Curiosity Issue 17

Research . Rethink . Relearn

The theme of this edition of Curios.ty is very timely as we celebrate 30 years of democracy in South Africa. I still remember 1994, as I’m sure many do, queuing for hours waiting to cast my vote and then celebrating as we welcomed Nelson Mandela as our first post-apartheid President.

The South African Constitution, adopted in 1996, is widely regarded as one of the most progressive and innovative in the world. It enabled the dismantling of apartheid and spawned a new era of democracy and human rights in our country. It is one of the few Constitutions to include a comprehensive set of socioeconomic rights, such as the right to housing, healthcare, education, and social security, reflecting a commitment to addressing issues of poverty, inequality, and social disparities through legal mechanisms.

Wits has played a significant role in South Africa's democratic history and continues to contribute towards advancing democracy, social justice, and human rights through its research and advocacy. This issue of Curios.ty provides research, perspectives and commentary from our academics and professional staff across faculties on both our progress and our shortcomings.

The impressive Wits Libraries house some of the most important collections documenting our path to democracy, among which and most notably are the reports by the Goldstone Commissions of Inquiry, which exposed human rights abuses leading up to the 1994 elections, including the murders of many prominent anti-apartheid activists. One of South Africa’s most important social justice archives, the Truth

Curios.ty is a print and digital magazine that aims to make the research at Wits University accessible to multiple publics. It tells Wits’ research stories through the voices of its academics and postgraduate students. Curios.ty is published twice a year, with the first edition appearing in 2017. Each issue is thematic and features research and expert commentary across faculties that relate to the theme. Issue 17 is themed #DEMOCRACY. Our feature stories explore how media maintain and support democracy in the 21st century, and how crime and corruption undermine it. We interrogate democracy as a political system and its liberal, conservative, and other alternatives. Stories on the soundtrack to South Africa’s 30 years of democracy, and traditions such as lobola and initiation, provoke interrogation of democratic culture. We share research and expertise on hot topics including AI, religion, migration, social grants, and the National Health Insurance. We investigate environmental rights, conservation, and water wars and how all of these relate to our individual and collective democratic roles and responsibilities. An expert answers your questions on the Constitution, while the profile story and columnists both locate human and animal rights in an Ubuntu framework and call for a social consensus revolution. The history story reflects on how Commissions of Inquiry expose evidence that contribute to the maintenance of the rule of law and ultimately to the stability of our democracy.

and Reconciliation Commission's (TRC) archives, was recently returned to Wits for safekeeping. Papers from former Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson and Advocate George Bizos are also at Wits and available for scholarly endeavours. According to Dr Daisy Selematsela, the Wits Libraries are democratising knowledge through Open Access initiatives, which help strengthen our democracy.

Thirty years has also brought some disillusionment as we grapple with corruption, inequality, and unemployment which undermine our young democracy. The right of access to a basic water supply, enshrined in our Constitution, is sadly not a reality for many South Africans writes Professor Mucha Musemwa and colleagues. And despite having a robust legislative framework, the lack of accountability threatens to undo all our good work in protecting the environment, which in turn compromises our ability to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Implementing the National Health Insurance Bill is an admirable and essential goal, but a clear roadmap to universal healthcare does not yet exist, say Wits experts in one of this edition’s articles. The magazine also features a poignant account by Professor Hlonipha Mokoena of the #FeesMustFall protests that broke out at universities across the country in 2015 – starting at Wits – and whose embers threaten to reignite at the start of each academic year.

To prevent South Africa becoming a failed society, we must all rise-up and become active citizens, writes William Gumede from the Wits School of Governance. Democracy relies on holding perpetrators of crime and corruption accountable and bringing them to book, but we have failed dismally in this regard, according to Professors Everatt, Hamilton and van den Heever. However, despite these shortcomings, they say, there is reason to be cautiously optimistic for the country’s democracy and its future.

Ensuring that we continue on the path of progress, development, and reconciliation requires the ongoing dedication of institutions such as Wits University to defend democratic principles and to safeguard the gains made over the past three decades. We are undoubtedly up to this task. We are committed to shaping the future of our country through research, dialogue, and critical thinking and to producing the next generation of inspirational leaders.

Professor Lynn Morris Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation

Professor Lynn Morris

Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Research and Innovation

Dr Robin Drennan Director: Research and Development

Shirona Patel Head: Communications

Schalk Mouton

Senior Communications Officer and Curios.ty Editor

Deborah Minors

Senior Communications Officer and Curios.ty Deputy-Editor

Erna Van Wyk

Senior Multimedia Communications Officer and Curios.ty Digital Director

Chanté Schatz

Multimedia Communications Officer and Curios.ty

Photographer and Picture Editor

Wendy Mothata

Social Media Officer

Ntando Hoza

Communications Intern

Zenaye Skozana Communications Intern

SUB-EDITOR

Deryn Graham

COVER DESIGN AND ILLUSTRATIONS

Lauren Mulligan

LAYOUT AND DESIGN

Nadette Hartzenberg

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RESEARCHERS FEATURED

DAISY SELEMATSELA

Dr Daisy Selematsela is the Director of Wits Libraries. She holds a PhD in Information Science and is the Vice-President (20232027) of the International Science Council. Selematsela chairs the South African National Committee of CODATA (the International Science Council’s Committee on Data), as well as the Committee for Higher Education Librarians of South Africa. In 2016 and again in 2019, Selematsela was given a Knowledge Management Leadership award by the Global Knowledge Management Congress and Awards, in association with the World Education Congress.

