberance to the world. A long haul but strategic destination, South Africa reached a level of being a 10 million visitors a year tourism magnet for both business and leisure with ample cuisine, culture, heritage, and natural diversity to showcase across its nine provinces. The country, through South African Tourism leading the positioning of South Africa and the private sector-led Tourism Business Council of South Africa, post the devastation of the pandemic, has a target to double the number of annual tourist arrivals in the next five years.

Leading on the international stage

South Africa’s entry on the international stage had the “Nelson Mandela halo effect” as the country was highly regarded and listened to on global dialogues. South Africa also quickly gained a status of global mediator and peacekeeper in places such as the Great Lakes region on the continent.

Re-entry into international bodies included the Non-Aligned Movement in 1994, followed by hosting its 12th Congress in 1998 and advancing the NAM’s goal of shaping a post-Cold War, post-colonial, non-confrontational landscape.

As a focal African nation, South Africa has played a key role in helping to develop a vision and a plan for African development, through the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), which deals with issues like: Peace and security; democracy and good governance; and the renaming of the continental body, the African Union (AU) that was officially launched in 2002 in Durban, South Africa as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU, 1963-1999).

The country has continued to punch above its weight in global affairs and was a founder member of the G20 in 1999 and a member of BRICS since 2010.

South Africa has recently used its voice on global matters with its neutral stance on the war between Russia and Ukraine, and facilitating continued, interminent dialogue and successfully took Israel to the International Court of Justice over its military operation in Gaza. This has emboldened other countries to directly challenge Israel’s occupation status and led to a United Nations resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza.

Leaders in Climate Change and conservation

South Africa has become a global leader in the conversation on Climate Change, recognising its status as a heavy contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. The country hosted the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development as well as one of Conference of Parties meeting, Cop 17 in Durban, and is one of the developing countries that has voluntarily deposited a National Determined Contribution statement under the Paris Agreement.

This leading role was recognised at Cop 26 in Glasgow, where South Africa was recipient of $8.5 billion in concessions to fund its Just Energy Transition. South Africa’s role now is to speak on behalf of Africa and developing countries about the need for Just Energy Transition to leave no one behind, especially communities that depend on traditional energy sources, such as coal mining towns in Mpumalanga province.

COVID-19 and other crises

In the first quarter of 2020, the world suffered massive disruption with the outbreak of the Corona Virus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19). South Africa recorded its first case on March 5 and life was never the same. The country’s response, which included lockdowns and a revised national budget, as well as a R500 billion economic support package and the continent’s most comprehensive vaccine programme, remains a textbook case of leadership response in a time of crisis and global benchmark of marshaling public and private healthcare resources to respond to a health and economic crisis.

The devastating effects of the pandemic, with a loss of three million jobs, lingers, but the health system collaboration, the Social Relief Distress Grant, and improved social practices in hygiene and social spacing remains in place.

South Africa played a leading role in positioning itself as a model nation in dealing with pandemics and other crises, with organisations such as Gift of the Givers and Rescue South Africa called upon in dealing with crises such as the war in Ukraine, the genocide in Gaza, and the floods in Mozambique.

A foundation for the next generation

While the persistent challenges for South Africa remain—chronic unemployment, especially among youth, inequality, and poverty—the country’s blueprint for development, the National Development Plan (NDP) which charts a development path to 2030, and the post-pandemic Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan that focuses on the four priority areas: Infrastructure, Industrialisation and local production, Employment, and Energy Security, lays the foundation for building a sustainable future for the next generation for a fair, bold, and resilient nation.

The real new dawn for South Africa

Post the 2024 National and Provincial Government General Elections, all of us must roll up our shirt sleeves, get rid of corrupt politicians, and get Mzansi to prosper once more, writes Adv Mahlodi S. Muofhe

 Today certainly would have been better than yesterday but for the many fingers which tolled corruptively from our democratic Mzansi government purse in the last 30 years of our democracy.

Tomorrow minus corruption will be best because the colossal reconstruction and rebuilding project under the stewardship of H.E. President Matamela C. Ramaphosa of our beloved nonracial South Africa continues unabated. The oppressed majority South Africans of all hues pre 1994 weaved through bushy thorny mountainous areas, crossed many rivers and gravel paths from all over Africa carrying liberation tools often without sufficient navigation equipments and supply of food, to downwards South Africa to fight the racist white apartheid minority ruled South African government.

This they did to accomplish their quest that South Africa should be governed by the people of South Africa as contained in the Freedom Charter which was held and adopted on 26 June 1955 in Kliptown a settlement near Soweto southwest of the City of Johannesburg in what today is known as Gauteng Province in South Africa. The walk by the oppressed downtrodden people to unshackle South Africa from the then white minority ruled apartheid government clutches and chains, was arduously long and painful. The long walk to freedom as aptly put by our pathfinder, Madiba, to a democratic South Africa in his book titled Long Walk to Freedom was and is not only special to the oppressed South African black people alone in particular, it was and is also special to all peace-loving democrats world over.

Bones of our South African freedom fighters who perished on the battlefield fighting to free South Africa from the white apartheid government are scattered all over Africa. In tandem with our freedom fighters battling it in the bush for our freedom, inside South Africa many resistance protests marches against the apartheid white government kept on swelling. Twenty-three days into July 1956 and nine days after my birth in 1956, women (our grandmothers, mothers and sisters) walked from all over the country to the heart of the seat of apartheid government, Pretoria, and presented a protest petition against the introduction of identity books laws for black women to the then apartheid white South Africa minority ruler Prime Minister JG Strijdom.

Nine August 1956 remains irked in my mind because my late mom kept on reminding me that she could not join the women’s march to the then apartheid government headquarters in Pretoria because I was born nine days before that date. The women’s march to Pretoria signaled to the then apartheid white minority rule Prime Minister J.G. Strijdom that the head of apartheid was systematically being decapitated bit by bit.

A few years later just after the successful 1956 women march to Pretoria, on 21 March 1960 scores of our black people 69 in number, and without winking by the apartheid South African Police were massacred at the Sharpeville police station. What was the sin of the parents who died mercilessly at the Sharpeville police station? They staged an anti-pass (identity book designed to discriminate black people against white people) campaign and for that noble march, they paid with their dear lives.

1976 was no different. I was part of the class of Soweto 1976 students who shocked the apartheid government when we gallantly marched against the usage of the Afrikaans language as a medium of all content subjects in black schools to the then Bantu Education driven apartheid government office. Many of our fellow cohorts died during that march at the hands of the apartheid brutal security cluster bullets which were haphazardly aimed at us. The apartheid government thought our march for that noble cause geographically located in Soweto was an invasion against them by terrorists. To them (security cluster) Soweto students resembled terrorists who deserved to be dealt with heavy-handedly. How were we expected to learn content subjects in Afrikaans when we detested Afrikaans as the language of our processors? To their shock, the whole country caught fire. Transition from the white diabolical apartheid oppressive government, difficult as it is, is the best outcome which took place in the last thirty years of our democratic South Africa which all of us should be proud of irrespective of how inchoate it may be.

The Tinstswalo metaphor which Preisident Ramaphosa well-crafted left a number of counter revolutionaries debased like what our former President Thabo Mbeki then Deputy President did on the occasion of the tabling of our new South Africa Constitution on 8 May 1996. On that occasion our President Thabo Mbeki made his epoch speech when he said: ‘I am an African’. A number of white people left or threatened to leave South Africa for they interpreted the: ‘I am an African Speech’ to mean that we, the oppressed people of South Africa during the apartheid white minority oppressive would do what they did to us in the proverbial three hundred years they (white people), what the apartheid government did to us in the three hundred years or so of the subtle civil war for freedom by the oppressed South Africans, majority of whom were black and Africans in particular, left many wounds in us gashed such that it will take years for democratic South Africans to rebuild Mzansi.

The oppressors who were mainly white rode on the backs of black South Africans as they created meaningful wealth for themselves, their children, and their children’s children. Their grand plan was that black people will remain anchored in the basement of socioeconomic doldrums forever. I am thus not surprised though by the Western Cape Provincial Government’s uninformed dream of a federal independent province or state from South Africa, nor am I surprised by our former President Zuma’s thinking of becoming a President of South Africa post our 2024 General Election. These are the yields of freedom of speech and association brought about by the 1994 democratic government which they would not have dared to dream about during the apartheid government.

I don’t expect the DA to grasp the principles of federalism. My former President Zuma in both the ANC and democratic South Africa is clueless about how our constitution works. He doesn’t understand that as an ex-offender he is ineligible to hold any public office positions. Deep down in his heart of hearts, former President Zuma believes his ‘ Umkhonto we Sizwe Party will garner sufficient votes to enable him to dethrone President Ramaphosa from the Union Building.

That said, the yoke of centuries of repressive white minority government rule on black people Africans including Indians and Coloured people in particular was so unbearable. Not only were black people excluded from economic opportunities in the white South Africa which they toiled so much for as were poorly unpaid migrant workers greasing white apartheid South Africans wealth creation adventures, but we were also domesticated by the inferior education Bantu system they throttled us with. 1994 ushered in some great fresh air in South Africa breathed by Madiba with his Madiba magic. We, black and white were all one but not one at the same time necessarily.

However, since the dawn of democracy in 1994, the ANC led government the people of Mzansi achieved the following milestones:

• • Made free basic services including water and electricity available to poor households.
  
• • Increased access to the social wage in the form of social grants, housing and community infrastructure and services.
  
• • Increased GDP 10-fold over the 25-year period from 1994-2019.
  
• • Broaden access to basic education for 10 million learners in 20 000 no-fee schools.
  
• • Provided meals through the National Nutrition Programme for close to 10 million out of 12 million learners.
  
• • Introduced the National Student Financial Aid Scheme to provide financial aid to higher education students.
  
• • Widen access to healthcare with the number of visits increasing from 68 million in 1998 to 120 million in 2020.
  
• • Expanded access to housing to millions of households through the RDP programme.
  
• • Rolled out infrastructure programs in highways, public bus services, airport upgrades, sports stadia, and the construction of more power stations and bulk water projects.
  
• • Redistributed 8.3 million hectares of land over the last 25 years to beneficiaries and provide agricultural support and assisted small business and cooperatives.
  
• • Reduced poverty by among other things, providing social grants to over 18 million beneficiaries every month, providing meals to school children and subsidizing housing for the poor.
  

Some of the key stubborn challenges though remain and must be addressed soon and very soon. They are the remnants of racial inequalities; corruption by some of our leaders; lack of services delivery to South Africans; non growing economy and the economy which by and large rest in the bank balances of white people.

Post the 2024 National and Provincial Government General Elections, all of us must fold our shirt sleeves, get rid of corrupt politicians and get Mzansi to prosper once more. That is what Madiba expected from the South Africa he fought so hard to democratise. Tomorrow will be better than today. (ANC manifesto; 9-10: 2019)

Adv Mahlodi S. Muofhe is an admitted advocate of the High Court of South Africa.

Thabo Mbeki’s address on the reflections of 30 years of democracy

South African democracy at 30 years… I’m really very, very glad that we are here, and I hope all of us as we live here, we will be propagandists for Freedom Park. And this year I celebrate 68 years of membership of the ANC.

I happened to serve as the master of ceremonies for a joyful evening when our esteemed guests included Mrs. Coretta Scott King, the wife of the late Reverend Martin Luther King Junior. Almost spontaneously, I repeated her husband’s famous words from his I Have a Dream speech: “Free at last! Free at last! Thank God almighty, we’re free at last!”

I’m certain that those words of thanks to the Almighty were uttered by millions throughout our country, because indeed these millions were free at last from 350 years of cruel white minority colonial and Apartheid rules.

Freedom for South Africans, as visualised in the Freedom Charter, was to have a government based on the will of all the people, and this government would lead the protracted but historic process of bringing about the many changes such that in time our diverse but united nation would proclaim together – again, based on the words and spirit of the Freedom Charter – that South Africa truly belongs to all who live in it: black and white.

As the governing party, the ANC has an obligation to be guided by the principles of BATHO Pele, and it has to be made genuinely accountable to all of our people. I believe that one of the most important lessons we must learn from this first 30 years of democracy in our country is that any political party given the responsibility to govern in any sphere of government must practically be held accountable in terms of such good governance principles and policies as ANC listed in this election manifesto.

I’m convinced that is one of the common objectives we must carry forward as a people as we take whatever steps to define the South Africa we want. During his address to the nation a few days ago on Freedom Day, the 27th of April, President Ramaphosa, when speaking about some of the major challenges our country continues to confront, said that the Apartheid legacy continues to define the choices and opportunities of so many South Africans.

We know that despite our achievements, South Africa remains a highly unequal society, and our people confront every day the Apartheid legacy of unemployment, poverty and underdevelopment crime especially crimes of violence against women and children are sketched in our communities.

Despite aid projects making great progress, many households do not have electricity or clean water, and many families go hungry. There’s a huge divide between the rich and the poor and at times it seems like this challenge threatens to undermine the achievements we’ve made over the past 30 years.

Something must be done to address these challenges because we cannot afford for them to continue to define our country. At the same time our combined efforts must continue to focus on nation building and social cohesion as visualised in our constitution that truly belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity. We must build and entrench strong ethical foundations which must make a critical contribution to the task to end lawlessness and violence, gender based violence, looting, corruption and all manner of criminal abuse.

I often hear the charge that the last 30 years of our democracy have been a disastrous for our country and our people, but this is entirely false and serves nobody’s purpose. The truth is that the achievements realised are the result of the efforts of our people as a whole during the first 13 to 15 years of democracy, and they demonstrate this vitally important consideration that together we have the capacity to take this country to great heights, regardless of our situation today. We will certainly enter into a new beginning to resume the labour of love once more that is vital for building a winning nation that is people-centered and a caring society.

The quality of leadership we elect to govern our country is of critical importance to the very survival and healthy development of the democratic rule and governance for which many of our people sacrificed their lives. As we begin our journey into the next three decades of our democracy, we must elaborate the processes whereby we ensure that those who govern us must abide by specific principles and practices of good governance, and these must be binding on a nonpartisan basis. If we can have such leadership in place then this would condemn to the dustbin the notion that a numerical majority rewards a majority party with the freedom to engage in any government practices of its choice.

At the heart of many of the problems our country faces lies the brutal reality of a counter-revolutionary intervention which began some years ago and, whereas the central objective of that kind revolution was to defeat the ANC, it’s intervention has caused enormous damage to the country as a whole and suffering to millions of our people.

I believe that this situation makes it incumbent on our people as a whole to act together, to address the harm caused by the counter-revolution first of all by answering the question of what is to be done to undo the damage caused by that counter-revolution.

During the Freedom Day celebrations, President Ramaphosa said: “We know that if we work together, if we’re honest, then the same spirit of unity that we created in 1994 will surely overcome the challenges of today and history shows that by working together in pursuit of a common goal that we will succeed. We believe in a better tomorrow and it is within our hands to shape our collective destiny.”

Consistent with this approach I suggest that to respond to the enormous challenges created by the counter-revolution our people should convene in the new and truly inclusive national dialogue to answer the question “What is to be done?”

Of course, such a national dialogue would need to be held later this year after the general elections, and in this regard I must report that I am currently engaged in serious discussions with a number of our national foundations because I’m certain that the country as a whole would benefit greatly from hearing their collective voice on the matter of such a national dialogue.

I would like to conclude this presentation by referring to an important document issued recently by some of our compatriots, a collective of Afrikaner leaders and this document could be that discussed at such a national dialogue.

I was struck by the statements this Afrikaans compatriot made in this document reiterating that we want to stay here and contribute to the well-being of the country and all its people, and that what we’re building together should remain here and that the past should not destroy the future for us all.

This statement communicates a vitally important commitment that I trust all of us share… that we must contribute to the well-being of the country and all its people. This is exactly the spirit and the noble attitude which guarantees that, by working together as President Ramaphosa has said, we’ll overcome all the obstacles in the way of our nation.

30 years of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in South Africa

Nat Kekana takes a look at the changes and challenges of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in South Africa over the past 30 years

 Today’s Information and Communications Technology (ICT) landscape is barely recognisable from what it was in 1994. This is true right across the globe and South Africa is no exception. By way of a simple visual illustration of the change, the “tikibox”—the old Telkom-operated payphone—used to be ubiquitous presence in South Africa’s urban areas. Today it has all but disappeared.

It is now only a distant memory for some and a generation of born-free South Africans have no memory of the device. Young adults today find it hard to believe that it was once necessary to walk to a street corner to make a phone call, instead of merely reaching into their pockets. It is harder still to contextualise the vision and courage it took 30 years ago to dare to imagine a South Africa with universal access to ICT. More than 100% mobile and cellular communication penetration today is evidence of the realisation of that vision. Like any report card, there have been some great successes, near misses, as well as opportunities for learning and growth.

South Africa’s mobile penetration has developed a $9.5 billion USD (R178 billion) mobile sector with four mobile operators in the country. Some of these are also significant actors on the continent and globally. This represents tremendous wealth-creation and economic opportunity in an area of the economy that barely existed 30 years ago. It took vision and planning to create the conditions for this growth. But challenges do remain.

While growth in the mobile sector has been good, the structure of the industry is often challenged for lack of competitiveness and the impact of this on pricing, which is in turn a significant barrier to greater access for the poor.

Despite full mobile coverage, South Africa is ranked 46th out of 79 countries in terms of progress and performance made in broadband, data centres, and cloud services. Fixed broadband is still below 10%. If we are to achieve the ambitions set to use ICT to surmount developmental challenges, we need a policy and regulatory framework that will encourage investment in infrastructure and promote effective competition. Thus, when assessing South Africa’s success in ICT over the last thirty years we must also be cognisant of how ICT policies have driven investment and growth of other sectors in the country.

South Africa has benefited from innovations in Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), enabling us to compete in the global call centre market. According to the call centre sector association, the sector currently employs approximately 315 000 people. This has been made possible by progressive and timely ICT policies.

Headlines of foreign direct investment into South Africa for the development of data centres, opening of e-commerce operations, and agreements on cable landing stations with international partners are evidence of the foresight embedded in our broader policy direction. The policies have also enabled the reduction of the barriers to entry in media. They have ensured that South Africans participate in the global trend of media convergence and enabled targeted programming for South Africans to reflect themselves to each other and the world.