DINESH BALLIAH

Dr Dinesh Balliah is the Director of the Centre for Journalism at Wits University. She holds a PhD in Journalism and Media Studies, and her research continues to focus on journalism practice, ethics, and mental health. Her Master’s in Historical Studies, on the history of the internet in South Africa, was published. Balliah previously led the career-entry journalism programme at Wits and edited the Wits Vuvuzela student newspaper. She has over two decades of teaching, training, and research experience, augmented with several roles in industry.

HLENGIWE NDLOVU

Dr Hlengiwe Ndlovu is a Senior Lecturer of Development and Governance in the Wits School of Governance. She holds a PhD in Sociology, and her research explores the interplay of gender, democracy, governance, and climate change. She is a co-editor of Rioting and Writing: Diaries of the Wits #Fallists and has written on topics including women’s historical participation in community protests, local government elections, women’s conditions during the Covid-19 pandemic, and how gendered perspectives shape public policies and community initiatives.

JOHANNES MACHINYA

Dr Johannes Machinya is a Lecturer in Health Sociology at Wits University

His PhD thesis was titled The life and labour of ‘illegal’ and deportable people: undocumented Zimbabwean migrants living

and working in Witbank, South Africa. His research interests lie in the interdisciplinary field of critical digital health sociology at the intersection of science and technology studies and health sociology. His research experience includes publishing on migration and labour studies.

LEBOGANG NGWATLE

Lebogang Ngwatle holds a Bachelor of Arts in Dramatic Arts. She is a Master’s student and a Writing Fellow in the Department of Cultural Policy and Management in the Wits School of the Arts. Ngwatle’s research interests are shaped by the interaction between culture, public policy, and education. Her research explores different ways that culture is valued and analyses what these values could mean in South Africa’s current cultural policy landscape. In her professional role as a Development Specialist, she contributes to fundraising and resource mobilisation.

NAEEMA HUSSEIN EL KOUT

Naeema Hussein El Kout is a Lecturer in Physiotherapy and a researcher. She holds an MSc in Physiotherapy and is currently pursuing a PhD in Physiotherapy. Through multiple local and international research collaborations, her research focuses on disability and public health policy in South Africa and beyond. She is an advocate for the integration of rehabilitation into priority health programmes from a global health perspective, to ensure that the voices of end-users reach the policymakers' agenda.

SIPHIWE DUBE

Dr Siphiwe Dube is a Senior Lecturer and former Head of Department in the Department of Political Studies at Wits. His research interests traverse a range of interdisciplinary topics in African politics and religion, and politics and gender. His recent co-edited volume, The D-Word: Perspectives on democracy in tumultuous times, confronts the limits placed on democracy from a diversity of interdisciplinary perspectives. The chapters in the book provide critical reflections on the fractures in democracy in South Africa and beyond, including his chapter on Black Conservatism and religion in postapartheid South Africa.

WAYNE VAN ZIJL

Associate Professor Wayne van Zijl is a chartered accountant in the Margo Steele School of Accountancy at Wits and the Assistant Dean of Research for the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management. He is a PhD candidate and conducts qualitative, cross-disciplinary, corporate reporting research on International Financial Reporting Standards, accounting’s evolution, accountability, and the co-evolution of society and accounting. He has published in Accounting Forum, Australian Accounting Review, British Accounting Review, and Critical Perspectives on Accounting.

JOHANNES MACHINYA

LEBOGANG NGWATLE

WAYNE VAN ZIJL

DINESH BALLIAH

HLENGIWE NDHLOVU

NAEEMA HUSSEIN EL KOUT

SIPHIWE DUBE

DAISY SELEMATSELA

THE UNTOUCHABLES: CRIME AND CORRUPTION

Corruption is not unique to South Africa, as scandals in the USA and UK have shown. Democracy relies on holding authorities accountable, but no one seems keen to do that. Despite these shortcomings in the political process, there’s reason to be cautiously optimistic about our country’s democracy.

SARAH HUDLESTON

South Africans have begun to view the growing litany of our politicians’ criminal and corrupt practices with a growing sense of alarm.

In 2018, then Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, Mogoeng Mogoeng (the then Chief), appointed Raymond Zondo to chair a commission to investigate state capture.

The report emanating from the inquiry and published in its entirety in June 2022 revealed that no fewer than 1 483 people were implicated in state capture, yet less than a handful have been prosecuted and convicted.

Nor have investigations into a string of other incidences of gross corruption, including the VBS Mutual Bank scandal, the arms deal, and the Phala Phala affair which implicated the country’s first citizen in allegations of money laundering, resulted in any of the perpetrators being held accountable.

Does this all point to a breakdown of our political and legal system and a threat to South Africa’s democracy?

COLONIAL CORRUPTION

Professor David Everatt in the Wits School of Governance says, “Perhaps it would be better to ask why, when South African politicians lie, the response is, ‘is our system close to collapse?’, but when a sitting US President supports an armed insurrection to steal power after lying and cheating for decades, there are no such questions? Similarly, when the UK cabinet is shown to be profoundly corrupt, there are no such questions.” Everatt makes a good point. Evidently, democracy in the United States is not deemed to be damaged, despite former President Trump’s actions, says Professor Lawrence Hamilton, the SA UK Bilateral Research Professor in Political Theory at Wits and Cambridge University. He believes that Trump defies much of democratic logic.

“There is no doubt that he has an incredibly loyal support base, which is surprising because Trump is not like his supporters at all. But they seem to enjoy his rebelliousness and his perceived people’s touch,” says Hamilton.

“As to why the West describes South Africa as a failed state and does not consider the US or the UK in the same way, comes perhaps from their inherent prejudice against the South which is reinforced by something that is real, which we have lived through. It is not as if these northern countries are not corrupt. But what they do have is a long history of global dominance.”

PROCEDURAL ACCOUNTABILITY IN POLITICS

Democracy functions through a variety of mechanisms, with the focus on accountability, says Hamilton. “We have representatives to speak for us as citizens, and we hold them accountable through the electoral process. In addition, there are various media mechanisms to hold them to account. If elected officials have broken the law, or if they are corrupt – as revealed by the Zondo Commission –they need to have their day in court.”

However, “There is this generalised acceptance that there won’t be any consequences for corrupt actions.”

Hamilton says that the current lack of accountability in South Africa is due to two main factors that go hand in hand:

“The first is a structural factor, in that we do not vote for individual representatives, we vote for parties. The other is that an incredibly corrupt set of practices, that we now refer to as state capture, became prevalent, and it is corrupting of our system of governance.”

‘POLITICAL CAPTURE’

Alex Van den Heever, Adjunct Professor and Chair of Social Security Systems Administration and Management Studies in the W its School of Governance, believes that democracy is more than just the electoral process.

“Theoretically it is about being able to change the people who make key strategic decisions in government as well as holding politicians to account if they behave in a fraudulent or dishonest manner,” says Van den Heever.

“We must be able to remove these people swiftly through a process of investigation and prosecution. That is quite apart from other kinds of accountability structures such as administrative penalties and disciplinary processes within government.

What we now see in South Africa is political capture. The state system is failing to deal with that concurrent aspect of accountability. The very long period of incumbency of one political party means that we have not had accountability in our political process for a long time.”

“It is not as if these northern countries are not corrupt. But what they do have is a long history of global dominance.”

OVERCOMING STRUCTURALLY IMPERFECT POLITICS

Hamilton believes that despite the current challenges facing South Africa, it does have a viable democracy, given the mechanisms that focus on accountability. Similarly, Van den Heever believes there is hope for democracy in South Africa, which goes to the polls on 29 May 2024.

“This country has got the resources to grow fantastically, to eliminate unemployment, and to have a decent society overall. It has all of that potential but, as long as we allow the current status of our structurally imperfect politics that befuddles large parts of our population to prevail, we cannot achieve this,” says Van den Heever.

“We are underperforming against peer countries – and the gap is widening. We are doing worse and worse relative to countries similar to our own and we are falling behind. In 1982 South Korea had a lower per capita GDP than South Africa but today it is eight times that of ours. So, this is the potential. You get it right, and you will grow systematically. Your infrastructure will work, and you will have a decent democratic society.” C

THE RISE AND FALL AND REFORM OF DEMOCRACY

A VIOLENT FREEDOM

Red flags that signal a so-called ‘failed democracy’ include a descent into violence and social polarisation. Despite the knife-edge upon which South Africans live, the country is not, in fact, a failed state – but a new form of democracy is required.

In July 2021, a profoundly unsettling eight days of violence, looting, and burning gripped South Africa. The media attributed these actions, which caused 340 deaths and around R50 billion in damage, to the imprisonment of former president Jacob Zuma, and the term ‘failed state’ was freely bandied around.

While Zuma’s arrest may have been a trigger, it was not the root cause of the revolt; the July riots were a symptom of a more significant historical crisis, and “patterns were only crystallised under Zuma,” explains Dr Edward Cottle, a researcher at the

Southern Centre for Inequality Studies at Wits.

If Zuma was the spark, the pandemic was the wood – as was the government’s granting of a meagre R350 monthly social grant. Add in the lack of adequate housing, food, and jobs affecting many communities, and the tinder box was ready to blow. Not reckoning with unresolved issues relating to the country’s unjust past was the fuel, and the fire created a smokescreen for the repercussions of a macroeconomic model that believed a free market would address South Africa’s inequities, says Cottle.

“Before Mbeki’s drive for efficiency and the rationalisation of the

BETH AMATO

economy, the Reconstruction and Development Plan, introduced in 1994, was a way for black people to partake in the economy.”

Furthermore, Mbeki’s growth, employment, and redistribution plan was not developed in meaningful partnership with labour and civil society. Cottle says, “Mbeki argued that local economic and political systems would become more efficient, decreasing debt levels. This never transpired.”

FRAGILE NOT FAILED

A failed state, by definition, is a place where the state cannot fulfill most of its functions. “It’s a war zone with no basic security or development,” says Cottle.