Although significant investment in e-government has been made over the years, we have not moved as far as we had envisaged. Where progress has been made, it has shown up the inequality in our society. We still witness long queues of people in and outside government departments. These are normally poor people in our society who would benefit the most from efficient e-government services.

Lastly, while it may be difficult to make sense of all of the choices that were made 30 years ago and since, it is important to keep in mind what the broad objective of such choices was: to move South Africa, a divided country where only the elite had access to a telephone at home, to one where everyone has access to connectivity and the tremendous opportunities that access to ICT open up. We knew then, as we know now, that ICT has the potential to unite a nation and leapfrog its developmental challenges. We continue to be committed to achieving this, mindful of the constant evolution of the technology.

Nat Kekana is a South African politician and businessman.

Reflections on challenges and successes of 30 years of democracy

John Steenhuisen takes a look back on the 30 years of democracy in South Africa and pens his thoughts on what the future of our democracy will look like

Over the past three decades, our country has gone through a lot. We have witnessed some exhilarating highs, and some devastating lows, as South Africa has grown and matured as one of very few functional democracies on the African continent. And it is also during the past 30 years that my own political career began. In a real sense, my own career has matured alongside Mzansi herself.

Having sat at the coalface of politics since my election as a councillor in Durban in 1999, I have borne witness to our democracy’s many challenges and successes over the years. Five Presidents, six parliaments, and an entire generation of South Africans later, I now ponder the question: what has South Africa gained from 30 years of democracy?

There is perhaps no clear answer to this. Our democracy secured the political freedom of the South African people at large, but it has not automatically insulated our country from bad governance, from corruption, or from ill-conceived policy. Three decades of democracy has seen 30 years of national government under the ANC, and as the governing party’s complacence has given rise to an epidemic of corruption, state capture, and maladministration, it is the South African people who have continued to suffer.

There are millions more unemployed citizens today than there were ten or even twenty years ago—despite the ANC’s draconian implementation of racial quotas and the policy of BBBEE. Critical infrastructure to supply basic services has all but collapsed under the ANC’s neglect, and our institutions have been hollowed out to fold at the ANC’s feet. The rand is at its weakest ever, our economy has all but flatlined, and investment is drying up as 16 years of rolling blackouts have ground productivity to a halt.

Reflecting on 30 years of our democracy forces one to conclude that our country is at the edge of the cliff.

But there is still reason to hope. It is only now, 30 years after the first all-race elections, that our democracy will truly be put to the test. As the ANC, for the first time since 1994, faces the very real prospect of a lost national majority, it is the South African people who must now reflect, cast their eyes to the future, and make the decisions necessary to breathe life back into our economy, get South Africa working, and arrest the decay of our towns and cities. It is not too late to rescue South Africa from its decline, and we have our democracy as the principal tool to make it happen. The main point of reflection then of 30 years of democracy, is that it is democracy itself that must be utilised to change our country’s prospects for the better.

It is for this reason that the 2024 General Election will be a hinge of history moment for South Africa. The inevitability of a national coalition means that South Africans must think not only about which party will govern them, but about which values and principles will guide a new government and its policies. It is this exciting realignment of priorities that is perhaps the real success story of 30 years of democracy. For the first time since 1994, South Africa could be governed by a multi-party government at a national level. This means that our government will no longer be led by party dogma or political populism, but by a group of parties with fresh and pragmatic ideas that serve as an antidote to our country’s many ailments—policies and legislation whose effectiveness is not determined by their intent, but by their outcome. In this new environment, South Africans can look forward to some exciting developments that will truly empower our democratic rights.

At the DA’s Federal Congress in April 2023, I announced the creation of a “Moonshot Pact”, which was later redubbed as the Multi-Party Charter for South Africa. This initiative has been a political game-changer for South Africa. By forging a common vision among opposition parties to work together to unseat the current governing party, the Charter provides a clear path to power for an alternative government based on a common set of values and principles. By focusing on what unites us, rather than on the points on which we may differ, a strong opposition pact has taken shape in South Africa’s political centre, providing a real alternative to the ANC for the first time since 1994. As we have seen time and again in South Africa, we are indeed Stronger Together.

This very real prospect of change is bolstered by the ANC’s gradual decline over the past 30 years. Having already fallen below 50% in the 2021 local government elections, change is now well underway and the political reality of multi-party government has quickly become the new normal. All credible polling confirms that the same can happen in this year’s national and provincial elections if enough citizens turn out to vote. With the ANC below 50% nationally and in various provinces, the door will open for the DA to enter government to rescue South Africa.

We in the DA have pre-empted this dramatic shift in our country’s political system by taking several measures to secure the legislative framework upon which a new coalition government will be built. By analysing successful coalition governments in countries such as Denmark, Kenya, and Germany, our Chief Whip in Parliament, Siviwe Gwarube, has codified their coalition successes into a series of Bills which we have already tabled. These Bills seek to introduce legislation that will pave the way for coalition governments to be created and managed in a way that ensures stability and insulates them from political opportunism and greed.

The Bills introduce, among others, longer periods for coalition negotiations after elections, independent administrators to ensure the fair and stable management of coalitions through binding agreements removed from political machinations, and, perhaps most importantly, the introduction of electoral thresholds to prevent the over-fragmentation of our political system. We have seen in South Africa that many people enter politics not to serve South Africa, but to serve themselves. By implementing a threshold of at least 1-2%, we can ensure that coalition governments are neither created nor collapsed at the whims of one or two greedy individuals.

We have also seen that, for any multi-party government to be stable, it must be anchored by a big, strong party at its centre. Multi-party governments only fail when the vote is fragmented among dozens of parties. Multi-party governments only work when they have a strong anchor party to ensure stability. It is this realisation that South Africans must come to when taking to the polls this year. Coalitions can, and already do, work in many places in South Africa and around the world, but they rely on the consolidation of votes into fewer parties, and the presence of a strong anchor party to bind the coalition together.

As the largest party in South Africa after the rapidly-declining ANC, it is my party, the DA, that has the size, the experience, and the demonstrated track record of good governance required to serve as the anchor for a stable and successful Multi-Party Charter government. It has been my mission to ready the DA, and South Africa, for this very real prospect, to ensure that our very first national coalition government is one that has the needs of the South African people as an apex priority. In this environment, a vote for the DA will not only

ensure stability, but will also help to propel the Charter beyond the magical threshold of 50%-plus-one required to form a new national government.

As the anchor tenant in a new Multi-Party Charter national government, the DA’s Apex Priorities during the 2024-2029 term will be to:

1. 1. Create two million new jobs;
   
2. 2. End loadshedding and watershedding;
   
3. 3. Halve the rate of violent crime, including murder, attempted murder, and gender-based violence;
   
4. 4. Abolish cadre deployment in favour of merit-based appointments and a capable state that delivers for all;
   
5. 5. Lift six million people out of poverty;
   
6. 6. Triple the number of grade four learners who can read for meaning; and
   
7. 7. Ensure quality healthcare for all, irrespective of economic status.
   

Achieving these apex priorities will guide everything the DA does in government, and will form the basis of our governance agenda when forming a national coalition to take South Africa forward. This agenda will be underpinned by aggressive legislative reform to introduce laws that will fix our electricity crisis, remove erroneous restrictions on the labour market, open and liberalise our economy to grow and flourish, and make it easy for investment to pour in and for small businesses to grow. As the anchor tenant of a new multi-party government, the DA seeks to revive parliament, bring sound legislation to its members, and pass new laws to truly unleash South Africa’s potential as one of the greatest countries in the world. We have all the right ingredients, we just need a new recipe.

Reflecting on 30 years of democracy in South Africa is a bittersweet exercise. For many, the thrill of freedom and the hope of a better future in 1994 has been dashed by the unchallenged ANC majority that has taken its mandate, and the people of South Africa, for granted, in its pursuit of greed and personal enrichment. But we can still find hope in the ANC’s decline, and in the green shoots of a new future that we can now see growing for the very first time. The rise of the Multi-Party Charter is a ray of hope for many South Africans, who have come close to giving up.

The ANC may have failed South Africa over the last 30 years, but democracy certainly has not. The ANC’s gradual decline is proof of this, and South Africans should not fear, but rather embrace our coalition future. This was always going to be South Africa’s natural progression as our democracy ages, and 30 years in, we have finally reached this point of maturity.

Robert Kennedy Junior once said: “Democracy is messy, and it’s hard. It’s never easy”. If we can agree then that doing what is right is never easy, then the choice is simple. Moving bravely into a stable coalition future for our country may not be an easy process as the 2024 General Election approaches, but in 30 years’ time when we once again reflect upon the road our democracy has travelled, we will realise that it was, without a doubt, the right thing to do.

John Steenhuisen is a South African politician who has served as the twentieth leader of the Opposition since October 2019 and has been the leader of the Democratic Alliance since November 2020.

30 years of the human settlement journey

In order to put a spotlight on the issues the Department of Human Settlements has faced since 1994, Leadership editor, Prof. JJ Tabane put 30 questions to Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi

How has the population growth in South Africa impacted human settlements over the last 30 years?

According to the Census 2022, our population has been growing at an annual rate of just over 12% from 1996 to date. This growth has had a significant impact on the demand for basic services, of which shelter is one. Consequently, there has been an elevated demand for government-subsidised housing, or programmes meant to assist the poor in acquiring decent and quality shelter. The population growth further increased rapidity of urbanisation, which is mainly driven by the search for economic opportunities in major cities, semi-urban, and rural towns across the country. As a result, the increase in demand for urban housing has far surpassed the supply, leading to an increased number of informal settlements, the emergence of urban slums mainly found in hijacked inner city buildings, and a high demand for basic services such as water, sanitation, and electricity.

What are the main challenges in providing affordable housing in South Africa?

Both government and private sector play a role in the provision of affordable housing in South Africa. The high input costs which are mainly driven by the cost of well-located land, low investment in the development of affordable housing due to fiscal constraints, low private sector appetite, and the ever increasing materials inflation are the main challenges to the provision of affordable housing. Other secondary challenges include the high indebtedness of individuals and the reluctance of the financial institutions to finance bonds for people in the category of the market.

How has urbanisation affected rural settlements in South Africa?

More than 60% of South Africans live in urban areas, and this figure is projected to increase to 70% by 2030 and 80% by 2050. However, it’s important to note that the funding model our government has adopted takes into consideration an equitable share of available resources, which is based on the population size, amongst other things. It therefore means that the distribution of human settlement resources between urban and rural will always be determined by the equitable distribution approach.

What measures have been taken to address informal settlements in South Africa?

The government is already responding to the housing backlog through various housing programmes. These include the provision of fully subsidised housing units (RDP/BNG), rental stock or social housing, and affordable housing through First Home Finance for the missing middle. These programmes have made a significant dent in the reduction of informality. As evidenced by the Census 2022, only 7.9% of households live in informal dwellings compared with 13.6% in 2011. Through the Informal Settlements Upgrading Grant programme, government upgrades informal settlements through provision of services and ultimately provides houses where settlements located on suitable land are upgraded in situ. Where the land is unsuitable, residents are relocated to suitable land. Government is also engaging Development Finance Institutions, the private sector, and non-government organisations to collaborate on plans and models to revamp and repurpose abandoned and hijacked buildings for social and affordable housing opportunities.

What role does government policy play in promoting sustainable human settlements in South Africa?

The National Housing Programme. The provision of Social and Economic Facilities was instituted in terms of Section 3(4)(g) of the Housing Act, 1997. This programme promotes the provision of basic social amenities within existing and new housing areas, as well as upgraded informal settlements projects to achieve social and economic development. We have also worked with the private sector to provide sustainable human settlements. The projects such as Cosmo City, Zanemvula and Sky City, Clayville, Riverside, and Lufhereng are clear examples of what can be achieved if the government and private sector work towards a common objective.

How has the apartheid legacy influenced the spatial patterns of human settlements in South Africa?

The pre-1994 spatial plan resulted in people living far away from socio-economic activities. As a result, the previously disadvantaged had to spend their limited resources and time to travel to and from workplaces. The ownership patterns of land in urban areas, inherited from apartheid, makes it very costly for government to acquire well-located land for human settlements. Similarly, private developers who want to acquire land for mixed income developments find it economically unviable to do so in well-located land due to cost. The projects aimed at disrupting apartheid spatial development are drifting farther and farther away from economic opportunities.

What initiatives have been undertaken to promote integrated and inclusive human settlements in South Africa?

Access to adequate housing is enshrined in South Africa’s Constitution. Government has, since 1994, implemented various programmes aimed at addressing the spatial inequalities caused by apartheid. To promote integrated and inclusive human settlements, government, in partnership with the private sector, implemented the Mega Human Settlements Projects in major cities across the country. They are designed to include all housing typologies (BNG, Social Housing, Bonded market) and include social amenities such as health facilities and schools.

How has climate change impacted human settlements in South Africa?

Climate change has led to an increase in natural disasters such as floods, heavy rains, strong winds, etc., affecting mainly informal settlements and rural areas. Government, as a result, has had to divert and use limited resources to attend to the humanitarian crisis due to disasters.

What strategies have been implemented to address urban sprawl and promote compact cities in South Africa?

There is work being done through the Integrated Urban Development Framework (IUDF), which is an important roadmap for our country to implement the NDP’s vision for spatial transformation—creating habitable inclusive and resilient towns and cities while reversing the apartheid spatial legacy. Additionally, the Human Settlements White Paper is being reviewed in order to address this matter, amongst others. The District Development Model (DDM), which is an all-of-government and all-of-society approach that aims to tackle the deep-rooted silo mentality underpinning the planning, budgeting, and delivery of services across the three spheres of government. Through this approach, the IUDF will capitalise on opportunities that exist to mobilise other actors in the private sector, non-government organisations, and communities to work towards a common goal, that is to provide housing for those in need.

How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected human settlements and housing in South Africa?

The main impact of COVID-19 was the unexpected increase of land invasions leading to the increased number of informal settlements. Due to measures implemented to curtail the spread of COVID-19, the human settlements construction projects faced stoppages that resulted in budget escalations and blockages.

What is your assessment of transformation in the human settlements arena?

Economic transformation with the human settlements sector must be seen within the context of the transformation of the construction sector in general. So in the human settlements subsector and its value chains, just like the construction, a concerted effort needs to be put towards creating a transformed and inclusive sector.

What is your assessment of transformation in the estate agency business?

Transformation of the sector is non-negotiable. The Property Practitioners Regulatory Authority (PPRA) has made strides in transforming the industry. Recently, it partnered with Rawson Property Group which has awarded nine franchises to Historically Disadvantaged Individuals. These recipients will receive comprehensive training, ongoing support, and mentoring from the franchisor to ensure that their businesses succeed. On the 6th of March 2024, the PPRA entered a transformative partnership in association with Eskom, Claremart, and the Property Sector Charter Council. 229 young black property practitioners (learners) and 37 property mentorship employers (Property Practitioners) were granted an opportunity to dispose of Eskom properties across the country. This partnership brought the much-needed relief of access to property stock for the effective mentorship programme. These are some of the initiatives we have employed to ensure real transformation in the real estate industry is realised.

How have you dealt with corruption in Human Settlements in your portfolio since you assumed this position?

All matters that came to my attention were referred to the authorities as the relevant bodies with the mandate to investigate and take those matters forward.

How can you quantify the housing backlog at present?

The current housing backlog stands at above two million and it is a moving target informed by several factors.

What explains the congestion of a place like Alexandra and Diepsloot after 30 years of democracy?

As we have already explained, population increase coupled with the rapid rate of urbanisation have led to a situation where the demand for urban housing far surpasses the supply, as a result of which many people end up in informal settlements and backyards in the old townships such as Alexandra.

What innovations has the ANC introduced to deal with the housing backlog?

We have adopted a continuous improvement model to Human Settlements. Since the adoption of the first housing White Paper in 1997, our housing policies have been adjusted to respond to growing demand and growing diversity of the market. Amongst others, these changes include the introduction, in 2004, of Comprehensive Housing Plan (CHP) for the Development of Integrated Sustainable Human Settlements (Breaking New Ground [BNG]) that aims, among other things, to eradicate informal settlements in South Africa in the shortest possible time; the adoption, in 2009, of the Social Housing Policy aimed at meeting the missing middle housing demand, and recently, the front-loading funding model which enables provinces to deliver projects in one year that would otherwise take three years to complete. We are also implementing a range of mixed-use and mixed-income developments in well-located areas. For example, Cornubia in KwaZulu-Natal is one of such mixed-use and mixed-income developments, strategically located in the north of Durban between the CBD and the airport. Other housing programmes such as affordable housing in the form of First Home Finance for the missing middle have also been introduced.

How are you clamping down on the sale of RDP houses?

Like any other property, RDP houses can be sold within the ambit of the Housing Act. Where there are compelling reasons for a beneficiary to sell a house, the Act requires that the house is sold back to the government. We report cases of illegal sale of RDP houses to law enforcement and the law takes its course.

What actions have you taken against poor workmanship in some of the RDP houses?

In 2016, the NHBRC launched a new set of guidelines to address several issues that had become concerns for the NHBRC, government, and the industry over the years. The guidelines which are contained in a home building manual provide an outline of quality requirements for builders and home inspectors. Also, NHBRC inspectors are trained to not only pick up faults but to work with the contractor in mitigating against risks associated with building a new home, thus protecting housing consumers against shoddy workmanship. We are also tightening on consumer protection through the introduction of the Consumer Protection Bill which is currently in Parliament. Once adopted, it will introduce very stringent measures to deal with poor workmanship, including personal liability for the perpetrators.

How many informal settlements were newly established in the last 10 years?

There are currently more than 3 000 informal settlements around the country. They are mainly in Metropolitan Municipalities. However, these are inclusive of both new and old ones.

What in your view could stem the tide of human settlements being razed to the ground every winter?

While the informal settlements are being upgraded, government has agreed to escalate re-blocking and de-clustering. This process will alleviate the unstructured location of informal units next to each other and create pathways for accessibility of emergency services and health and safety personnel in the event of a disaster or fire incident. The permanent solution will be the formalisation of informal settlements that will be realised over time within the available means.