Despite the country’s dire socioeconomic and political realities, South Africa is not a failed state, “The concept is dated,” says Cottle. “It’s more plausible to say we are a fragile state.”

A fragile state can be defined as one that is in some form of crisis and is characterised by poor government performance.

Furthermore, South Africa is not unique if violent protests are an indicator of a fragile state. Violent urban uprisings have engulfed Europe, and the Middle East’s Arab Spring was also a seminal moment in the history of violent protests.

POLARISATION VERSUS DEMOCRACY

“Democracy is perceived to be fraught with moral failings,” explains Dr Siphiwe Dube, a Senior Lecturer in Political Studies.

“The growing conservatism across the globe is underpinned by the belief that ‘undeserving’ people are given rights.”

“The growing conservatism across the globe is underpinned by the belief that ‘undeserving’ people are given rights. Conservatives believe that the world has gone too far in accommodating and tolerating trans people, immigrants, those seeking abortions, anyone entering a same sex marriage, and so-called rampant feminists,” he says, and points out that in the US, right-wing demagogues espouse hatred and suspicion towards immigrants, but need the latter for cheap labour and to do the kind of work that others refuse to do.

AFRICAN CONSERVATISM

Dube has researched the values and rhetoric of conservative South African political entities, particularly leading up to the 2024 elections. He has examined the Freedom Front Plus, Solidarity, the African Christian Democratic Party, and the African Transformation Movement. These organisations have different manifestos but common threads, says Dube, including the sanctity of the nuclear family, religion, and the entrenchment of patriarchy

“These parties are saying we should have a new and totally different moral system. But there is such hypocrisy; these parties exist because of key Constitutional rights such as freedom of speech.”

INKULULEKO – A NEW FORM OF DEMOCRACY

Dube believes that democracy must be reimagined. “When John Locke wrote about democracy, he was speaking only to an elite of white men who held the belief that liberal democracy was inherently good. We have to think about democracy in a way that promotes justice, effectively addresses polycrises, and shifts away from staunch positionality.”

Cottle asserts that a new political model must focus on delivering socioeconomic rights. “I believe we also need a firm review of our past. We can’t blame every failing on the government. We need to address the causes of increasing inequality. And this is not peculiar to South Africa.”

Dr Hlengiwe Ndlovu, a Senior Lecturer in the School of Governance, has delved into state and societal relations, and particularly the concept of inkululeko

“This isiXhosa term is loosely translated as ‘freedom.’ Inkululeko is linked to the socioeconomic outcomes people expected from the fruits of the liberation struggle and the promise of a better life for all, as stated in the ANC’s 1994 election manifesto,” says Ndlovu, who conducted an ethnographic study in Duncan Village, East London, between 2014 and 2019, to understand what democracy and true freedom mean to people.

“While democracy is conventionally a system where people can elect their representatives and partake in decision-making, inkululeko is more tangible. It is being free from hunger, homelessness, and human indignity.” C

REIMAGINING DEMOCRACY

The perfect political system doesn’t exist and democracy, as a system of government by the whole population, seems to have had its heyday. Is ‘People Power’ in SA viable beyond 2024 and at what cost?

BETH AMATO

In the 1991 movie Thelma and Louise, the two female protagonists were literally behind the wheel (in this case of a convertible Ford Thunderbird) after they took a decision, in the face of violent patriarchy, to own their story.

In that classic final scene, when their car flies into the Grand Canyon, the message is that while women can strive for heady freedom and defy imposed and traditional roles, it turns out that the ideal is just a Hollywood fantasy. Then as now.

Thelma and Louise becoming a cult classic coincided with democracy’s big moment. Evan Cupido and Raphael de Kadt, writing for the Helen Suzman Foundation, noted that the world rode a wave of democratisation in the 1980s and early 1990s, as authoritarian states began to wane. Adopting democracy was attractive, coloured, as it was, by the West’s economic and political tenets.

But, like Thelma and Louise’s defiance of entrenched systems, democracy is fragile. Moreover, it has a growing number of staunch, conservative opponents.

IN DEFENCE OF DEMOCRACY

“Liberal democracy was advancing confidently from the mid-1970s to the 1990s. But we see now how fragile the system is across the world. The 2008 global economic crisis revealed how democracy did not ensure economic prosperity for everyone,” says Professor Daryl Glaser in the Department of Political Studies.

The evidence is that democracy is compatible with economic growth but does not guarantee it. Indeed, both democracy and dictatorship can succeed and fail economically.

China’s authoritarian government has been economically successful in recent decades. “But we can also say that China got lucky with its dictators. Where democracy is useful is that it offers the possibility of peaceful ‘course correction’ through voting. In China, if something goes wrong, there is no mechanism for people to replace leaders,” says Glaser.

Democracy’s intrinsic merits are therefore evident: “We can defend democracy because political equality, participation, freedom, and procedural fairness are fundamental. For some people, this is sufficient and an end in itself,” says Glaser.

WILL SOUTH AFRICA'S DEMOCRACY

SURVIVE AFTER 2024?

Glaser says that South Africa’s democracy is procedurally sound, but the democratic constitutional settlement did not achieve everything that people wanted. “There is a disconnect between the rulers and the ruled,” says Glaser. Today, South Africa is economically stagnant and socially unequal.

Moreover, this country’s democracy has not been put to its biggest test: will the African National Congress (ANC) concede power if it loses an election? And, if it does, can South Africa be well run by a coalition government? “The ANC will for a long time be the largest party, but we can cautiously predict that it will not get the majority of votes in the 2024 election,” says Glaser.

Realistically, the best hope for South Africa is a stable

“Where democracy is useful is that it offers the possibility of peaceful ‘course correction’ through voting.”

coalition where partners curb the ANC's excesses, patronage, corruption and authoritarianism. “We will need current opposition parties to play their part in maintaining a stable democracy. This can’t be the ANC’s burden alone.” If a non-ANC coalition exists, its multiple constituent parties must demonstrate that they can get along.

Moreover, democracy needs the backing and support of effective administration. “South African state administration probably requires an injection of professionalism and less partisan cadre deployment,” says Glaser.

This is not to say that the free market should reign supreme, but that efficient bureaucratic systems should ensure service delivery and the realisation of human freedoms.

IMPERFECT POLITICS AND THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

Visiting Professor Mia Swart in the School of Law says that there has been democratic backsliding, particularly in the treatment of immigrants and minorities. In 2019, when India (often referred to as the world’s most populous democracy) passed its Citizenship Amendment Act, it effectively excluded Muslims from becoming Indian citizens.

“How far do we need to drift from the principles of democracy for it no longer to be a democracy? There is little pressure on India to democratise its policies. In Europe, where strong democratic values and human rights have been central, there is a rise in right-wing, antiimmigrant rhetoric and we now doubt what Europe stands for,” says Swart.

In Singapore, there is economic prosperity but little personal freedom. “Would you rather live in a poor democracy or a wealthy democratic state?” asks Swart. She says that what people most want is tangible goods and services. “Material goods play a huge role in people’s happiness. Democracy and progressive constitutions don’t put bread on the table. People want to feel happiness on a daily basis.”

For Swart, democracy fails if it doesn’t focus on the pursuit of happiness. “But right now, it’s the best of the other bad options.” In South Africa, the devastating levels of youth unemployment should be everyone’s focus.

“Every political party’s manifesto must address this. Yes, we honour individual freedoms, but we are failing an entire sector of the population.”

Confronted with urgent issues such as youth unemployment, pervasive, and entrenched patterns of violence, disruption and poverty, no political system will be a quick fix. Democracy should continuously be reimagined in its national context. C

THE SOCIAL CONSENSUS REVOLUTION

To prevent South Africa from becoming a failed society, we must all rise and become active citizens. This means more than just holding politicians to account –it means caring for each other and playing an active role in our communities, writes William Gumede.

GALLO IMAGES, ALET PRETORIUS

The society-wide consensus forged in South Africa after the end of apartheid has now collapsed in the face of corruption, dishonesty, the breakdown of basic moral standards, and the rule of law. We need something new to replace the consensus forged after 1994, to which every political party, irrespective of their ideology, should subscribe.

Competing governance systems to the Constitution, state failure, tribalisation, the exclusion of large numbers of South Africans based on demographics, and uncaring public servants, have all contributed to a breakdown of the former democratic consensus.

THE PILLARS OF A NEW DEMOCRATIC CONSENSUS

What should the pillars of a new democratic consensus be?

The Constitution must be the apex governance system, without challenge, whether from customary law, township or village communal culture, gang, or liberation party culture. The rule of law has to be a central pillar of a new consensus.

South Africa’s diversity must be accepted as a pillar of the country’s identity. The best way forward for South Africa is what Michael Ignatieff described as “civic nationalism”, where the glue holding communities together is equal rights and shared democratic cultures, values, and institutions, rather than ethnic nationalism.

MERIT-BASED PUBLIC SERVICE

A professional, merit-based, non-politicised public service that is not aligned to a governing party is critical for the delivery of public services, a functioning economy and uniting South Africans across race, class, and politics. The state must treat citizens with dignity and with efficiency.

The public service is critical in modelling moral, democratic, responsive behaviour that is accountable, and therefore helps to instill a democratic culture (or not).

Strategies of redress have to be reimagined and economic development policies must focus not on a small black or white elite, or only on uplifting the poor, but on everyone, irrespective of race, colour, or political affiliation.

UPSKILLING VS EMPOWERMENT

Empowerment must refocus on delivering skills, quality education and entrepreneurial opportunities, as well as assets, such as home ownership. In the short term, South Africa needs a basic income grant, but one that is linked to skills development, entrepreneurship, active citizenship, and democratic civic education – with recipients even being asked to volunteer in their communities in a variety of roles.

ACTIVE CITIZENRY

South Africa needs more active democratic citizenship, which carries with it individual roles and responsibilities, and accountability – not just the exercising of rights, freedoms, and expectations, but the kind of citizenship which follows the rule

“There has to be a national consensus to tackle apartheidinduced mass trauma.”

of law, and engages with neighbours, community, and society through a range of civic activities.

Companies too must behave as model democratic corporate citizens, respecting democratic institutions and the environment. Business operations should be conducted in a sustainable way –minimising environmental harm, emphasising human rights, and ensuring fair labour and consumer trade practices.