What is the solution to remove the danger of flooding in human settlements?

The availability of well-located land for human settlements development is essential. As the government, we will do our part to provide housing for the qualifying beneficiaries. Equally, we call upon the people who reside in flood line areas to heed our call and move to areas suitable for human habitation.

What is the plan in place to deal with emergencies and not be eclipsed by NGOs who seem to always step in first?

All sectors have a role to play. The NGOs play an important role in assisting with immediate humanitarian needs such as food and warm clothes. Human Settlements department intervention is that of providing emergency shelter, provision of rebuilding materials (informal settlements), and Temporal Residential Areas. We have also brought NGOs on board to work with us to review our policy on human settlements.

What action are you taking against contractors who have collapsed mega projects such as Montrose?

Our message has been very clear and that is contractors must deliver quality houses, on time and within budget. For those that fail to honour their contractual obligations, there must be consequences.

What happened to the R60k per shack scandal? Was this ever followed up or was this simply forgotten?

We have stated on numerous occasions that fraud and corruption will never be tolerated. We are also clear that law must take its course against those who are found to have broken the law. With regards to Talana, the law enforcement agencies have been seized with the matter. Accordingly, actions have been taken against those implicated, including restricting the affected service provider from doing business with the government.

What happened to the relocation of people on the rail line of PRASA?

In the last financial year we redirected funds, R50 million, to the City of Cape Town so that the city could purchase land to relocate people from the PRASA lines and the city refused to utilise the money for this purpose and opted to return the money back to the national treasury. To take matters forward, our agency, the Housing Development Agency, has worked together with PRASA to restore the rail services. This has been done by relocating affected households to identified land parcels. We have further directed the City of Cape Town to use available grants, namely, Urban Settlement Development Grant (USDG) and Informal Settlements Upgrading Programme Grant (ISUPG), to provide basic services to those who have been affected by relocation.

What happened to the issue of corruption in the allocation of land and houses in local municipalities?

All the matters related to corruption in relation to Human Settlements that have come to our attention have been reported to law enforcement and from time to time they update us of the status of all these matters. Some of them are before the courts and others are still under investigation. Our view is that the corrupt and the corrupted must be held responsible for their illegal actions. The digitisation of the beneficiary management and allocation system is on track with SITA, which will assist with curbing beneficiary list manipulation. This process will minimise human intervention in the beneficiary list and ensure that allocation is transparent.

What is the deal with the military veterans where housing is concerned?

The Department is moving with urgency to allocate housing to military veterans verified and confirmed by the Department of Military Veterans (DMV). In responding to the plight of military veterans so that we do not have a situation where they are homeless, we have agreed to engage all formations to agree for us to provide the normal BNG while awaiting their verification and once this is done by DMV, their top-up subsidy to be provided to the military veterans.

How are you dealing with the so-called missing middle of those who don’t qualify for your RDP housing?

Providing funding to men and women towards first-time ownership promotes economic empowerment and stability, thus benefiting society as a whole. Through First Home Finance offered by National Housing Finance Corporation, an agency of the department, we have delivered over 22 000 subsidies since 2019. This was against the set target of 18 000 housing units. During the financial year 2023-2024, we assisted 2 717 women to the value of R244.2 million through First Home Finance to buy their first homes. This has leveraged private sector funding of R1.2 billion in the affordable housing market. We have also increased our efforts to deliver rental stock through the social housing programme which is driven by the SHRA.

30 years of democracy: we used few opportunities, wasted many, and lost more

Dr Theuns Eloff takes a look back on 30 years of democracy in
South Africa by highlighting the opportunities used, wasted, and lost.

 The inauguration of Nelson Mandela as president in May 1994 with his two deputies, FW de Klerk and Thabo Mbeki, gave us all hope that as a country we will succeed. The more recent images of dilapidated Eskom power stations, the closed SAPS headquarters, raw sewerage running in the streets of countless towns, and crime victims are symbols of failure and despondence. We had the opportunities, used but a few, wasted many, and lost even more.

The first few years of the Mandela era were euphoric, with enthusiasm, many plans, some progress. During the beginning of the Mbeki era this continued, with economic growth of close to 5% for a few quarters. Then Zuma dethroned Mbeki and the nine lost years began. When Ramaphosa succeeded Zuma in 2018, there were gleams of hope again, but it soon became clear that the consequences of state capture and cadre deployment were overpowering. Ramaphosa, however well-intentioned, struggled to make meaningful progress with the fight against corruption, state incompetence, and faction fighting in the ANC–amongst others.

There are many possible answers to the question, “What went wrong during the past 30 years?” One’s answer will depend on political outlook, ability to analyse, and honesty. Without claiming the absolute truth or total objectivity, here are some answers according to an Afrikaner who had opposed apartheid as a student, who participated in the 1987 Dakar talks, and played a role in the peace process of 1991, the constitutional negotiations of 1992-93, the establishment of the Business Trust in 1999, and the successful merger of two universities in 2004.

Which opportunities were used?

Building on the successful adoption of the Constitution in 1996, South Africa built a strong multiparty democracy with regular and free and fair elections. And despite criticism of the Constitution and the judiciary during the past few years, the rule of law remains strong. In the Mandela and Mbeki years, some progress had also been made with socio-economic issues, especially housing, electricity, and water. The number of learners in schools and universities increased notably. Despite low economic growth, the country has developed a stronger black middle class. The ANC government’s system of social grants has been criticised for not being sustainable. Nevertheless, independent studies have shown that the grant system has created something of a safety net for the poor, and that it prevented the further deepening of poverty.

What went wrong?

All South Africans–but especially the ANC–underestimated the demands and complexity to govern a country, especially one coming from the isolated world of apartheid into a globalised world. The ANC government also got rid of civil service experience too soon, without making provision for learning and mentoring. Even with the addition of the United Democratic Front, the ANC as a liberation organisation simply did not have the expertise and experience to govern an extremely complex country.

Secondly, the ANC remained, by its own admission a liberation organisation, without renewing itself into a modern political party. Mbeki was making progress in this regard when the ANC redeployed him. This resulted in schizophrenic economic policies and an inability to understand the tough world of globalisation.

Thirdly, the so-called National Democratic Revolution still remains the cornerstone of ANC thinking. In terms of this, the ANC has set itself a goal to gain all levers of power in the state and the private sector. The mechanism to achieve this is demographic representivity. This means that all organisations, both public and private, must reflect the racial composition of the country, i.e. 81% African black, 8% white, 9% coloured and 2% Indian. Like apartheid, this doctrine was never introduced into formal legislation, but nevertheless became the “national norm”. Essentially, it means that, even in civil society organisations, black South Africans always have to be in control, with racial minorities destined to be in an inferior and often alienated position. This is the essence of what racial transformation has become, mainly using the legislation governing employment equity and black economic empowerment.

Fourthly, the ANC introduced the concept of “cadre deployment” at its Mafikeng conference in the late nineties. Although introduced by Mbeki, it was Zuma who perfected cadre deployment in the worst sense of the word. The Zondo Commission found that the way it was implemented during the Zuma years (and probably thereafter) was clearly unconstitutional and unlawful. South Africa today has a civil service, state owned enterprises (SOEs), and other public institutions literally riddled with cadres, mostly unqualified and often incompetent.

Fifthly, corruption, that was the order of the day during the Zuma years, has become endemic at all levels in the civil service. The ANC and the National Prosecuting Authority have been largely ineffective in fighting this.

Those who defend cadre deployment as something that all governments worldwide use, forget that it is the toxic combination of cadre deployment, racial transformation, and corruption that makes cadre deployment so devastating in South Africa. Without the 81-8-9-2 formula and corruption, cadre deployment would have been just another government practice. Almost all ills in Eskom, Transnet, the South African Police Service, SOEs, municipalities, and other state entities can be traced back to this toxic combination. This will be the lasting legacy of the ANC in the first 30 years of our democracy.

What are the consequences?

The consequences of the above issues are there for all South Africans to see. Entitlement, lack of any accountability, and an external locus of control (it is never my fault) cause a total lack of ethics, morality, service delivery, and batho pele (the people first). This has become ke pele (me first), and my time to eat. Report on report denounces civil service’s incompetence, lack of expertise, and lack of ability to manage, to do maintenance and to spend funds properly. Blackouts and lack of water and sanitation are everyday occurrences. The state has largely imploded.

The ANC government and the state had in 30 years made a minimal impact on the unholy trinity of poverty, unemployment, and inequality. The early gains in terms of housing, electricity, and water provision have paled into insignificance. The wasting and losing of opportunities to take the country and all its people forward, are stark.

What is going wrong today?

It is a worrying fact that the things that have gone wrong are not close to being recognised or rectified. In actual fact, the ANC has hardened its attitude around cadre deployment. And as the ANC government is steadily losing its grip on power and the capacity to implement, there is a clear centralising trend. Plans for a National Health Insurance scheme and the envisaged removing of the powers of school governing bodies are but two examples. The race card is also being played more frequently, while the NEC after its last election had to appoint a few (token) members of minority groups–the proud non-racial movement having become an African nationalist party.

But all is not lost

There are, however, positive signs that all is not lost. With the national and provincial elections in May 2024, political change is in the air and some form of coalition government at national level and in three or four provinces is probable. In the short term, this may be tumultuous, but eventually it will be good for democracy and the country.

Civil society had played a crucial role in the demise of apartheid. It will play a further role in the development of our democracy.

Our Constitution remains a foundation on which to build a better society. Together with a still-independent judiciary, it gives us the parameters to develop our country to its fullest potential. And finally, the majority of ordinary South Africans, who have survived the worst of the last 30 years and developed tenacity and endurance, remain the country’s strongest asset. We will be active participants in ensuring that the next 30 years will be much better than the last.

Dr Theuns Eloff is the former Vice Chancellor of the North West University and Director of the FW De Klerk Foundation.

PROFILE – THEUNS ELOFF

Between 1972 and 1989, Eloff obtained B-degrees in law and theology, and masters and doctoral degrees in theology at the former Potchefstroom University. In 1982, he became pastor of the Reformed Church Brooklyn-Pretoria, but after the 'Dakarsafari' in 1987, he left the ministry in 1989 and in 1990 became head of the Consultative Business Movement. He was involved in the facilitation and planning of the National Peace Convention, head of the CODESA Secretariat. and head of Administration of the Multiparty Negotiation Process (1992-1993). He became CEO of the National Business Initiative in 1995.

In 2002, he became Vice-Chancellor of his Alma Mater, and later first Vice-Chancellor of the new North-

West University (2004-2014). Between 2005 and 2013, he served as chairperson of Higher Education

SA and chairperson of the Association of Commonwealth Universities. He is currently chairperson of various

Afrikaans trusts, as well as of Astral Foods. He was executive director of the FW de Klerk Foundation from July 2016 to the end of May 2019. He is also chairing the Afrikaner Africa Initiative, a partnership between a number of Afrikaner organisations aimed at reconciliation, dialogue and collaborative projects in education, agriculture, and economics.

He is the recipient of several awards, including the JCI's Ten Outstanding Persons of the World and the WEF's 100 Global Leaders for Tomorrow, as well as an honorary doctorate from London South Bank University. He is an extraordinary professor at the Potchefstroom Business School. He is married to Suzette, with two daughters, one son-in-law, and three granddaughters. They live in Pretoria.

Reflecting on 30 years of freedom: the journey of South Africa and the role of the Economic Freedom Fighters

Julius Malema reflects on 30 years of democracy and looks ahead to what the future may hold with the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) at the helm of the country

As South Africa commemorates 30 years of freedom from apartheid, it is a time for reflection on the highs and lows of our journey as a nation. From the euphoria of the first democratic elections in 1994 to the challenges and struggles that have followed, the path to freedom has been marked by triumphs and setbacks. As the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), we stand ready to lead our country forward into a future where true economic and social justice is a reality for all.

The year 1994 was a watershed moment in South Africa’s history. After decades of brutal apartheid rule, millions of South Africans exercised their democratic right to vote for the first time. The election of Nelson Mandela as president symbolised the promise of a new era of reconciliation, justice, and equality. It was a time of hope and optimism, as the nation embarked on the journey towards building a non-racial, non-sexist, and democratic society.

In the years that followed, South Africa made significant strides in dismantling the structures of apartheid and building a more inclusive society. The adoption of a progressive constitution, the establishment of democratic institutions, and the implementation of policies aimed at redressing historical injustices were among the achievements of the post-apartheid era. However, alongside these successes, there were also challenges and disappointments.

In reflecting on 30 years of freedom from apartheid, it is impossible to ignore the deep betrayal inflicted upon the people of South Africa by the African National Congress (ANC). Once hailed as the liberators of our nation, the ANC has strayed far from its revolutionary roots, succumbing to corruption, cronyism, and a disregard for the plight of the most vulnerable in society. While the ANC may have played a pivotal role in ending apartheid, its post-apartheid governance has been marred by scandal and incompetence.

The Freedom Charter, adopted by the Congress of the People in 1955, remains a powerful symbol of the aspirations of the South African people for a society based on justice, equality, and freedom. The Charter boldly proclaimed the vision of a democratic South Africa where the wealth of the country would be shared among all its citizens, regardless of race or class.

It called for the nationalisation of key industries, the redistribution of land, and the provision of free and quality education, healthcare, and housing for all. However, despite the promise of the Freedom Charter, many of its principles remain unfulfilled. Economic power remains concentrated in the hands of a wealthy elite, while millions of South Africans continue to live in poverty and deprivation.

From the mismanagement of state-owned enterprises to the failure to deliver basic services to millions of South Africans, the ANC has failed to live up to the aspirations of those who fought tirelessly for freedom and equality. The EFF stands as a stark contrast to the ANC, offering a clear alternative for those disillusioned by decades of broken promises and betrayal.

Economic inequality remains one of the most pressing issues facing South Africa today. Despite the end of apartheid, the majority of black South Africans continue to live in poverty, while a small elite enjoys vast wealth and privilege. The legacy of apartheid-era economic policies, coupled with corruption and mismanagement, has perpetuated this inequality, leaving millions of South Africans marginalised and excluded from the country’s economic prosperity.

The EFF emerged as a response to these entrenched inequalities and injustices.

Founded on the principles of economic freedom, social justice, and the empowerment of the marginalised, the EFF has been at the forefront of the struggle for radical economic transformation. From advocating for land expropriation without compensation to calling for the nationalisation of key industries, the EFF has consistently championed policies that challenge the status quo and address the root causes of poverty and inequality.

As we reflect on 30 years of freedom, the EFF stands ready to take on the responsibility of governing our country. The upcoming elections on 29 May 2024 present an opportunity for South Africans to choose a government that is truly committed to delivering on the promise of freedom and equality. The EFF offers a bold vision for the future. Our manifesto outlines a comprehensive plan for transforming South Africa’s economy and society. We will implement policies that ensure equitable access to land, housing, healthcare, education, and employment opportunities for all. We will tackle corruption and maladministration head-on, holding those responsible accountable for their actions. And we will work tirelessly to build a society where the wealth of the nation is shared equitably among all its citizens through nationalisation of resources and beneficiation.

The journey towards freedom is ongoing, and the road ahead may be challenging. But with the EFF at the helm, South Africa has the opportunity to realise the promise of freedom that was envisioned in 1994. As we look towards the future, we remember the sacrifices of those who came before us and the struggles that lie ahead. Together, we can build a South Africa that is truly free, just, and equitable for all its people.

Julius Malema is the leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).

The role of the faith community in the public discourse and in shaping South Africa’s future state

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba on the role of different sectors in South Africa

 The daily lessons which I read as I prepared this column were, at their heart, about the importance of service to people and to all God’s creation, carried out “in remembrance of him”. As religious leaders, such service calls us to stand in the gap that enables the transformation of individuals, societies and oppressive regimes and systems.

This is often unpopular. As Jesus says in Mark’s Gospel, “Prophets are not without honour, except in their home town...” (Mark 6:4) When in 1989 our Archbishop at the time called for a huge peace march in response to police killings, the young activist Cheryl Carolus demanded: “Who gave you the mandate, Father Desmond?”

But supporting Archbishop Desmond’s position, Gandhi has been quoted as saying that “Those who believe religion and politics aren’t connected, don’t understand either.” Alternatively, as John the Baptist aptly puts it, fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy as he preaches and baptises in the wilderness of Judea, “prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God”. (Matthew 3:3)

Yes, we can and must roll up our sleeves as religious leaders and get our hands dirty. But our key role is also to have the theological imagination to articulate and develop paths which lead to God’s justice and peace. I have called this a New Struggle Theology, a theology of equality.

Our mandate is to pursue the justice of God, to put a spotlight on those who are on the periphery; to read the signs of our times and say, “Thus says the Lord.” As we do so, we need to be mindful that we are not the only ones with this calling; that we don’t know everything, nor do we possess all the solutions. As Paul writes to the Corinthians, and as Passiontime reminds us: “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face.”

Last week on Tuesday, together with bishops of the Ethiopian Episcopal Church and the Roman Catholic Church, I visited the Vatican, where we met and prayed as we renewed our commitment to pursue our vocation to serve especially those who live and die in apartheid contexts—the excluded, those discriminated against, those taken hostage or the relatives of those who have died in conflict. While it was key that we prayed together, we also gained the perspectives of others, and we resolved to seek to act as peacemakers and to continue to do so under the guidance of God.

Throughout our meetings and our prayers, I was intensely aware of our shortcomings, of the enormity of the task we have set ourselves, and of our own need to be equipped for it. But I was also assured by the fact that we are not alone, nor do we need to be self-sufficient; we are part of the cloud of witnesses that have gone before us and empower us.

We need to have the courage to acknowledge our shortcomings and our mistakes, to weep, to embrace our weaknesses and to work to heal our brokenness. Yes, religious leaders do mess up – just like the cunning business people, politicians and leaders of other sectors of society I have been reflecting on this Lent. It pains us when they have hurt instead of healing, when they have destroyed instead of building, when they have betrayed trust instead of building it. Some can be swayed by terrible ideologies that maim, destroy, are genocidal, or are racist, discriminatory and evil. Some are manipulated by the love of power and money and forget their main vocation, to work for the justice of God and the transformation of societies.