The ultimate demonstration of active citizenship is at the ballot box, rejecting parties and leaders who are corrupt, incompetent, and uncaring. South Africa is in danger of becoming a failed society, one in which social order breaks down, social norms fray and traditional family structures collapse. The failure of government to provide basic services accelerates society’s fracturing.

RECOVERY STRATEGY

Reversing the slide starts with government law enforcement, the delivery of public services, and holding public officials to account. But opposition parties, civil society, faith-based organisations, and businesses will all have to collaborate if we are to restore social norms, order, and good civic behaviours.

There has to be a national consensus to tackle apartheidinduced mass trauma which has left individuals and communities so broken, with many struggling to engage fully in our democracy, with the state, in the workplace, and even in intimate relationships.

Given this reality, self-esteem and agency assertion need to be taught at all levels of society – recipients of government grants and other forms of financial support could be compelled to attend civic, democracy and self-care programmes.

There has to be a new consensus if we are to change the country’s culture and the way we engage with others, and to change what have become acceptable social norms, values, and behaviour, but which have become corrupted.

To give effect to this national culture change, there must be greater enforcement of duties, responsibilities, and accountabilities among ordinary citizens, as well as elected and public representatives.

Finally, the reward structure in society has to be changed to one based on hard work, honesty, and merit – not political affiliations, colour, or past struggle credentials. C William Gumede is an Associate Professor in the Wits School of Governance, Founder and Executive Chairperson of the Democracy Works Foundation, and author of Restless Nation: Making Sense of Troubled Times (Tafelberg).

LEFT: MAMELODI, SOUTH AFRICA - DECEMBER 07: Poelo Mofolo assists a child during the Mamelodi Skate Club School Holiday Programme skate lessons for beginners at Mamelodi Beer Hall Skatepark on December 07, 2023 in Mamelodi, South Africa. Skate lessons will give youth of Mamelodi an opportunity to participate in a healthy activity such as skateboarding. (Photo by Gallo Images/Alet Pretorius)

YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED: THE SOUTH AFRICAN CONSTITUTION

Published in 1996, the South African Constitution is the bedrock of South Africa’s democracy, as it sets the tone of who we are, and how we want our society to function. As a legal document, its content can often be misinterpreted. Constitutional expert, Professor Cathi Albertyn, answers some questions on the Constitution.

HOW HAS THE CONSTITUTION HELPED TO SHAPE SOUTH AFRICA'S POLITICAL LANDSCAPE?

Constitutions typically set out the institutions, rules and principles that organise power and decision-making within a state and identify the rights and duties that govern the relationship between the state and its people. The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa establishes a constitutional democracy where a representative parliament and an independent judiciary are important features of our political landscape.

A commitment to a universal franchise, regular elections and a multiparty democracy, based on proportional representation, means that Parliament is representative of multiple parties.

Critically, an independent judiciary is authorised to interpret and enforce the Constitution which means that courts play a central role in holding the exercise of public power to account. People can go to court to vindicate their rights – from the right to vote,

to rights to non-discrimination, socioeconomic rights to housing, healthcare, water, social assistance and education. Courts can hold Parliament, the Executive and public officials to account, which means that the courts play a significant role in the fight against impunity and corruption. Various political battles have spilled over into the courts, including faction-fighting within the ANC as well as highly publicised litigation around President Zuma and those associated with state capture. Sometimes referred as lawfare, this means that the courts are used multiple times to delay accountability in what is often called the ‘Stalingrad strategy’.

HOW DOES THE CONSTITUTION ENSURE ACCOUNTABILITY AND TRANSPARENCY IN GOVERNMENT?

The establishment of an accountable, responsive and open government is a cornerstone of our democracy. Parliament, the

CHANTÉ SCHATZ

courts and Chapter Nine Institutions all play a role in ensuring accountability and transparency.

Apart from its central role in law-making, Parliament is tasked with scrutinising and overseeing government action. This allows Parliament and its Committees to call the President, Ministers and government officials to account for implementing laws, service delivery, public expenditure, and allegations of maladministration. Parliament must also approve the annual budget. There has been substantial criticism of Parliament’s weak oversight role in the past, often arising from party loyalty. Parliament’s reluctance to hold the Executive to account was highlighted when the Constitutional Court found that it failed to ensure that President Zuma complied with remedial action ordered by the Public Protector in respect of irregular expenditure at his Nkandla private residence.

The supremacy of the Constitution means that all law and conduct that is inconsistent with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights is invalid. Where Parliament, the Executive and public officials violate the Constitution, citizens may go to court to enforce the Constitution.

HOW DOES THE CONSTITUTION ADDRESS ISSUES OF EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITY AND PROMOTE EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ALL STUDENTS?

The Constitution guarantees a right to basic education, including adult education. This is given content in legislation, particularly by the South African Schools Act. This right has grounded a number of cases to address ongoing educational inequalities, ranging from discrimination in access, to universal norms and standards for schooling and the provision of desks, teachers and textbooks. While all of these cases have been successful, the implementation of court orders tends to be subject to significant delays. In addition, matters relating to the quality of education and successful educational outcomes are probably beyond the purview of courts.

The Constitution also guarantees the right to further education which the state is bound to make ‘progressively available and accessible’. At the core of equality in the higher education system is funding. While universal funding is not guaranteed in the Constitution, it does require the progressive roll-out of such funding and probably prevents its unreasonable and irrational roll-back. For example, a recent retraction of National Student Financial Aid Scheme funding from students doing a postgraduate LLB at Wits was overturned on review, against the broad backdrop of the Constitutional educational right.

HOW DOES THE CONSTITUTION HANDLE THE CONCEPT OF LAND EXPROPRIATION WITHOUT COMPENSATION, AND WHAT IMPLICATIONS DOES IT HAVE FOR LAND OWNERSHIP AND REDISTRIBUTION?

The Constitution addresses the land question in Section 25 by setting out the broad framework for restitution and redistribution but it leaves the details of these processes to be defined in policy and law. On the question of expropriation, Section 25 provides that expropriation, for a public purpose or public interest, must take place under a law of general application and is subject to compensation. The amount of compensation must be ‘just and equitable’ and be approved or decided by a court, which must balance the public interest and the interests of those affected. Whether this compensation may amount to ‘nil’ has been

the subject of heated debate. One side argues for certainty in the constitutional text (thus advocating for a constitutional amendment). These are split between those who state that there is no duty to compensate (expropriation without compensation) and those who would keep the duty but specify that this might amount to ‘nil’. The other side argues that ‘nil’ compensation is permitted by the Constitution, but that the Expropriation Act must be revised to guide government and the courts to enable this under specified circumstances.

The latter view aligns with the general idea that the Constitution provides a broad normative and enabling framework for social and economic transformation, that is flexible and designed to endure. It is in the details of policies, laws and programmes – and their implementation and enforcement – that real transformation becomes possible. Here, the question is whether the Expropriation Reform Bill, currently before the President for signature into law, is up to the task.

HOW DOES THE

CONSTITUTION CONTRIBUTE TO TACKLING UNEMPLOYMENT AND INEQUALITY AND FOSTERING INCLUSIVE ECONOMIC GROWTH IN THE COUNTRY? IS THAT PART OF ITS ROLE?

The Constitution establishes a vision of an egalitarian society based on social justice, human dignity, and the achievement of equality and freedom. This can be seen to envisage a redistributive social democracy, and constitutional rights and principles can be interpreted to enable, defend and advance quite radically redistributive measures. However, the Constitution does not specify a particular economic policy, the choice of which falls to the government of the day.

Among the principles and rights that foster an inclusive economy are the constitutional commitment to achieving equality and the Section 9 equality rights that permit positive measures. These enable, for example, black economic empowerment. In addition, non-discrimination and affirmative action under Section 9, and the right to fair labour practices, trade unions, and collective bargaining in Section 23 help foster an inclusive labour market. The detail, of course, falls to policy and legislation.

Overall, the rights and principles of the Constitution can be drawn on in multiple ways to advocate for greater economic transformation, to defend economic transformation and redistribution where it does takes place and, more rarely, to call out government in court when it fails to assist those in need. C

iCathi Albertyn is a Professor in the Wits School of Law She is known for her work in Constitutional Law and has served as a commissioner on the Commission for Gender Equality and the South African Law Reform Commission. MORE ON THIS STORY:

For more answers on questions about the Constitution, visit www.wits.ac.za/curiosity/ or follow Wits on LinkedIn or Facebook.

Three decades into democracy and a generation of ‘born free’ voters registered to make their mark at the polls in 2024, what is the soundtrack, if any, that underscores this election year?

LEANNE RENCKEN

When considering how music serves a democratic agenda, the struggle songs of the liberation movement immediately come to mind. Historically South Africa has been a country that protests with song, toyi-toying its way through revolution. Leaders call for change, and the nation responds in harmonious verse.

Professor Emeritus of Social Anthropology at Wits, David Coplan, says, “We all know the most iconic struggle songs. Many of them were hymns but were sung strictly for political purposes during the struggle – songs like Senzenina [What Have We Done?] and Hamilton Masiza’s Vukani Mawethu [Wake Up My People].”

THE PROGRESS OF PROTEST

While these hymns and other struggle songs have historical significance and are still often invoked with a sense of nostalgia, they’re not the go-to anthems of today. Neither is kwaito, the youth-led post-1994 pop/rap genre that spoke to both liberation and disillusionment and peaked in the early 2010s.

Can kwaito’s successors, such as popular music genre amapiano, or even gqom, fill the protest-music gap? Probably not, but perhaps that’s not the point. Coplan theorises that “the young generation is looking for other avenues to keep the country going for them. Maybe the most political thing about music is that it

represents social mobility.” Given South African singer-songwriter, Tyla Seethal’s recent Grammy win for her global hit, Water, and her deal with US label Epic Records and her large social media following, he may be right.

NEW CONCEPTS

Lebogang Ngwatle is a Master's student in the Department of Cultural Policy and Management in the Wits School of Arts and has a slightly different take. Ngwatle believes that “the messaging and the revolution in the contemporary sound we hear is extremely spiritual. There are the drums, the chanting, references to idioms of old, questions about self-identity, and land – not directly, but it’s clear that land is connected to spirituality.”