Before writing this column, I consulted a number of leaders in various fields on what I should say. Their rich responses were too numerous to include all of them, but they mainly focussed on what religious leaders should be doing, not only in our churches but also through church NGOs, family trusts and the like, to create public spaces to reflect on ethical and moral concerns.

A family member who supports the SA Communist Party told me that “church leadership” is far too quiet and confused in democratic South Africa. Our views are all over the place, he said, and it is unclear what we stand for. He urged us to adopt a faith leadership manifesto, and at annual conferences to pinpoint one social issue to concentrate on for the next year, then to choose another one the following year.

A devout religious colleague said we are too busy as religious leaders; that we have too little time to pray and reflect deeply on contextual matters, as our predecessors did in apartheid times. This prompted the question: What happened to the “see, judge and act” models for small groups? Yet another respondent, a parishioner, a retired priest and once a liberation fighter in exile, criticised us as just wanting proximity to people and places of power, getting drunk on these associations and forgetting the poor.

A Muslim friend, a former journalist and published author, said she still has hope in the power of interfaith action to foster peace, but urged us to intervene where society hurts the most, and to improve our track record in bringing about gender equality and ending gender-based violence.

A retired bishop from a different denomination noted that religious leaders’ voices have historically been an equalising force for disenfranchised individuals without a voice. His strong criticism of the current political environment underlined the need to continue to play this role. Today’s environment, he said, is basically set by political and social networks that have evolved into platforms for fake news and propaganda, empowering disruptive voices, ideologies and messages, essentially trying through illegitimate means to hijack democracy.

Of course, as one would expect, political leaders often dispute the notion that moral and religious convictions should be part of public discourse. But if we were to exclude them, we would cut ourselves off from a wide range of considerations, issues and truths that often matter in the way we govern our lives together. In my lifetime, sharing secular views with a religious overlay has made for a richer, sometimes disruptive, but clearly higher-level discourse, a better kind of democratic citizenship and the cleansing power of transparency.

Hearing competing viewpoints tests our abilities to be active listeners, focusing on understanding versus replying. It helps us to test our limits, to rise above the crowded field of mediocrity and to find out how far we can go as learners, listeners, and champions of moral and values-based leadership. Most importantly, it allows us to share with each other what we believe, without stereotyping and genuinely searching for what is in South Africa’s best interests.

When South Africa came to a consensus about ending apartheid and delivering full civil rights to all adult citizens, regardless of race or gender, we did so for different reasons. Some advocated the equality of all human beings as children of God. Others argued on the basis of self-evident truths about human nature. Yet others cited the overall increase in happiness that would result from equal treatment. Not everyone accepted the premises of all of these arguments, but that did not prevent us from reaching a common understanding and alignment in which different people accepted the same conclusion from quite different arguments. So there is no objection in principle to religious arguments in political debates.

During the past decade and more, religious leaders have “stood in the gap” to try to transform the lives of individuals and our society in many varied ways. We have undertaken “walks of witness” in Ukraine, in Alexandra in Johannesburg when xenophobia was at its height, in areas of Cape Town lacking proper sanitation and in the Johannesburg city centre after a devastating building fire. We have partnered with others in building school toilets at Jane Furse in Limpopo and in promoting healing at Marikana.

We have, through visits and advocacy, raised the plight of people in Lesotho, the DR Congo, Lesotho, Tigray in Ethiopia and South Sudan. We have raised out voices against corruption in the public and private sectors, advocated sustainable development in the mining sector and lobbied the Paris climate talks.

Just this week, on Human Rights Day, members of different faith groups in Cape Town walked from Simonstown to the city – the equivalent of the length of the Gaza strip – as part of the internationally-organised Gaza Ceasefire Pilgrimage. In May, the SA Council of Churches will co-host with Kairos Southern Africa a Global Israel anti-Apartheid Conference, in which we will engage with representatives of Palestinian churches to find paths to sustainable peace with justice.

And as we head towards elections in South Africa, we will be bringing moral pressure to bear on the process as part of creating a free and fair climate for voting. Apart from calling for special prayers for the election on Sunday May 5th we will act as election observers on May 29th..

During our visit to the Vatican last week, two young ladies approached me and a Roman Catholic bishop, opened a big plastic bag full of rosaries, and asked us to bless them. In unison, we did so in the name of the Triune God. Smiling and thanking us, one of them explained that she was getting married and wanted to give each of her woman guests a rosary.

That episode illustrated the intangibility of how so much of our faith works—a precarious blessing from those who have travelled from afar, the telling of a story by a bride and now she and her guests will share that blessing. On landing in Johannesburg from Rome, I shared the iftar with a friend and colleagues, breaking the Ramadan fast with them. And soon I hope to meet with South African Jewish leaders to discuss our differences over Gaza.

The outcome of such engagements can often not be immediately or easily assessed, and in pursuing them we have to be prepared to be prophets without honour in our own homes. But the reality is that we brought nothing into the world, and we will take nothing out of it, and while we are here we are under a Gospel imperative to model God’s love. We will do that by striving together to make the world a more just, a more equal and a better place than we found it.

Archbishop Thabo Makgoba is the Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town and Metropolitan of the Anglican Church of Southern Africa.

Celebrating a modern icon of education in South Africa

On 23 February this year, the University of Mpumalanga (UMP) bestowed the honour of naming their state-of-the-art library and information centre after their long-serving and dedicated Vice-Chancellor, Prof Thoko Mayekiso. Here we chart her journey to this milestone and highlight her work in ensuring women are given a chance to shine.

 The Thoko Mayekiso Library and Information Centre stands as a monument to Prof Mayekiso’s decade of achievements and milestones at the helm of UMP, which saw her take office from day one when the tertiary institution opened its doors in 2014.

Now in her third term as vice-chancellor, Prof Mayekiso is aiming to continue her work in growing a university which is steadfast in its aims to transform society and afford all a chance to create a future for themselves.

While it is unusual to see a vice-chancellor helm a university for so long, the reality is that her work speaks for itself, and the legacy which she is building will continue to grow alongside her name being put up in lights on the building of the library and information centre.

Prof Mayekiso is living proof that hard work, dedication to your craft, and a desire to reach for the very top is possible for anyone who is brave enough to reach out and grab it.

She has a BA, BA Honours, and MA in Psychology from the University of Fort Hare to her name. She furthered her studies at the Free University of Berlin in Germany, where she obtained her D Phil (Cum Laude) in Psychology. She also holds a Higher Education diploma (Post Graduate) from the University of South Africa and is a registered clinical psychologist with the Health Professional Council of South Africa (HPCSA).

In her sterling academic career, Prof Mayekiso has held the positions of Senior Lecturer, Associate Professor, Professor, Head of Department, and Vice–Dean at the then University of Transkei. She practiced as a Honorary Clinical Fellow at the Greenwood Institute for Child Health, University of Leicester, and simultaneously served as a clinical psychologist in the Department of Medical Psychology, Leicester General Hospital in the United Kingdom.

The South African University Vice–Chancellors’ Association and the American Council on Education awarded her a fellowship which was tenable at the University of Washington, Seattle.

She then joined the University of the Witwatersrand in 2001 where she served as Head of School, Chair of Psychology, Deputy Dean, and then Acting Dean in the Faculty of Humanities. She proceeded to the Nelson Mandela University in 2007 as an Executive Dean in the Faculty of Arts, and then Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research and Engagement) in 2009.

Prof Mayekiso is also a C3-rated scientist by the National Research Foundation and has published a number of articles in accredited journals, written book chapters, and supervised 26 masters students and 12 doctoral students. She is a member of the Academy of Science of South Africa (ASSAf) and is also a member of the ASSAf Steering Committee on the establishment of the Forum on Just Transition. She is the chairperson of the USAf Research and Innovation Strategy Group, as well as a board member of Higher Health.

With all of this experience within her armoury, Prof Mayekiso has worked wonders as the vice-chancellor of UMP, helping it to grow to unprecedented levels in a relatively short period of time. Just 169 students enrolled across three qualifications upon its opening in 2014. In 2023, 8 366 students attended the university, studying 65 qualifications ranging from Higher Certificates to Doctoral Degrees.

All the while, she has always been an advocate for women’s rights and ensuring transformation is more than just a buzzword on campus.

”The challenges of equality, equity, fairness, and justice are not over. As much as there has been some progress made towards the empowerment of women, more is yet to be done. Women students should, therefore, remain focused and vigilant, to ensure that they do not lose agency in matters affecting women,” Prof Mayekiso insists.

”They need to keep the motto, ‘Lift as you Rise’, in mind. They need to claim their space as women and re-imagine their own future through their own eyes. They have to develop the will to succeed, as well as the resilience to withstand difficulties and challenges. ‘Never Ever Give Up’ should be our mantra as the UMP women.”

Thankfully for Prof Mayekiso, as far as women empowerment goes from an institutional standpoint, UMP has always been on board with her vision.

UMP has appointed women in senior positions, both in academic leadership and support positions. In 2021, Justice Mandisa Maya was installed as the second Chancellor of UMP, Prof Shirley Sommers took up the role of Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Teaching and Learning, while Prof Hilda Israel was appointed as the Dean of the Faculty of Education. In 2020, Dr Loshni Govender was appointed as the Executive Director: Human Resources.

These appointments over time have, Prof Mayekiso believes, signified UMP’s commitment to women empowerment.

Prof Mayekiso states: ”But we also need to be deliberate about what we do, and not leave anything to chance. Creating opportunities for dialogue and robust engagement should be the order of the day. The plan to help women reach equality should be: empower, educate, revise, advocate.

”Equality will not be given on a platter. We should be intentional and systematic in how we work. Gathering empirical evidence and speaking up where we see inequality rear its ugly head, is the way to go. We should educate the younger generation of men, who are our own sons, to commit themselves to the goals and objectives of equality. Eradicating patriarchy and chipping away at it daily should be our mantra.”

As a way to continue the transformation journey at UMP, Prof Mayekiso and her team create goals to ensure that they never lose sight of what is incredibly important to the overall well-being of not just the university, but the country as a whole.

”We have committed ourselves to transformation targets. By setting these targets, the institution is forced to revisit them. Redress and transformation are not easy to drive, in the main because detractors speak of reverse discrimination.

“Nothing could be further from the truth. We also have workshops where women are empowered and informed. We are also deliberate in identifying young women with potential and exposing them to opportunities for growth,” Prof Mayekiso explains.

While Prof Mayekiso has clearly already cemented her legacy at UMP with the naming of the library and information centre after her, in terms of what more she wants to contribute to her legacy, Prof Mayekiso is very philosophical in her answer.

”The question of leaving a legacy is an imperative, but it starts with the very first steps and decisions that one takes. With time, a track record is set, and credibility becomes noticed, as more and more staff and students come to accept that one is a servant leader who strives all the time to work in the best interests of UMP.

”The prudent management of both people and financial resources ensures that one is not only leading for now, but conscious of the fact that there are generations of students who are still coming. They should find a UMP that has been able to stand the test of time,” she concludes.

And we look forward to seeing what comes next.

From inhumanity to
30 years of humanity

We must strive continue to break the shackles of inhumanity to make a more human society, writes Ronald Lamola

In 1994, as a 10-year-old boy, I watched my parents cast their votes with joy on a TSB farm in Komatipoort, the then Eastern Transvaal, now Mpumalanga Province. I saw on the news, long queues of people, their faces glowing with anticipation and hope, ushering in our freedom. Back then, we were barred from playing or attending the same schools as white kids.

Fast forward to today, I am a proud LLB graduate from the University of Venda, my education funded by NFSAS, our country’s most significant breaker of generational poverty. I am a living testament to the transformative power of freedom. I am Tintswalo, and every household in this country has a Tintswalo.

Freedom has made the dreams of many black children like myself possible. We could aspire to be engineers, astronauts, and more, dreams that were unattainable under apartheid. This freedom was not handed to us on a silver platter; it came through the blood and sweat of our struggle heroes and heroines. Thirty years ago, on this day, a new dawn of hope was ushered in through the first democratic elections.

Freedom connected us with our roots, leading to the confident declaration by former President Thabo Mbeki, “I am an African.” This freedom signaled not just liberation for all, but also the responsibility to reconstruct and develop our country into one that is people-centered and people-driven. Nation-building was at the core of our vision and a central piece to the democratization of South Africa. This vision was reaffirmed by our 1996 Constitution, which is the supreme law of our country that affirms the democratic values of human dignity, equality, and freedom.

While it can be daunting to celebrate given the difficulties that our society still faces, progress should not be denied. Instead, it should be acknowledged with an intention to learn and resolve our challenges.

Our country saw a protracted struggle first against colonialism and later apartheid over a period of more than 300 years. We could not have resolved all the challenges created in 300 years of colonial rule in just 30 years, but we’ve laid a solid foundation to build a better life for all.

Today, we enjoy the freedom to love, to go wherever we want, to study whatever we want, and to become whoever we want to be. These freedoms, taken for granted today, were once reserved for whites only.

With this freedom, the 1996 Constitution envisaged a country that is sovereign, a democratic state guided by principles of constitutionalism, the rule of law, democracy, and accountability. As declared in the Constitutional Assembly, the constitution is now our DNA, permeating all facets of society.

Our Constitution enjoins us to fight against injustices anywhere in the world. As Nelson Mandela said: “For to be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” This is what drives us to fight injustices even in Palestine, Western Sahara, and Cuba.

Our continent has seen much struggle, where democracy has been questioned in the face of political violence. In our country, the appreciation of our freedom has seen growth in electoral participation, and the uncensored voice and space of civil society have been maintained, marking significant progress.

Democratic participation and active citizenry are based on this understanding and place upon us the responsibility to go out in our numbers on the 29th of May 2024, as was done 30 years ago on this day, to cast our vote to ensure that our government is ruled as a people-centered, and advances the will of our people.

This hope is well articulated by our former president Nelson Mandela as he cast his first vote, 30 years ago today, and stated that he cherished the idea of the new South Africa where all South Africans are equal and work together to bring about security, peace, and democracy in our country.

The last 30 years have laid a solid foundation for us to continue to build from. May the next 30 years, in our lifetime and that of our children, be that of equal enjoyment of economic, social, and political freedom.

We must strive continue to break the shackles of inhumanity to make a more human society.

Ronald Lamola is the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services.

South Africa from 1994 to 2024: the good, the bad, the ugly... and the hope

Bantu Holomisa highlights the areas where South Africa is succeeding and failing, with a dash of hope thrown into the mix

The Good

Anyone that says the past thirty years of South Africa’s democracy have all been doom and gloom are being unnecessarily negative. There certainly are things that are good in this country. We have a fairly independent justice system and free media. Our elections have been free and fair since 1994. Individuals are free to practice and express their religious faith or non-belief in public and in private. People are able to exercise the right to own property and establish private businesses without undue interference. There is academic freedom, and the educational system is free from political interference. South Africans are free to express their personal views on political or other sensitive topics without fear of surveillance or retribution. Individuals enjoy freedom of movement, and we are free to assemble. These are all good.

The Bad

We witness periodic flair-ups of community violence when our people protest poor service delivery. It is worrying, that people display such utter rage, vandalism, and signs of defiance during these protests and marches. It must however be clearly understood that poor service delivery is at the root of the dissatisfaction. The fact that government actively ignores communities’ pleas for attention only adds petrol to the fire.

Even though several infrastructure development projects have been introduced, most of the country’s infrastructure is deteriorating due to insufficient, or total lack of, maintenance. This is one of the worst indictments against the African National Congress (ANC) government to date—worse still is that infrastructure development is not keeping pace with our growing population.

For almost fifteen years now, South Africa has been experiencing debilitating power failures due to the ANC government’s refusal and failure to invest in new power stations in order to keep up with the energy needs of our economy. It is astounding that since 2008, no successful plans have been made to dig South Africa out of this energy quagmire.

Our porous borders mean that criminal elements enter the country, and we are facing the scourge of cash-in-transit heists, uninhibited drug distribution, violent robberies, counterfeiting, rampant prostitution, and human trafficking. The criminal justice system is unable to handle these problems, which makes our people feel justified in their actions against foreign nationals—legal and illegal.

Because of concerns around safety and security, the failing economy, high unemployment, and lack of job opportunities, the brain-drain is a problematic phenomenon in South Africa, and we are losing expertise to other countries.

The Ugly

Under the ANC government, South Africa’s economic growth is less than 1% per annum and the unemployment rate has reached crisis levels. According to StatsSA, the real unemployment is 41.2%, while youth unemployment stands at approximately 70%. South Africa’s debt to GDP ratio stands at 73.6% (R5.84 trillion). The budget deficit stands at about 5%. However, the governing party’s rampant corruption, governance failures, economic policy uncertainty, and sheer incompetence have inflicted the most damage on the South African economy, which constitutes a betrayal by the ANC to build a better life for all.

South Africa has one of the most unequal societies in the world and it also has one of the highest unemployment rates. Poverty and joblessness are ugly realities for far too many South Africans.

Corruption scandals and abuses of power that negatively impact on service delivery constantly challenge South Africa. This ranges from petty corruption such as bribery of low-level government officials, right to top ranking officials. At centre stage is government and those who are in its service, who do not care about the money they manage on behalf of the taxpayer and the people who it is supposed to benefit.

In 2023 alone, there were numerous corruption scandals that rocked the nation amounting to billions of Rands, not to mention scandals of the preceding decades and those infamously exposed in the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture (the Zondo Commission). The culprits who have looted state resources hide behind struggle credentials and, in many instances, loyalty is rewarded with protection against investigation and prosecution. There is a clear lack of political will to implement performance and consequence management.

Regarding state-owned enterprises (SOEs), corruption and maladministration are so pervasive that it is no wonder that they are failing and sinking deeper and deeper into trouble. Time and again SOEs are bailed out using taxpayers’ monies that is meant to uplift the nation. This practice of baling out SOEs using Public Investment Corporation (PIC) funds risks the Government Employees Pension Fund that is invested with the PIC.

There has, in addition, been an obsession to create a middle-class and funding has been made available to create businesses through, for instance, the PIC and the Industrial Development Corporation. Instead of generating job opportunities and creating wealth for fellow South Africans, these funds have been used by some to buy houses and expensive cars. In addition, these loans are not serviced, and the monies are written off as bad debt. The tender system has been abused to no end, where service providers have been forwarded tranches of money to start projects and they disappear without even lifting a finger. It is clear that there is no governmental monitoring and evaluation system to adjudicate the return on investment.

The ugly phenomenon of murder, violent crime, political assassinations, and drugs sold in broad daylight is cause for concern. It does not say much about a government that cannot keep its citizens safe. Not to mention that it scares off investors and tourists.

As of the 2022/2023 fiscal year, a total of 43 037 reported rape offenses were committed in South Africa. The justice system is failing victims of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF). The problems start with the underreporting of GBVF, as well as the intimidation and revictimisation of victims, even at police stations and within our communities. Perpetrators are often given bail, only to reoffend or even to escalate their crimes. It is estimated that over 40% of South African women will be raped in their lifetime and that only one in nine rapes are reported. In the few cases that are prosecuted, sentences are far too lenient and once on parole, convicted felons recommit and/or escalate.

The hope

Despite all the bad and the ugly, and with the good in mind, most South Africans are patriotic souls rising each day with the hope that this day will be better than the last. Our incontrovertible sense of humour has always carried us in good times and in bad times, and it is during moments such as the Rugby World Cup triumphs when we get a glimpse of the nation that has one heart and one mind, that is possible.

Bantu Holomisa is an MP and the President of the United Democratic Movement.

The wounds that still
need healing 30 years on

A new political leadership characterised by integrity, moral vision, and competence will play its part in healing the wounds of history, writes Michael Lapsley

  Who can forget the ecstasy of voting on 27 April 1994 and the inauguration of Nelson Mandela as South Africa’s first black president? For a moment, we had a glimpse of the society we were called to create, the Rainbow Nation at peace with itself.

When I went to vote and at the inauguration, I wore the habit of my religious order because for me it was a holy moment.

After centuries of dispossesion, colonialism, and apartheid, we were witnessing the birth of a non-racial and non-sexist democracy taking its rightful place in the community of nations. In our naivety, some of us believed that within a few short years we were going to create heaven on earth. Now we have sobered up.

Returning to South Africa after 16 years as part of the exile community in Lesotho and Zimbabwe, it was apparent to me that the whole society carried deep wounds. Because of what we had done and what was done to us, we suffered not just physically but were injured morally and spiritually.

The Constitution of South Africa was approved by the Constitutional Court on the 4th of December 1996.

The postamble states: “The adoption of this Constitution lays the secure foundation for the people of South Africa to transcend the divisions and strife of the past, which generated gross violations of human rights, the transgression of humanitarian principles in violent conflicts and a legacy of hatred, fear, guilt and revenge.

“These can now be addressed on the basis that there is a need for understanding but not for vengeance, a need for reparation but not for retaliation, a need for ubuntu but not for victimisation.”

Lofty ideals and striking in its use of emotional and spiritual language, more than legal and political categories.

To create a bridge from the old apartheid order and the present, we opted for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to bring to light the horrors of what we had done to each other.

The title of the Act is significant, especially the word ‘promotion’.

The Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act 34 of 1995.

There is a big difference between promoting something and achieving it.

What needed to happen but didn’t, was for processes of truth telling and reconciliation to happen in every town and village, community, and family. Meanwhile, a group of us developed an experiential methodology which we called a healing of the memories workshop. It was conceived of as a parallel process to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

One of our most successful interventions, although short lived through lack of ongoing funding, was a project led by Laura Schultz called, Ndabikum.

Tragically, many former combatants of the liberation movements have never been integrated into the formal economy. Ndabikum successfully brought together skills training, career guidance, personal counselling, and healing of memories.

Almost a generation later in 2018 we were approached by a group of military veterans asking us to work with them. One important element of the programme has been intergenerational conversations. Children and grandchildren listened to the veterans and vice versa, revealing their intergenerational trauma. We had workshops with participants from all sides of the armed conflict. Notwithstanding ideological differences, veterans experienced their common humanity as citizens damaged by their common experience of war.

As the saying goes, hurting people hurts others. Or as Chief Lutuli once said, “those who think of themselves as victims eventually become the victimisers of others”.

How many South Africans now in their retirement years still carry unhealed wounds from the apartheid years?

Some would argue that as a nation, all communities are trapped in a sense of victimhood.

Healing of Memories speaks to breaking the chain that turns victims into victimisers.

As people heal they are able to recover agency and become victors rather than victimisers. However, the psychological, emotional, and spiritual is intertwined with the economic, political, and social.

So my ability to transform my inner wounds is profoundly affected by poverty, unemployment, and inequality.

The pandemic of gender-based violence and femicide has become a hallmark of our society. It is connected to toxic masculinity and patriarchy, perhaps the oldest wound in the human family. In response, as an Institute, we work with the survivors of GBV. We also had a media campaign, ‘At the hands of men’.

The dismantling of patriarchy is an essential element for us to heal the wounds of history, especially in an age of gender fluidity creating real equality for all people will liberate men as much as women.

When the Truth Commission completed its task it made a wide range of proposals. This included reparations and a one-off wealth tax from those who benefitted from apartheid. The wealth tax was rejected. Until today survivors of human rights violations who were not included in the list of victims are still clamouring for reparations.

The TRC also referred between 300 and 400 cases for further investigation and prosecution by the National Prosecuting Authority. Until today, this has not happened, which has left many families witth wide gaping wounds and a feeling that they have been betrayed by the ANC government. It is widely believed that there was political interference. The recently released Ntsebeza has called for a formal investigation.

Just as our wounds as a nation stretch back through the centuries, so the healing journey of the nation will also take a number of generations. Speaking at the funeral of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela on 14 April 2018, President Cyril Ramaphosa said: “We must acknowledge that we are a society that is hurting, damaged by our past, numbed by our present and hesitant about our future.

“This may explain why we are easily prone to anger and violence.”

At the time I had hoped that the President’s words might spark a new national conversation about our woundedness and need for healing. It did not.

In 1994 and for some years afterwards, South Africa was celebrated as a moral giant and as a sign of hope. As the years have passed and the country has been permeated by corruption and loadshedding, the nation has become dispirited and disillusioned, especially with the political class. This has led each election to more and more millions of people, especially the youth, not bothering to vote. This deep cynicism is increased when the President keeps in his cabinet those singled out in the Zondo Report as well as the ANC Conference electing to high office others similarly mentioned.

A new political leadership characterised by integrity, moral vision, and competence will play its part in healing the wounds of history.

What happened last year with the Springboks and to some degree with Bafana Bafana underlines a primary identity we all have as South Africans and a deep desire to live together in peace and friendship.

The decision of South Africa to take Israel to the ICJ for genocide in Gaza is being celebrated across the world and has shown that despite our own woundedness, we are still capable of morality, compassion, and solidarity on the world stage. It was a redemptive act as we sought to bring good out of evil, life out of death.

Even as we face our own wounds together, if we are to survive as a species we have to attend to the wounds of Mother Earth.

Fr Michael Lapsley SSM is the President of the Healing of Memories Global Network

Reflections on the South African higher education system thirty years into democracy

While there is much to celebrate in the thirty years of democracy, there is much more to be done to advance the constitutional imperative of freeing the potential of every person in our country through access to quality and transformative education in the next thirty years and beyond, writes Sizwe Mabizela

In the thirty years of democracy, our higher education system has undergone substantial change and transformation. The demise of the repressive, oppressive, and discriminatory apartheid system meant that the fragmented and ethnically/racially-based configuration of the higher education system designed to serve the apartheid imagination had to be dismantled and the entire higher education sector reconstructed to serve the South African society in a new constitutional order.

The constant and recurring theme in our public higher education in the thirty years of democracy has been the transformation of the higher education sector. Indeed, the Education White Paper 3 (1997): ‘A Programme for the Transformation of Higher Education’ created the policy framework to advance the agenda for transformation of the higher education sector and the National Plan for Higher Education in South Africa (February 2001) was intended to “give effect to the transformation of the higher education system outlined in the Education While Paper 3”. The National Plan for Higher Education was also intended to “provide an implementation framework… and chart a path that locates the higher education system as key engine driving and contributing to the reconstruction and development of South African society”. The transformation of the higher education system over the past thirty years has had to be pursued within the context of rapidly-changing, complex, and globalised higher education.

Commendable progress has been achieved in some areas and daunting challenges remain in others. The restructuring of the public higher education system through mergers and incorporations of institutions ensured that the public higher education system, which had been designed for different racial and ethnic groups in South Africa, was transformed into a single, coordinated, integrated, and inclusive system. The success of this restructuring of the higher education sector has had varying degrees of success. Some remnants of the apartheid legacy persist in the restructured system where the profile on some campuses and practices have remained largely unchanged.

The system has grown considerably over the past thirty years with the growth being the highest among the previously excluded segments of our society. While the enrolments have increased, the success rates remain disturbingly low and racially skewed, with the success among black students being the lowest. More than half of the students who enrol in our higher education system drop out of the system without a qualification. These students leave the university system with shattered dreams and a huge debt which hobbles them for the better part of their lives. This is a colossal waste of human talent and needs an urgent response. The phenomenal growth of female student enrolments to surpass that of the males and their outperformance of the male students is a noteworthy achievement.

The funding of public higher education is a major constraining factor in it fulfilling its role as a cornerstone for economic, social, cultural, and research and innovation development in our society. Government funding of the sector has not kept pace with the cost of delivery of quality and transformative higher education. The 2015/16 #FeesMustFall student protests were triggered by the higher than affordable student tuition fee increases which universities levied in order to offset the shortfall from government funding. Following these widespread protests, the Heher Commission was established to investigate the possibility of “fee-free” higher education and training. Soon after the completion and submission of the work of the Commission, Mr Jacob Zuma opportunistically announced, on the eve of the African National Congress’s Elective Conference in December 2017, the introduction of “free higher education” for the poor and working-class students. At the time, the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS) had neither the capacity nor the appropriate infrastructure to implement this significant policy change. Over the years, NSFAS has struggled to effectively manage a well-intentioned student funding scheme, which many believe may be unaffordable into the future. Government funding of higher education remains inadequate and the NSFAS remains in a precarious state.

The demographic composition of the student population in public higher education institutions has changed significantly. The social class, cultural, linguistic, and economic backgrounds of students are now hugely diverse. This diversity, which is essential for academic excellence, has brought issues of transformation and responsiveness in higher education into even greater focus. Critical to transformation and responsiveness are the key issues of: what we teach, who teaches, how we teach, how we assess, what we value as knowledge, which scholarly voices are heard and how to defend others who are silenced; ability to recognise and appreciate different lived experiences that students bring with them into a classroom, taking cognisance of different learning styles of our students, recognition and celebration of diversity and difference, and levering these to create richer learning experiences for students, social and demographic composition of our academic and support staff, daily discourses and the assumptions we make about each other, alienating institutional culture, experiences of exclusion, how we treat each other, and more. We must continually reflect on what it means to be a university in a society in which grinding and debilitating poverty and inequality are at every turn. Are we sufficiently attuned to the challenges facing our society? Are we responsive to them? When we promise young people access to quality higher education, what kind of knowledge are we creating access to? Do our curricula draw on wide and diverse epistemic cultures and traditions from diverse parts of the world or we are still privileging knowledge from some parts of the world to the exclusion of others? Are we privileging certain ways of knowing, certain ways of doing and certain ways of being without paying due regard to different ways of knowing, doing and being? How do we construct the learning and teaching space so that it can facilitate authentic, deep and transformative intellectual engagement? Are we reflecting sufficiently on the philosophy and approach that underpin our curricula? Do our curricula positively respond to the global challenges of inequality, increasing human misery and environmental degradation?

Over the past eight to ten years, the ‘decolonisation’ of curricula in higher education has been at the centre of the transformation agenda. At the core of the decolonisation project is to challenge the pervasive and hegemonic dominance of the Eurocentric view and approach to curricula which excludes indigenous knowledge systems and knowledge from the South. The decolonisation project has made it possible to acknowledge the importance and value of different ‘knowledges’ and to validate these in a manner that fosters social and epistemic justice, inclusivity and intellectual freedom. More work still needs to be done to accord all knowledge systems parity of esteem and celebration.

Over the past thirty years, the State has used its steering mechanisms planning, funding and quality) of higher education (mostly in a measured and cautious way. The result has been that, despite the challenges and difficulties, the South African higher education system is still one of the strongest on the continent. Intellectual and scholarly contributions are disproportionately high and the internal mechanisms to manage the quality of learning that students receive, have improved and been more widely consolidated across the higher education institutions. The State’s steering mechanisms need recalibration in order to facilitate deeper differentiation and diversification in the public higher education system. This will prevent ‘mission drift’, as all institutions try to converge to some fictional gold standard of what defines a proper university, and the resultant homogenisation of the higher education system. It will also ensure that the system is able to cater for diverse student needs, interests and abilities. The society is best served when the system provides for different and distinctive missions and purposes for each of its higher education institutions and when the different missions are executed in a complementary and mutually supportive manner across the system.

Even as higher education adapts to the changes and inflections of our time, as it must, it should not lose sight of its important role in cultivating critical, informed and engaged citizens who can be agents of societal transformation and economic and social advancement. Inculcating values of solidarity, human dignity, social justice and human rights in the education of graduates should be embedded in the knowledge, skills and competencies developed in the holistic growth, development and academic success of students. Nurturing of skilled, knowledgeable and innovative leaders and professionals to serve a democratic order and the 21st knowledge economy should serve as a motive force.

The commodification of higher education through its packaging as a commodity for purchase by ‘customers’ (students) who can afford it is deeply problematic. It leads to the fixation with ‘global rankings’ as a marketing ploy to attract well-off students and make education inaccessible to those who come from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Going forward, there is a dire need to strengthen postgraduate education and funding thereof. Investing in research and innovation is vital to stimulate economic growth and development which, in turn, can address the socio-economic challenges of our country. Designing and implementing a financially affordable and sustainable funding mechanism for all academically capable students should remain the main priority going forward. Ensuring access with support and success for all students and reducing drop-out and failure rates will yield positive benefits for individuals and the society. Leveraging technology to support and facilitate learning will ensure greater success of students and also further expand access to higher education.

The higher education system should model the best that a society can be. Such social ills as gender-based violence, racism, sexism, homophobia and other forms of prejudice and intolerance should be addressed and eradicated from university campuses. These create an environment that militates against the realisation of the full potential of all students.

While there is much to celebrate in the thirty years of democracy, there is much more to be done to advance the constitutional imperative of freeing the potential of every person in our country through access to quality and transformative education in the next thirty years and beyond.

Sizwe Mabizela is the Vice-Chancellor of Rhodes University.

The dream of
1994 is not dead

Geordin Hill-Lewis uses Cape Town as an example
to demonstrate just how great South Africa could be

On the occasion of our democracy’s 30th birthday—and on the eve of our seventh national and provincial election–there is a growing sense that our country stands before a crossroads. For the first time in three decades, the result is not certain ahead of time, making this our most important election since 1994.

My hope is that the significance of this moment translates into increased interest and participation in our democratic process. Because the best way to celebrate 30 years of political freedom is to use that freedom to fight for a better outcome for our country and a better future for all South Africans.

An entire generation has now passed since we voted in our first democratic elections. That first cohort of “born-frees” has now grown up and many of them have started families of their own.

Many of 1994’s youngsters who voted in their first election with big dreams for our young Rainbow Nation will now be accompanying their children to vote in their first election.

That passage of time—a generation—feels like an apt period over which to judge our progress as a nation. To take stock of the ground we’ve covered so far and to consider which path into the future we might choose. And there is of course much to praise. South Africa is an indescribably better place than it was under apartheid. The fact that tens of millions of citizens will vote this year who would not have been allowed to be called citizens in the past, says it all.

However, there are also many signs of failure. Much of the data on human development is sadly heading in the wrong direction. Unemployment is climbing, poverty is getting worse, not better, life expectancy has begun to slip in the last few years, and crime is an ever-present torment on the minds of every family, and particularly the poor.

Our economy is being strangled by a perfect storm of bad policy, shrinking revenue, and a crippling energy crisis. Real unemployment is stuck on the wrong side of 40%, with an ever-increasing number of South Africans dependent on social welfare to survive. This growing number of grant recipients is not a government success. It is a ticking time bomb, as national revenue is squeezed and budgets across all departments are cut.

While we have undoubtedly made progress as a nation these past 30 years, that progress is overshadowed by all the things we should have achieved by now but didn’t.

So long as poverty deepens, so too will South Africa’s politics fray. Voters will be pushed to the fringes, where pedlars of the politics of division and hate lie waiting, ready to profit from the frustration of poor South Africans and turn that frustration into anger and violence.

That is why, for us true believers in the precepts of liberal democracy and its power to generate human progress at scale, the soil is getting more rocky. We are in a race against time. We need to find a consensus now—those of us who want our country to work—and grow the centre so that the radical fringes remain just that: fringes.

I strongly believe that we have enough time and enough people to do so. I believe that the overwhelming majority of South Africans do not want violence and chaos, and would choose the dignity and independence of a job over the struggle and dependence of a grant any day of the week.

Our task now is to ensure that this majority unites around a common goal and a shared future ambition for our country. And I don’t think we can simply assume that everyone knows what this shared future ambition is. We must describe it, so that people have a picture of the country we can become—a mission to unite behind.

In the City of Cape Town, we spend a lot of time talking about our future ambition. We want Capetonians to know that there is a future version of our city that is more inclusive, more prosperous, more energy-secure, safer, cleaner, and with economic opportunities for all.

And that we have charted a realistic course to get there.

I call this a City of Hope for All, by which I mean a city that offers a living demonstration of slowly but surely achieving social progress, one that lifts more and more people out of poverty over time, and most importantly which demonstrates that forward progress towards the promise of 1994 is still possible in South Africa.

Cape Town today is so much more than just a beautiful global tourist destination, although it is definitely that too. We’ve become an economic giant of Southern Africa. Today we are the home address for tech and innovation on the entire continent, with more than double the number of tech start-ups in Cape Town than in Lagos and Nairobi combined.

We’re leading the green economy charge and the drive for renewable energy. We’re a city of commerce, of manufacturing, of financial services. Our skyline is dotted with construction cranes—the sign of a lively economy and a bullish outlook. We’re the sports and events capital of Southern Africa.

But for me, Cape Town’s biggest achievement lies in showing that there is an alternative path available to South Africa. Cape Town is bucking the national trend. Rather than stagger from crisis to crisis, Cape Town is gearing itself for the future. And it is a future brimming with hopefulness and progress.

We’re not merely talking about a different way of doing things. We’ve had a long enough stint at the wheel to show clear evidence that a different approach to governing the city can lead to fundamentally different outcomes across every critical metric, from access to basic services to resident satisfaction, and from new infrastructure spend to employment numbers.

That is not to say that everything in Cape Town is perfect. Far from it. We grapple with the same big issues that all other metros do—poverty, unemployment, rapid urbanisation, lack of housing, crime, vandalism, and, of course, a crippling energy crisis. But there are many things that work in Cape Town, and which perhaps offer some guidance on the way forward for our country.

I believe the approach to governance that is working in Cape Town will also work for South Africa.

And so I would like to offer five lessons—what I consider universal truths—that have helped place our city on a difference trajectory.

The first lesson is something I touched on earlier, and it is that you must have a clear and bold sense of national ambition. Perhaps the lesson is best illustrated with a question: “What is South Africa aiming for today?” None of us can compellingly answer that question, and certainly no one in the national government can. Instead, there is a growing belief that the failure of the state is inevitable.

In Cape Town we refuse to believe that. We want to show that no one in South Africa need accept that our country now only has a reverse gear. Instead, we should lift our ambitions and unashamedly aim for excellence and progress.

The second lesson is that in order to deliver progress, you must build a merit-based state. This may sound perplexingly obvious, but the South African example is proof of how easily aspirations of power can trump the ability of the state to meet the needs of citizens. Three decades of cadre deployment have eroded the capacity of the state to deliver basic services.

In Cape Town we have de-politicised the civil service, and brought back the notion of the public service as an excellent career option for talented candidates. As our reputation as a place of excellence grows, so too does the calibre of candidate we attract.

My third lesson is that long-term success requires the devolution of powers away from the centre to energetic local and provincial governments. It is a universal democratic truth that government functions should best reside closest to the people who benefit from them when they work well and suffer when they fail.

In Cape Town we are aggressively asserting the width and breadth of our local powers, and deliberately testing the definition of those powers to their maximum, especially in the areas of energy supply, policing and passenger rail.

My fourth lesson is the importance of future-proofing through infrastructure investment. The state of many South African cities and towns today is a lesson in what happens when you neglect infrastructure, or don’t invest in new infrastructure in anticipation of future growth.

We vowed that this would never be allowed to happen to Cape Town, and we’ve become obsessed with making sure we are ready for the future.

Rather than be daunted by the prospect of our city’s rapid growth, we have decided to meet it head-on, and we are now rolling out the biggest infrastructure investment pipeline of any city in the country. Over the next three years we will outspend South Africa’s other two big cities—Johannesburg and Durban—combined.

My fifth and final lesson speaks to a distinct philosophical difference between our city government’s approach to beating poverty and the approach of our national government. Here I refer to truth that only growth can fund more redistribution.

Whether you’re dealing with revenue generated from municipal rates or revenue from national taxation, the principle is the same: a low-growth economy with a shrinking revenue base is not compatible with growing redistributive measures. If you want to do more for the poor, you must have growth to pay for it.

In Cape Town we have grown revenues without the need to overburden taxpayers, by growing the local economy. This allows us to run the most redistributive government in the country, with three-quarters of our budget and infrastructure investment spent in poorer communities.

If you were to focus on these five areas I believe you will have laid the foundations for a successful city—or country—anywhere. I say this not in the blind belief in a particular approach to governance, but from a position of proof. After more than a decade, Cape Town has now covered enough ground following this approach to start showing meaningful differences in outcomes.

In a year when South Africans go to the polls to make a choice about the future, these differences in outcomes are critical. And so our mission is not just to build a City of Hope for Capetonians. We’re also trying to create a beacon of hope for all South Africans—a demonstration that decline is not inevitable.

That 30 years on, the dream of 1994 is not dead, and that a better future is possible for everyone.

Geordin Hill-Lewis is the Cape Town Mayor.

30 years of democracy: what lessons and what opportunities?

Ours is a beautiful, well-resourced country that has the potential to lift all out of poverty and put a stop to the structural inequalities that undermine our success, writes Mamphela Ramphele

 The overwhelming sense I have of the last 30 years of democracy is one of missed opportunities. Our country has all one could wish for to succeed, but we lack the calibre of leadership in both the public and private sectors, to build the country of our dreams, that President Mandela had in mind in concluding his 1999 SONA.

The 2024 SONA had in full display leadership that is not equal to the job of reimagining and building the country of our dreams. What is clear is that our country continues to have public representatives who do not have the capacity for accountability and acknowledgement of their failures to govern our country. Post-1999, governments have been more focused on capturing state resources to advance the interests and dominance of the ANC, than on serving the most vulnerable amongst us. State resource allocation decisions have been distorted by the blurred boundaries between party/government/state. A recent example is the bizarre unbudgeted top-up of salary increases for public sector workers towards the end of 2023, half of whom already earn over a million, to placate organised labour at the expense of ordinary citizens. These budget cuts have particularly affected adequate funding for essential basic services such as health, education, and infrastructure. It is not surprising that qualified medical graduates and many other young professionals are unemployed.

Chief Albert Luthuli,a Nobel Peace Laureate, reminded us in one of his major reflections as a leader driven by Ubuntu values that, ‘those who think of themselves as victims eventually become victimisers of others.’ What is in full display in our current government, especially at the SONA, is victimhood. Instead of taking responsibility for failures to build on the foundations laid by our national Constitution, successive governments have shielded themselves from criticism by labelling themselves as victims of apartheid and racism from privileged white people.

Father Michael Lapsley, President of Healing of Memories Global Network, a survivor of the apartheid assassination attempt that left him without hands and an eye, is a living example of a wounded healer who chose not to become a victim, but a victor. We must resist attempts by those who have failed to discharge their responsibilities as leaders and public representatives to drag us into victimhood. We committed ourselves in the preamble of our Constitution to heal the wounds of our ugly past, but successive governments have failed to create conditions for that healing process from the humiliation of racism and engineered poverty, starting with themselves. We the people must now work together as citizens to lead and heal ourselves. We are the leaders we have been waiting for.

The root cause of our failures over the last 30 years is the neglect of the imperatives of socio-economic transformation in the negotiated settlement that ushered in our democracy in 1994. Contrary to revisionist historical commentary about President Rolihlahla Mandela selling out, he was overruled by his ANC colleagues when he suggested that they invite experts from various fields to prepare and support them to make a strong case for a holistic settlement: political, social, and economic. The apartheid government took advantage of the weak case made by people who had “come back to a country they no longer knew”, as President Mandela often admitted.

The lessons of the unification of Germany in the early 1990s under Chancellor Helmut Kohl were lost on the ANC people from exile and prison, who were rushing to secure a political settlement without locking in fundamental socio-economic transformation. Chancellor Kohl successfully championed radical socio-economic transformation to equalise East and West Germany, including a three decade long solidarity tax to create a fund for the process. Thirty years on, Germany has closed the gap between East and West, whereas we remain the most unequal society in the world. Many fellow citizens live in abject poverty without the basic necessities of life and human dignity. President Ramaphosa’s Tintswalos are showcased precisely because they are the exceptions to the reality that the majority of young people are being thrown under the bus to fend for themselves. Success for most young people remains a pipe dream. Raymond Aron, a prominent Indian economist, reminded us that: ‘Too great a degree of inequality makes human community impossible.’ Unequal societies like ours suffer from crime, violence, and conflicts. Recent statistics speak for themselves.

The private sector has also failed to show leadership in promoting a more equal society in the last 30 years. Much of the successful changes we have seen have largely been compliance driven, to secure the social licence to run their businesses, rather than to build a more equal society. Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) has become an elite privilege of a few at the expense of the majority still living in grinding poverty. Most companies have done BEE deals to acquire protective elite cover from politically connected people without affecting the fundamental institutional and socio-economic cultural change essential to promote equitable working environments and transformation of communities where their employees live. Some exceptions are too few to create the impact needed to promote shared value creation and restore equity and wellbeing for all in our society.

Many leaders in the private sector have taken advantage of the incompetence that characterises our public service, which fails to hold them accountable. Three sectors come to mind: the mining, health, and financial services sectors, with notable exceptions, continue to extract huge value for themselves without paying attention to the impacts on people and the environment where they operate. Our landscapes in the Highveld, Mpumalanga, and Limpopo bear the wounds and scars left behind by extraction of value without follow through of physical rehabilitation and social closure. The Department of Mineral and Energy Resources lacks the basic competence and will to hold mining companies accountable.

South African citizens are crying out for land reform, restitution, and unlocking captured water rights to enable indigenous people to have a secure basis for sustainable prosperity. We must transform our mediocre education into compulsory free high quality system to unleash the talents of all. We must establish a strong accessible quality healthcare system to promote wellbeing for all. We must transform colonial apartheid towns and cities into homes for all.

A key success factor is the election of an accountable government of the people with capable public representatives, professional public service, and citizens ready to exercise their power to hold leaders accountable for making the country of our dreams a reality. The private sector in its own self-interest must take a long-term view and work with both government and civil society to address the urgent task of uprooting poverty and unleashing the talents of all. Ours is a beautiful, well-resourced country that has the potential to lift all out of poverty and put a stop to the structural inequalities that undermine our success.

Mamphela Ramphele is a Co-Founder of ReimagineSA, the Chair of the Tutu IPTRUST, and former Co-President of the Club of Rome. Ramphele is a change agent rooted in the Black Consciousness Philosophy that enabled many young people in the 1970s to self-liberate from the inferiority complex imposed by racist oppression, and inspired the revival of the liberation struggle that ushered in political freedom in 1994. She is a medical doctor, a social anthropologist, and global public servant. She was a Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Town, a Managing Director at the World Bank, and non-Executive Director of many large companies and Civil Society Organisations. She is an author and recipients of many awards including 24 honorary degrees.

SA: from progress to regression and the path forward

BLSA’s CEO Busi Mavuso is confident the country will get it right in the next 30 years

Many have commented that our 30 years of freedom divide into two eras: a first half of remarkable transformation in which the economy and business leapt forward, benefitting from the end of apartheid and our reintegration into the global economic system; and then a second half of regression, with our state institutions hollowed out and declining economic fortunes.

By 2008, we were regularly recording economic growth of over 5%, we boasted an investment grade credit rating and had a sovereign debt to GDP ratio of 24% as well as an unemployment rate of just under 20%. Per capita GDP had leapt from $3 786 in 1994 to $6 356 and would go on to peak at $8 800 in 2011. This created a strong environment for business which rapidly evolved. Major investment took place including mobile phone networks built across the country, making us one of the most connected populations in the world, while our financial sector became a continental giant. Many SA firms became global titans.

Unfortunately, on just about every one of those indicators, we have slid backwards since. Debt to GDP is now about 75% and growing. We will not even manage economic growth of 1% this year and barely more than that next year. Unemployment is at 32% while GDP per capita has fallen to $6 130. The business environment has deteriorated sharply with energy availability deteriorating every year until this one, the logistics system severely underperforming and an alarming growth of extortion and corruption.

I found myself reflecting over the weekend on how the business and government relationship has evolved through these phases. The default position of business is to get on with it, leaving government and politics to their own devices. The post-Apartheid era was mixed. Black Economic Empowerment was created to address the distortions of the economy. The unspoken agreement seemed to be that transformation was the price to pay for growth, and established business was willing to pay it. The Employment Equity Act in 1998 began the process of eliminating discrimination in the workforce and measures to redress past wrongs. Transformation charters were embraced by mining, financial services and others. Business also benefitted from broadly market-friendly policies, the dismantling of Apartheid-era monopolies, and the opening of global markets. We had abundant and cheap electricity, ports and railways were reasonably efficient, and a global commodities boom drove demand for resources exports.

The global financial crisis of 2008/2009 and the coming into office of Jacob Zuma signalled the end. These two factors compounded to damage the business environment. Commodity prices slumped and a recession took hold. While the economy was suffering that setback, Zuma and his kleptocracy began the work of infiltrating state-owned enterprises as targets for rent seeking. Institutions of accountability were the next to fall as the state capture machine sought to evade any consequences for the stripping of state resources. With accountability diminished, corruption flourished at every level of government. The few institutions that continued to stand as obstacles, including the Reserve Bank and National Treasury also came under attack.

The relationship between government and business fell to a low point during this period. Formal business itself came under attack from banking branches being occupied for closing the accounts that were being used in corruption to mining rights being stripped from legitimate businesses through outright corruption. The court system, however, stood strong during this period, reversing irrational state decisions. The media was superb in digging out and exposing corruption even while our criminal justice system was manifestly failing. Perhaps a low point was the sacking of finance minister Nhlanhla Nene and his replacement by little-known Gupta associate David van Rooyen. Inevitably, the market response was brutal, with the value of government bonds plummeting, threatening a devastating financial crisis. Van Rooyen only lasted barely a week in the position before Zuma relented to pressure from business and political colleagues to replace him with Pravin Gordhan.

When the Zuma government ended, businesses were ready to lean in to support the government in the reconstruction. We responded strongly to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s “Thuma Mina” call, rallying resources to support the reconstruction. I think it is fair to say, though, that both business and the new administration underestimated just how big the task was going to be. The extent of the devastation of our institutions, from state intelligence all the way down to municipal services, was underappreciated. The state had lost huge numbers of people who had been forced out simply for trying to do their jobs well and honestly. We are five years into the process of repair.

Organised business has partnered government on many fronts, from the Tamdev initiative which brought engineers and other skilled professionals out of retirement to mentor public sector counterparts, to the Business for South Africa initiative which is actively working with government on the power and logistics crises and to deal with crime and corruption. We have set up a memorandum of understanding with the National Prosecuting Authority to provide support for investigations and prosecutions. Perhaps the best example of our joint efforts was during Covid, when the Solidarity Fund mobilised incredible resources from across our society and business worked with government to source equipment and vaccines and distribute them across the country.

We have made progress in our efforts. This year we are finally seeing the fruits of extensive changes in the electricity sector that have enabled massive investment by the private sector in new renewable energy production. In the coming two years load shedding will gradually become a thing of the past. We are working hard on the logistics crisis, and already, there has been an improvement in some key logistics corridors. We have a plan to fundamentally transform the system to serve a dynamic and growing economy. These successes give me hope for the next phase of our development as a country. The policy framework is everything —get it right, and over time you get the results.

The state capture era made clear what happens when you have bad leadership and bad policy. We are a country that learns from our mistakes. If you want a business environment that generates growth and employment, there is no mystery about what you have to do: regulate effectively, empower the private sector to invest, and ensure public services work. It doesn’t matter who is in government—those facts don’t change. I am confident that we will get it right in our next 30 years of freedom and will realise our potential as a country.

Busi Mavuso is the CEO of Business Leadership South Africa.

This article originally appeared on Moneyweb and is published with permission.

Facing the challenges of the housing sector

Since South Africa transitioned to democracy in 1994, the housing sector has seen remarkable progress alongside persistent challenges. Three decades ago, the new government inherited a daunting backlog of 1.5 million housing units and entrenched spatial disparities, a legacy of apartheid-era urban planning.

 The introduction of the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) aimed to provide homes and services to millions but inadvertently reinforced spatial divisions and fell short of addressing diverse housing needs. Twenty years ago, the National Breaking New Ground (BNG) policy emphasised sustainable human settlements, densification, and integrating marginalised groups into cities. This policy recognised the significance of social and rental housing in reshaping urban landscapes and revitalising the lower-end rental market.

The Constitution, particularly Chapter 2 of The Bill of Rights, stipulates that every individual has the right to access housing, and the state must progressively realise this right within available resources. Additionally, eviction from homes requires a court order after considering all relevant circumstances. Chapter 7 delineates the roles of different government spheres in pursuing these rights.

Since the advent of our democracy, the National Government has provided approximately 5 million housing opportunities to vulnerable members of society, contributing significantly to dismantling apartheid’s spatial discrimination. Simultaneously, the Gauteng provincial government has transformed lives by delivering over 1.1 million housing opportunities, including 344,000 serviced sites and 796,000 homes. Key Mega Project developments like the Obed Mthombeni Nkosi Project, the Impumelelo Project, and the Dan Tloome Project, one of eight implemented by the Gauteng Partnership Fund (GPF), showcase impactful initiatives. Currently, 33 mega projects are in progress, with over 95,000 title deeds already registered to ensure tenure security.

Despite significant strides, challenges like lingering spatial inequalities and the imperative for inclusive development persist. Institutions such as the GPF, an implementing agency of the Gauteng Department of Human Settlements, are crucial in driving positive changes aligned with national and provincial priorities outlined in the South African Constitution.

Urbanisation has led to two-thirds of the population residing in urban areas, propelled by economic opportunities. While urbanisation offers benefits like enhanced access to skills, it strains resources for essential services such as housing, water, and sanitation, particularly in densely populated urban centres like Johannesburg.

Critical challenges such as inadequate bulk infrastructure, financial constraints, and limited private finance participation in housing programmes continue. The constitutional framework emphasises collaboration among government spheres to tackle housing provision challenges comprehensively. Gauteng, South Africa’s most densely populated province, houses a quarter of the country’s population, including major urban centres like Johannesburg, Tshwane, and Ekurhuleni. Urbanisation and migration fuel population growth but strain housing infrastructure, leading to informal settlements and a demand for affordable housing solutions.

The GPF, established in 2002 under the Trust Properties Control Act, aimed to normalise markets in the social housing sector and attract private sector investment into affordable housing. Its mandate evolved to become a key player in spatial transformation, economic empowerment, and community development, aligning closely with national and provincial priorities.

The GPF has achieved significant milestones. It has consistently exceeded annual funding commitments, effectively utilising its funding as a first layer of capital to mitigate financial risks for banks and other financiers.

Since its inception, it has overseen the completion of 22,946 affordable housing units, addressing critical housing needs. The organisation continuously reviews its product offerings to ensure optimal market uptake.

The GPF has a range of products which cater to various sectors within the housing market – all seeking to promote inclusivity and addressing funding challenges to support housing development initiatives in the province.

It offers innovative products designed to share risk with the private sector. Its products include the Entrepreneur Empowerment Property Fund (EEPF), Kasi 4 Real, Commercial Affordable Housing Fund, Rental Housing Fund, Social Housing Fund, and the Student Accommodation Fund. The EEPF, for example, was designed to promote participation in the affordable rental property market for historically disadvantaged individual-owned companies, with specific eligibility criteria including HDI 100% shareholding, minimum project size, equity contribution, and readiness for implementation.

The entity also manages funds for third-party investors such as the Public Investment Corporation (PIC). It invests these funds in affordable and social housing and student accommodation.

The Entrepreneur Empowerment Property Fund (EEPF) product is the gateway to developing the transformation of role players in the affordable rental property market. The product acts as an incubator fund focusing on women and youth. Currently, 40% of the programme is women. This funding product offers opportunities for new entrants and entrepreneurs into the housing development space, encouraging women to seize the chance to make their mark in the property sector.

The empowerment fund also ensures that there is board-based inclusivity and a trickle-down effect as its transformation policy ensures that 75% of the professionals on the project have a majority BEE shareholding.

The GPF contributes significantly to job creation, SME support and local economic development. The GPF targets GEYODI (gender, youth, and people living with disabilities) through initiatives like RFQs on its website and engagements with people living with disabilities to inform them about participation opportunities. The organisation’s Supply Chain Management (SCM) team’s marketing initiatives have improved performance for women and youth, with plans to continue these efforts to meet organisational and government objectives. Mega Projects have had a significant socio-economic impact by involving GEYODI and SMMEs in infrastructure development, exceeding targets for capital budget spending on SMMEs and project expenditure on GEYODI-owned SMMEs. The GPF’s role is to facilitate public-private sector alignment, oversee project implementation, and promote local procurement and employment.

A comprehensive study conducted by Viruly highlighted the positive impacts of GPF’s developments on communities, including improved health, well-being, social cohesion, and the creation of over 130,000 job opportunities.

The Chief Executive of the GPF, Lindiwe Kwele says: “Property is about human dignity and seeing ordinary people in communities receiving title deeds, which ultimately creates an economic cushion for future generations, is exactly why an organisation such as the GPF exists.

“I enjoy being part of a collective that is intentional about empowering historically disadvantaged property developers while delivering on the mandate of access to housing and spatial transformation in the Gauteng Province. It is more than just bricks and mortar, it is about restoring dignity to communities and helping the historically marginalised build generational wealth for future generations. Enhancing the lives of people by creating spaces for them to live, work and play is everlastingly fulfilling.”

Kwele further adds that the GPF is currently managing a robust project pipeline exceeding R2 billion and is strategically engaging with potential funding partners to collaborate on the implementation of sustainable human settlements throughout Gauteng. Concurrently, the organisation is finalising several substantial agreements with leading financing institutions, poised to fulfil its mandate of providing the people of Gauteng with access to vibrant, livable settlements and secure land tenure.

“These efforts underscore our commitment to fostering inclusive economic growth and prosperity across the region. Additionally, the GPF is exploring also providing bridging loans or purchase order financing to SMEs involved in the construction of housing in its target market,” she says.

The GPF effectively manages its finances, with annual surpluses contributing to a strong balance sheet, despite challenges. An audit confirmed that the GPF largely operates within its mandate, serving end-user beneficiaries effectively, with a focus on compliance and addressing gaps. The GPF has a legacy of unqualified audit reports, indicating sound corporate governance and internal control systems, which are attractive to potential investors.

The GPF’s journey reflects a commitment to turning vision into action, leveraging partnerships for sustainable human settlements, job creation, and economic growth in Gauteng.

Commemorating three decades of democracy

Our journey underscores the transformative power of inclusive governance and collective progress, reaffirming our dedication to building a brighter future for all, writes Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri

South Africa has consistently been at the forefront of championing constitutional freedoms, a cornerstone of our significant democratic advancements. Our foundational principles of liberation and equal opportunity have shaped our values and guided our collective endeavours over the past three decades, driving positive change and fostering a better quality of life for all citizens.

Despite our progress, we acknowledge that opposition to democratic ideals persists, as evidenced by the recent resurgence of anti-democratic sentiments. Such challenges are not unique to our nation but are part of a global phenomenon observed in the waves of democracy worldwide in the 21st century. We have also observed a growing presence of viewpoints that challenge democratic ideals, often associated with political polarisation. It is crucial to reaffirm that our democratic principles are rooted in upholding the rights and freedoms of all individuals. Instances that deviate from these principles run counter to the foundational values that underpin our democratic system. We should be vigilant about these undemocratic trends and take a proactive role in safeguarding our hard-won democracy, which came at a significant cost.

Our nation has demonstrated commendable dedication to upholding democratic values, surpassing many countries that have embraced democracy for a longer period. Observing global trends reveals that nations with over five decades of democratic history are experiencing challenges in maintaining their democratic progress, often leaning towards conservative ideologies. This shift is reflected in declining international solidarity regarding ongoing global injustices and crises.

Demonstrating the vitality of democracy in our nation is evident through various aspects. We possess a globally recognised track record of conducting free and fair elections, notwithstanding recent unfounded efforts aimed at discrediting and undermining this core democratic tenet. Institutions like the Independent Electoral Commission exemplify the maturation of our democracy. Their pivotal role not only highlights the importance of voters being able to freely participate in the process and that it is conducted transparently, but also reflects the integrity of credible democratic institutions.

Our Constitution, one of the most progressive in the world, guarantees a wide range of human rights, including the right to life, equality, and freedom of expression. Landmark cases such as the abolition of the death penalty and the legalisation of same-sex marriage, NHI, and the Hate Crime and Hate Speech Act underscore our commitment to these principles.

Human rights are universally applicable to all our citizens, guided by the established laws. Our accountable institutions are dedicated to fulfilling the needs of the people, ensuring a participatory democracy where all citizens can contribute and influence governance decisions. Beyond governmental entities, institutions such as NGOs, NPOs, and the private sector also play a crucial role in addressing the needs of citizens. Their active participation in collective endeavours is a fundamental aspect of democracy. By fostering strategic partnerships and collaboration, we can enhance our collective efforts to improve the quality of life for people across various sectors of society.

Recognising the pivotal role of international solidarity in our quest for democracy, we stand firm in supporting causes such as the Western Sahara and Palestine, alongside addressing ongoing injustices globally. Our proactive stance reflects our liberation struggle and underscores our commitment to promoting justice and tolerance internationally. The recent case that South Africa presented at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) is a clear demonstration of our steadfast dedication to upholding universal human rights principles for people worldwide.

At the core of the government’s dedication to improving the lives of the people is the implementation of transformative policies that are responsive to the needs of the people. Initiatives such as the National Development Plan (NDP) 2030 aim to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality, setting clear goals for growth and development. To showcase the vitality of democracy in our nation, the introduction of new legislation undergoes a transparent process involving public participation and scrutiny through democratic institutions. The process is characterised by robust discussions, where the aim is to ensure that the prevailing will of the majority of the people ultimately prevails.

The election manifesto eloquently captures the progress made over the past three decades and presents a comprehensive roadmap focused on enhancing the well-being of our citizens. It also delineates our objectives for the upcoming five years as we transition into the 7th administration. Priority 1 underscores the importance of implementing practical measures to boost employment opportunities, as outlined in our comprehensive job plan. The priority emphasises fostering a more inclusive economy by transforming both the government and the economic landscape to foster innovation and generate employment.

Additionally, the manifesto underscores our commitment to addressing the cost of living, investing in our people by meeting their basic needs, and enhancing education, healthcare, and service delivery. Our agenda also includes safeguarding democracy, promoting freedom, and contributing to a better Africa and global community. The Tinswalo perspective, articulated by President Cyril Ramaphosa, highlights the vibrancy of democracy and its transformative impact on people’s lives. Our commitment is to continuously improve, as detailed in our comprehensive plan.

It’s important for us to always keep in mind the liberation struggle and the journey to achieving our democracy. As we commemorate 30 years of democracy, we must never forget that our freedom was hard-won and came with significant sacrifices and loss of life. Icons such as Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, and Albertina Sisulu remind us of the courage and determination that paved the way for our democratic society. While South Africa encounters challenges that are not unique and are experienced globally, we should also acknowledge the progress we’ve made and continue to strive for the better. As we celebrate three decades of democracy, we remain mindful of the hurdles yet to be overcome. However, we also take pride in our achievements, serving as a beacon of hope and a model for young democracies striving to enhance the well-being of their citizens. Our journey underscores the transformative power of inclusive governance and collective progress, reaffirming our dedication to building a brighter future for all.

Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri is a South African politician who is currently serving as spokesperson of the African National Congress (ANC).

When a dream turns into a nightmare

The coming general elections provide the opportunity for South Africans to participate and to have their voices heard. Let’s rebuild South Africa and unlock the abundance of potential, writes Dr Petrus Johannes Groenewald.

On 27 April 1994, it seemed like the dream of the majority of South Africans was finally coming true. Physically participating in the elections by walking into a voting station and casting a vote on a ballot paper was a tangible experience of freedom and the exercise of full democratic rights.

The expectations created for the future were met with enthusiasm and excitement by most South Africans. After 30 years, it is time to take stock of the outcomes of these expectations and consider how we can build and restore to realise the dream of true democracy. Is it time for a new dispensation?

The Mandela era could be described as the dawn of a type of utopia where the world once again opened its doors to South Africa. Sport served as a catalysator for the big dream, particularly when the Springboks won the 1995 World Cup.

Trade relations improved significantly and the economy showed strong growth. Several legislative amendments were passed by Parliament, and provision was made for Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and Affirmative Action (AA). During this time, land reform was also implemented and included restitution for those affected by the 1913 Land Act. The Reconstruction and Development Plan (RDP) got underway and millions of brand-new houses were built.

In 1994, the hopes of the people went beyond the implementation of a representative political process, but included policies of inclusive growth which would raise the standard of living of those who had previously been excluded.

This raises the crucial question to be asked: After 30 years, what is the standard of living of those who had been excluded? An important indicator is the real GDP (Gross Domestic Product) per capita since 1994. According to an article by the Conversable Economist (20 Nov. 2023) titled, ‘South Africa’s Economy: 30 Years Since Apartheid’, the economy showed reasonably rapid growth for the first decade (until 2004), but no growth since then. Since 2004, growth has merely kept pace with population growth. With inefficient economic growth, the people’s standard of living cannot be raised. We are then left in a situation where wealth is not created but rather only redistributed, whilst wealth is also diminishing.

It is reflected in the unemployment rate, which increased from 20.83% in 1994 to 33% at present. The unemployment rate amongst the youth increased from 35.16% in 1994 to a staggering 63% at present. How can anyone raise their standard of living if they have no job and no sustainable income to provide for their family? The country’s youth cannot help but ask themselves, “What future do we have?”

Based on the national poverty line, poverty has risen to 55.5% with 4.9 million children living below the poverty line. In reply to a parliamentary question, the Minister of Health admitted that 15 000 children die annually of which one third (5 000) die of hunger. The politically correct term is “malnutrition”, but it is starving to death, nonetheless. One newspaper reported on children, north of Durban, who have resorted to eating sand just to feel like they have something in their stomachs. In general, many more households depend entirely on government grants to sustain meagre livelihoods.

Crime in South Africa is getting out of hand. South Africa’s criminality score has worsened significantly in the last two years, according to the 2023 Global Organised Crime Index (GOCI), which shows that South Africa now ranks seventh in the world out of 193 countries and third in Africa for mafia-style criminal networks and organised crime syndicates. The construction mafia demands 30% of construction tender contracts, which is no more than sabotage of the economy.

In addition, kidnappings of children and businesspeople, held ransom for financial gain, are on the rise.

In 2017, the murder rate in South Africa was 35/100 000 of the population, but it has since shot up to a shocking 45/100 000 of the population.

The country’s crime rate is exceptionally high, with theft and sabotage further undermining the functioning of many national infrastructure systems.

Transparency International’s 2023 Corruption Perceptions Index scored South Africa at 41 on a scale of 0 (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean). Corruption in government and its various departments is the main reason for the collapse of state capacity across many government functions, which are essential for an effectively functioning economy.

Corruption had already started rearing its ugly head in the early 2000s with the then National Police Commissioner, Jackie Selebi. In 2007, I wrote a letter to President Thabo Mbeki, requesting a judicial commission of inquiry into allegations of corruption against Selebi. Mbeki refused.

Fortunately, Selebi did land in jail. If Mbeki had only done what I had asked, it would have sent a strong message to those involved in corrupt practices. Taxpayers recently had to fork out more than R1 billion for an inquiry into allegations of state capture, corruption, and fraud by the Zondo Commission.

State-owned enterprises (SOEs) have had to be bailed out repeatedly because of corruption, BEE, and AA, which were used as instruments for price inflation, cadre deployment, and corruption. Eskom is a shining example. This put severe constraints on the national fiscus and, consequently, government debt has increased to R5.5 trillion as a result of an ever increasing budget deficit. That is why National Treasury has now opted to utilise the country’s gold and foreign currency reserves from the Reserve Bank. A very desperate and short-sighted move.

According to the aforementioned article by the Conversable Economist, the collapse of state capacity is one of the main reasons why South Africa is failing to grow as well as failing to move the needle on economic inclusion three decades after the end of Apartheid.

Government functions are essential for keeping the economy running as it should. Over the past 15 years, many of these functions have collapsed. Several critical network industries, including electricity supply, transport infrastructure and services, security, and water and sanitation, were most affected.

Public infrastructure, such as roads and railways, supposedly maintained by government, has deteriorated to such an extent that rail and port capacity have declined drastically, resulting in substantial losses relating to exports.

Eskom’s implementation of loadshedding has an enormous and detrimental impact on industries and businesses. It also affects the daily personal lives of every single citizen.

National funds are under increasing pressure as government revenue is distributed in the form of grants and social services to households to attempt to alleviate poverty and hardship. This is unsustainable.

Many municipalities now face severe fiscal challenges, which further undermine their already poor service delivery. Due to the collapse of infrastructure, many communities have to get by without water for days, and sometimes even weeks, on end.

So, many people may have a RDP house with taps for running water and a toilet, but if their local municipality fails to perform proper routine maintenance on infrastructure, there will be no water in the taps and toilets, and ultimately, it does not raise their standard of living.

The people’s 1994 hopes and dreams of inclusive growth, which would raise the standard of living of those who had previously been excluded, have turned into a terrible nightmare.

Government has failed the people of South Africa miserably and should be replaced. We do however not only need a new government; we need a new dispensation.

The failures of local government is because of a failed framework and system. The Financial and Fiscal Commission (FFC) already in 2012 recommended that the amalgamation of failing municipalities into others which were performing a little better has led to malfunctioning big municipalities. We need to adhere to this sensible recommendation and create smaller, functional municipal entities; decentralise governance; and have decision making as near as possible to the communities which those decisions affect.

It is important to build a new dispensation where the economy is rebuilt through policy certainty and real empowerment which entails skills development through quality, community-based mother tongue education.

Real and efficient economic growth and job creation can only be achieved by creating a conducive environment for the private sector to invest and expand. We need a dispensation which is optimised for equal access to opportunities for all.

South Africa has an abundance of potential, wonderful people, and diversity which is an asset.

The coming general elections provide the opportunity for South Africans to participate and to have their voices heard. Let’s rebuild South Africa and unlock the abundance of potential.

Dr Petrus Johannes Groenewald is the leader of the FF Plus.

Transitioning from liberation to governance

Did the ANC get it right? Katlego Moagi investigates...

In the epic saga of human history, there are moments that shine like beacons of hope in the darkness of oppression. South Africa’s journey from the suffocating grip of apartheid to the vibrant tapestry of democracy is one such tale. Yet, as we bask in the glow of freedom, it becomes increasingly evident that the path to true liberation extends far beyond the mere dismantling of oppressive systems. It necessitates a paradigm shift: a transition from liberation to effective governance. In this discourse, we delve into the intricacies of this transition, exploring the roles of the architects of South Africa’s liberation, the African National Congress (ANC), and envisioning a future where governance is rooted in empowerment and resilience.

Once upon a time, when the decision was made to erect a hospital, builders were summoned to embark on the back breaking task of construction. From the meticulous planning stages to the laying of the foundation stones and the soaring heights of the final floor, these builders laboured tirelessly, ensuring the structural integrity of the hospital. Yet, upon the completion of their noble endeavour, a fundamental shift occurred—the management of the hospital transitioned into the capable hands of individuals possessing the requisite qualifications and expertise. Doctors, nurses, administrators, and support staff assumed their respective roles, orchestrating the seamless operation of the medical facility. It is a testament to the wisdom of specialisation—acknowledging that while builders are indispensable in erecting structures, the management of complex institutions demands a diverse array of skills and competencies.

In much the same vein, I propose that the ANC, in its role as the architects of a free South Africa, served as the builders of our nation’s democracy. With unwavering resolve and unyielding determination, they waged a valiant struggle against the tyranny of apartheid, ultimately laying the groundwork for the birth of a new South Africa. Yet, in the euphoria of victory, a critical oversight occurred: the assumption that the architects of liberation are inherently equipped to govern the liberated South Africa. It is a fallacy that has been accepted and has perpetuated a cycle of inefficiency and disillusionment in South Africa. Could it be that we are where we are 30 years into democracy because the government that took over in 1994 was the wrong government?

The analogy of Moses leading the Israelites out of Egypt serves as a reminder of the complexities inherent in leadership transitions. While Moses, with his unwavering faith and unconquerable spirit, led his people to the threshold of freedom, it was Joshua who ultimately guided them into the promised land. Similarly, the struggle fighters of the ANC, imbued with a sense of purpose and a vision of a liberated South Africa, spearheaded the fight against apartheid. However, as the shackles of oppression were cast aside and the mantle of governance beckoned, a crucial juncture was reached—a juncture that demanded a transition from liberation to effective and fair governance.

Many ANC members, especially the early ones; despite possessing academic qualifications, lacked practical experience in governance, economics or what it really means to run a country. Understandably so, as for decades their focus was on liberation, not governance intricacies. Meanwhile, certain individuals among the oppressed pursued education and economic insights, some among these were better positioned to manage the nation’s affairs.

Yet, a crucial divergence occurred. The liberators, the builders, akin to Moses, assumed governance roles. Unfortunately, their leadership ethos was marred by bitterness and victimhood, trauma and revenge from the apartheid years, hindering rational decision-making. Nelson Mandela advocated unity, transcending racial divides. However, entrenched animosity persisted within ANC ranks, evidenced by policies that perpetuated racial divisions.

30 years later, the ANC’s reign is filled with incompetence, unemployment, corruption, energy crisis, violent crimes, poverty, and inequality not because the ANC set out to destroy South Africa but rather the psychological posture, the skills and competencies required to dismantle apartheid were vastly different from those needed to govern a complex, modern nation.

The ANC, forged in the crucible of struggle, assumed the reins of power in 1994; its leaders were saturated with a fierce determination and an unyielding commitment to justice but unfortunately they had not made the sobering realisation that they were not equipped to shape the trajectory of our nation’s destiny positively and successfully for all.

The decision to remove most of the competent government officials and leaders, without having equipped and qualified replacements simply because of race shows the psychological maturity lacking in the ANC government. The maturity that was present in Botswana’s President Seretse Khama, the maturity that enabled him to make decisions that seemed weak and foolish at the time but yielded benefits for his nation and citizens for years to come. The absence of this maturity led to the ANC following in the footsteps of other African leaders who quickly removed people from positions of authority and government simply because they were white, and just as the negative consequences followed in those African countries, they certainly followed in South Africa.

In navigating this treacherous terrain, the ANC has been confronted with a series of profound challenges—challenges that have tested its resolve and strained its resources. Chief among these challenges is the question of transformation—how does one transform a society that has been scarred by centuries of oppression and racial divide? How does one allocate scarce resources in a manner that promotes the welfare and prosperity of all citizens? How does one empower the marginalised and disenfranchised to participate fully in the life of the nation? It is a question that has confounded policymakers and scholars alike, giving rise to a myriad of competing visions and agendas.

The ANC, driven by compassion, fostered an ‘everything is free’ mindset, providing housing, education, and healthcare without considering sustainability. Although their actions seemed noble and necessary to right the wrongs of the past, unfortunately, unintended consequences emerged, burdening taxpayers and straining national resources.

In seeking to empower the marginalised and disenfranchised, the ANC has made decisions that actually promote further marginalisation and disenfranchisement, threatening to derail its efforts and undermine its legitimacy.

Contrastingly, leaders like Lee Kuan Yew of independent Singapore, prioritised self-sufficiency, instilling responsibility and resilience. He understood that true empowerment of the marginalised and disenfranchised arises from self-reliance, not handouts.

The ANC’s trajectory, influenced by communism and unhealed trauma, fostered entitlement rather than empowerment. Government decisions, clouded by pain, yielded unintended repercussions, exacerbating socio-economic challenges.

Some parents, scarred by their own past, equate responsibility with abuse. Out of love, they insist on doing everything for their children. But when adolescence arrives, the child remains helpless, unwilling or unable to fend for themselves. Entitlement takes root, and adulthood is accompanied by a distorted worldview. Responsibility becomes an insult, a perceived abuse. The noble goal of lightening the load on the child becomes an overwhelming task and burden on the parent. I believe ANC became such a ‘parent’ when it took over in 1994, and 30 years later, it has raised ‘children’ that are disempowered, plagued by a victim mindset and burderning the state to do what they should be equipped to do for themselves.

Governance must empower, not enfeeble, fostering resilience and self-reliance. This necessitates acknowledging past wounds while transcending bitterness, and embracing a future-oriented approach.

The allure of ‘free’ offerings must yield to a culture of empowerment. Education, healthcare, and housing should be avenues for dignity and self-reliance, not perpetrators of dependency.

As Milton Friedman aptly stated, “There is no such thing as a free lunch”. Let us heed this wisdom, fostering a society built on responsibility and self-sufficiency.

When Lee Kuan Yew took action to not perpetuate dependency but rather raise a society of self-sufficient contributors, many of his citizens took issue with that, but Lee Kuan Yew’s efforts saw Singapore’s per capita GDP jump from around US$500 in 1965 by a staggering 2 800% to US$14 500 by 1991, that is in 26 years (South Africa’s per capita GDP has risen from US$3 547.95 in 1994 to US$6 766.5 2022 a growth of 190% that is in 28 years). Today, years after Lee Kuan Yew’s administration, years after his death, his legacy still hinges on empowerment. How I wish that the South African government would take lessons from leaders and nations such as these, where would South Africa be today?

Despite the unintended, destructive results of their actions in the last 30 years, the ANC remains steadfast in its commitment to its ways. For some South Africans, the ANC remains a beacon of hope in a sea of uncertainty—a defensive wall against the forces of reaction and regression. Yet, for others, the ANC represents a source of disillusionment and despair—a party that has lost its way and betrayed its founding ideals.

While the ANC’s contribution in ending apartheid is monumental, it prompts reflection: were they equipped to govern? Could it be that their role was to champion the struggle, secure political liberation, and then entrust governance to those with the necessary acumen to nurture a thriving economy, fostering equality and prosperity?

In closing, the ANC’s legacy hinges on acknowledging its role as builders and gracefully transitioning stewardship to those equipped for the task. That is the best way for South Africa to chart a course towards sustainable progress and inclusive prosperity.

Since I doubt that the ANC would be willing to hand over the reins, then the next best thing is for the ANC to do well to heed the lessons of history and the imperatives of the present. A willingness to confront the demons of the past and chart a new course for the future.

For the ANC, the stakes could not be higher—for the future of our nation hangs in the balance, the challenges that confront our nation are profound and complex – requiring bold leadership and visionary thinking.

In rising to meet the challenges of the present, the ANC has the opportunity to forge a new path for our nation—a path founded on the principles of self-empowerment, self-reliance, and self-sufficiency.

Katlego Moagi is a political analyst and podcast host

Framing the narrative of a country perpetually in a state of flux

Makhudu Sefara takes a look at the current media
landscape in South Africa, 30 years into our democracy

 At the 60th World Association of Newspapers and 14th World Editors’ Forum in Cape Town, former President Thabo Mbeki sought to force the media to reflect.

“We in Africa can and do benefit from criticism, but we do ask that it should be based on accurate information and should be properly contextualised,” Mbeki said.

He wouldn’t ask if he believed this to be so. “For too long we have seen a negative typecasting of the continent. Even if there is the necessary chasm between the media and government in the perennial debate about what constitutes the public or national interest and so on, at least the debate must proceed in openness and honesty. We do believe that both government and the media are called on to act responsibly in a well-run state.”

The state-media nexus is of profound significance in South Africa given the dark history of oppressions. But debates on this nexus also predates our democracy. John Stuart Mill, in 1869, put it thus: “If all mankind minus one, were of one opinion, and one, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.”

In other words, the utility of media freedom is lost even if just one person is denied their right to express themselves in ways that do no harm to the rest of society. This is why our constitution foregrounds this utility while putting in place the limitations for the broader good.

But, of course, it wasn’t always like this. It was the apartheid state that legislated media freedom as a crime, banning newspapers, arresting those who dared to speak truth to power, and gifting us October 19 as one of the darkest days for media freedom in South Africa—a month after killing Steve Biko, a Black Consciousness leader.

It was also the state that, with the dawn of democracy, ensured, with encouragement, lobbying by editors and media activists, that freedom of speech in general and media freedom, particularly, are enshrined in the bill of rights of our Constitution. The state, for good or worse, sets the temperature within which media freedom is exercised in the country.

South Africa’s media freedom journey dovetails the country’s political contours. It would be foolhardy though to believe that those who fought for democracy will be the biggest defenders of media freedom. The media’s own responsibility to society puts it on a low-key collision course with the government of the day. The media has a responsibility to lift a mirror to society, warts and all. Often, those in political office perceive this as an oppositionist attempt to embarrass them. This view is of course self-serving.

The media, meanwhile, is and has been far from perfect. As Mbeki addressed the WAN and WEF, the media was grappling with issues of transformation, also raised by his predecessor Nelson Mandela, and honesty. Mbeki felt the framing of the African and South African stories were not just inaccurate, but the inaccuracy was motivated by dishonesty. Elsewhere, he bemoaned the association of Africa with poverty, disease, war and backwardness as if there was nothing positive out of the continent.

Mandela, addressing the International Press Institute in Cape Town in 1994 ahead of the country’s first democratic elections, praised “a critical, independent and investigative press” as the “lifeblood of any democracy”.

In the same address, he, like Mbeki, raised issues of concern about the media’s framing of the South African story. “South African media are still largely dominated by persons drawn almost exclusively from one racial group. With the exception of The Sowetan, the senior editorial staffs of all South Africa’s daily newspapers are cast from the same racial mould. They are white, they are male, they are from a middle-class background, they tend to share a very similar life experience. The same holds true for the upper echelons of the electronic media, again with a very few recent exceptions.”

Asymmetry of words and actions

The media is only a little more diverse 30 years into our democracy. This has obvious implications for what story gets told, how and with what nous. The media, across the globe, ought to be a forum for the exchange of ideas, a fountain of opinions and debate. How then could a media that is struggling with diversity be a conduit for honest and accurate news dissemination? Those without Mandela and Mbeki’s finesse have used more crass language to criticise the media, labelling it as agents of White Monopoly Capital. It’s easy to dismiss these as former president Jacob Zuma’s fanatics, as most are. What is hard is looking inward and asking if the media is transforming as society is expected to—and as Mandela lamented.

It’s hard to find a politician happy to be criticised. The putative position is that they all welcome criticism. Even Zuma, who had a fraught relationship with the media, fancied himself a democrat who believed in media freedom. But the asymmetry between his words and action revealed him for what he is—a president who believed the media must be regulated and journalists jailed for inaccuracies.

Under Zuma (2009 to 2018), attempts were made to revive the apartheid-era Media Appeals Tribunal and Protection of Information Bill, which would have resulted in the imprisonment of journalists, but these could not pass constitutional muster. One of the most egregious acts was Zuma’s criminal prosecution of Karyn Maughan, a journalist who doggedly reported on his shenanigans. He sought effectively to criminalise the practice of journalism without passing the unconstitutional law.

Yet Zuma, in a speech on Black Wednesday in 2015, reflects on “the horrors of living in a society in which the media could not expose wrong doing and atrocities during the period of apartheid colonialism”. The absence of the confluence between words and actions is most noticeable in Zuma of all the presidents since the dawn of democracy.

Yet, they all seem uncomfortable, if not too irritable, with the media’s relentless questions and critiques. Ours is a tension-filled relationship forged in the crucible of the battle against apartheid.

Violence against journalists

On paper, the South African media has been and continues to be the freest. In reality, that freedom gets tested each week, if not each day.

South African journalists face myriad challenges in their quest simply to access and disseminate information. They get attacked by members of the community who wish to protest without their identities being exposed by the media, especially if they’re engaged in violent service delivery mass action. They also get attacked by politician and bureaucrats who loath the spotlight on their activities.

But what’s worse is that members of the police also turn their weapons against the press whose cameras could capture some of their illegal actions. Much of what is known, for example, about how tens of people were killed in Marikana by police in 2016 is because of media coverage.

Some police officers lost their jobs as a result. Now others choose to simply shoot at the messenger in the hope no one captures their criminality on camera. Police Minister Bheki Cele, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola, and others have separately assured members of the South African National Editors Forum that they were doing their utmost to ensure that the government’s security cluster is not used to inhibit the media’s right to disseminate information.

Media-innovation nexus

But the biggest challenge facing most media houses is often incorrectly framed as a sustainability challenge. In its purest form, the media faces a challenge of a lack of innovation. The media is poorer and therefore not sustainable for not paying attention to innovation.

The challenges faced by media houses may be unprecedented to them, but issues of mutating consumption patterns have been around for as long as companies have existed. Economist Joseph Schumpeter coined the phrase “creative destruction” in 1934 to give effect to changing patterns of consumption in different industries. That the media didn’t expect the unprecedented challenges it faced at the turn of the 19th century is telling.

The challenge facing the media is how to turn the march of history on its head. Despite the ubiquity of information and news, the proliferation of news-focused radio and television stations and social media, how should the media structure itself for relevance beyond the first 30 years of our democracy?

The media today is buffeted by challenges Mbeki and Mandela voiced and more. As the country celebrates 30 years of democracy, most newsrooms have limited capacity and capability that existed when Mbeki asked for honest but also contextualised news reports.

Going forward, we are unlikely to have a Minister of Police shutting down a media house and curtailing freedoms. What will shut down media houses is the paucity of innovations in newsrooms. Newsrooms must embrace technology and seek to change consumption patterns rather than play catch-up with consumption patterns determined by those in Silicon Valley. Innovation in the media is not optional—it is mandatory for the next 30 years.

Makhudu Sefara is an award-winning journalist and editor with over 20 years of mainstream media experience.

Thirty years of
democracy–AZAPO’s perspective

As the country celebrates 30 years of democracy, it is prudent to take stock of where we come from, what has been achieved, and what are the challenges facing us, writes Nelvis Qekema

As a starting point, we have to understand what 27 April 1994 represented. It was a well-crafted plan by the ruling white tribe under the National Party regime to protect the white power structure. That is the reason AZAPO rejected participating in the first all-race elections.

We understood that those elections would not resolve the fundamental point of dispute between the oppressors and the oppressed masses—the return of the land to the black people who had lost it during colonial conquest. It was also clear that the wealth of the country would remain in white hands. It dawned on us that the white minority would still retain ownership and control of the economy. For AZAPO, 27 April 1994 was significant move to remove apartheid. We have to understand that apartheid was not an end in itself. It was a means to an end. Apartheid was introduced by the white tribe in order to build a white power structure in our country. In other words, it was a mere scaffolding in the construction of the white power structure building. When the building is complete, the scaffolding should be removed. Hence, apartheid had to be removed, but leaving the white power structure solid.

The white power structure remains even today. Despite the fact that there is a government dominated by non-white people, the land is still in the hands of white people. More than 90 percent of the economy is in the hands of white people. The commanding heights of the economy are firmly under the ownership and control of the white people.

Culturally, there is nothing African about our country. Every African practice from initiation to the practice of virginity testing is on trial because everything we do has to enjoy the approval of the culturally dominant white propertied class.

The debate of renaming our country to Azania has died. The beneficiaries of colonialism and apartheid have found a new strategy of ruling the country via the courts. They have creatively elevated the Constitution to a status of the Ten Commandments given to the Biblical Moses by God. Whatever the majority vote for in parliament, it can only become law if the Constitutional Court gives its stamp of approval, thus undermining the will of the majority.

The tools of indoctrination, including the media, have been used by the propertied class to project the Constitution as the best in the world despite the fact that it has failed to dismally to assist the black people to regain the ownership of their land. Instead of confronting on the unresolved land question, the main discourse is about civil liberties and services. The indoctrination tools at the hands of the white power structure has crafted a narrative that focuses our collective attention on corruption, lack of service delivery, and civil rights. That is why we have civil rights month.

However, as AZAPO, the hope of black people, we should remind all and sundry that ours is a struggle against colonialism. We have a historical mission to dismantle to colonial architecture of the economy and the political system.

As it is election season, some amongst us are projecting themselves as the people who can rescue South Africa. As AZAPO we want to rescue the liberation project. We want to resuscitate the dream of liberation. We need to unite black people and use our collective votes to the land back. The land is the primary source of wealth creation.

When we look back to the past three decades of democracy, what do we see? We see the reinforcement of the maintenance of the white power structure. We see the co-option of members of the former liberation movement given crumbs to qualify to become members of the white dominated ruling elite.

We see the perfection of a mantshingilane government that protects ill-gotten white wealth. Nothing illustrates the mantshingilane status of the current government than how the police dealt with the mine workers in Marikana where 34 protestors were mowed down for simply demanding better working conditions in Lonmin.

When we look back, we see the emergence of the comprador bourgeois who connive with foreign interests to undermine the national democratic revolution. The comprador bourgeois collapse State institutions in order to create conducive environment for the private sector to thrive. They collapse the healthcare system and effective make a case for the support of private healthcare system. They run down the public education system and champion private education at both basic and tertiary levels, arguing that the State is failing to provide quality education. They render the police ineffective and motivate ordinary citizens to use private security companies for their safety as 10111 number is no longer working.

When we look back over the past three decades of democracy, we see the evaporation of the mental liberation philosophy of Black Consciousness. We see matured adults wearing wigs made of dead white women. We see black women and even men using dangerous chemicals to bleach their faces to become white. We see a heightened level of self-hatred as pronounced by the passionate hate that some of the local African people have towards African immigrants.

We see black people who have lost their worth, who are too ready to accept pay cheques even if they did not lift a finger. We see black teachers who do teach where they are employed but offer private teaching to their pupils over weekends and after school for huge fees. We see nurses in public health care facilities who abuse patients and even conspire with private health practitioners to supply them with medicines stolen from public health centres.

The white oppressors have done a perfect job of producing blacks in their own image. The type of black person who hates being black and adores everything white. This is why there are non-white people who have joined the Freedom Front, a right-wing party formed to preserve white privileges. But it does not end there. Whites are now using money to choose leaders for the black majority. The propertied class create and fund non-white leaders whose brief is to abort the transformation project.

Given all these negative developments that have seen unemployment rising, poverty levels deepening and South Africa becoming the most unequal society in the world, is there hope? As Pan Africanist revolutionary and theoretician Kwame Toure once said: “The job of the conscious is to make the unconscious conscious.”

Our role, as part of the authentic custodian of the Azanian revolution, is to radicalise the national discourse and put the issues of black people at the centre of the national agenda.

Using BC as a tool, we need to remind black people that they alone can create the ideal country of their choice. Whether we are able to resolve the land question, or to create the much needed jobs or to end load-shedding or to ensure the uninterrupted supply of water or improve the quality of public health care and public education will depend on the resolve of each and every one of us. Black people have the ability to dismantle the white power structure. After all, we are a majority.

Nelvis Qekema is President of AZAPO