While amapiano and gqom are mainstream, says Ngwatle, there are other concept bands like iPhupho L’Ka Biko that are rooted in Black Consciousness and Africanism. Founded by Wits Music alumnus, Nhlanhla Ngqaqu, in 2015, the experimental sound of iPhupho L’Ka Biko is rooted in jazz and draws on themes such as spirituality, love, ritual, culture, their envisaged future, and displacement. They gained prominence as proponents of the #FeesMustFall movement and have recently released their first album, Azania

Chantal Willie-Petersen, renowned jazz musician, lecturer and PhD candidate in W its Music adds, “A lot of South African artists

that I am aware of and that I am drawn to are those that provoke the idea of what democracy should look like in our country. Artists like Benjamin Jephta [in Wits Music] who has recently released an album called, Born Coloured, Not Born-Free, and others who are still talking around the ideas of racism, poverty, inequality, war, gender-based violence, the way we do life, nation building, etc. There are so many inconsistencies, inequalities, and instabilities that music addresses, and I feel that music plays a great role in establishing what our Constitution asks for theoretically, but what it is still very much lacking practically.”

ARTS ECONOMICS

Can the powerful messaging behind music like this only be validated by its engagement with a rapt audience, intent on driving its mission forward, and equally important, shouldn’t it be able to support artists financially?

Ngwatle, whose research interrogates the role community art centres played in creating a cultural and financial support system for artists, believes that with the closure of many of these centres the South African government needs to step in with respect to both audience and artist development.

“In South Africa the biggest concern that underpins all policy is social cohesion,” she says. “What better way to achieve social

“What better way to achieve social cohesion than through the arts?”

cohesion than through the arts? My research interest asks how we can communicate about art this way and measure its contribution to social cohesion? What indicators would we use?”

SINGING FROM THE SAME SONG SHEET

Willie-Peterson believes that activists will always find an audience if they address the needs of society. She also believes that participation in music is important for the artist because it is transactional, but it’s vital for everyone because it’s inherently restorative: “Audiences will find a space where music is there to contribute towards cultural enhancement and towards the seasons in our lives where we need to be carried by something that is of a divine nature, that speaks to the healing of the body, the mind and the reconciliation of nations.” C

HOW COLONIALISM BASTARDISED ANCIENT RITUALS

In some democratic societies, traditional rituals and practices such as lobola and initiation are often viewed through a western lens and are misunderstood as misogynist or patriarchal. Today, these practices remain fundamental to many South Africans’ lives and, demonstrate kinship, self-actualisation, and responsibility.

In 1850, the colonialist and so-called ‘Administrator of Native Affairs’, Theophilus Shepstone ruled that only 11 cattle could be exchanged in the marriage practice of ilobolo, because he regarded it as an exploitative business transaction. Before then, there was no limit to how many cattle could be given to a bride’s family. Ilobolo or lobola, an ancient and noble African ritual relating to marriage, was thus tarnished and reduced to a mere financial exchange.

Today, in our modern, democratic society, cultural practices such as lobola and other rituals are often dismissed as inappropriate, patriarchal relics.

FEMALE FLEXIBILITY

The tragic narrowing of lobola’s meaning and significance denies its roots in kinship and a reciprocal relationship between families, explains Associate Professor Hlonipha Mokoena, a South African historian in the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WiSER). “The colonial perspective sees lobola as the buying and selling of women, when in fact it was about creating a bond between two families,” she says.

Mokoena explains that cattle are ‘latecomers’ in the practice of lobola About 300 years ago, people exchanged brass rings, which were devalued when the Portuguese introduced counterfeit brass in exchange for products like ivory.

Moreover, women could decide their lobola, particularly if they came from a powerful family. Indeed, a woman could refuse to be married. “The archives are full of stories of how flexible lobola was,” says Mokoena.

UNITING FAMILIES

Dr Sinethemba Makanya, a traditional healer with a PhD in Medical Humanities and a Lecturer in the Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care says that colonialism and apartheid bastardised lobola and other initiatory practices.

“The colonial perspective sees lobola as the buying and selling of women, when in fact it was about creating a bond between two families.”

“Lobola is not divorced from African cosmology and metaphysics. It can’t be spoken about without bringing in the importance of ancestral spirits and natural ecology. When a woman is married, she belongs to the whole, and the husband’s ancestors will embrace her too,” says Makanya.

Lobola is a complex practice involving intricate rituals, explains Makanya, only some of which are well known. In fact, marriage rites also include umembeso, when the husband’s family dresses the wife. Blankets, coats, and traditional attire are examples of clothing given. Sometimes, the wife is given a new name to help her journey to becoming part of the husband’s family.

“The wife’s family does the same for the husband as a way of bringing the families together and teaching one another about each family’s values and conventions,” says Makanya. The wife’s family also hopes to entrust their daughter to a man who can prove his maturity and an ability to care for others.

“When cattle are given, each of the cows means something. For example, many cows belong to the bride's mother, and some to the grandmother and ancestors. The cows are tokens of appreciation to those who helped raise the bride,” explains Makanya.

BETH AMATO LOMBE K

After the wedding ceremony, there is umabo The two families have a final ‘dressing’, and the wife is dropped off at the husband’s home where she should stay to show her care for her new husband’s family.

INITIATION AS CELEBRATION

The diminishing of the meaning of lobola also applies to other traditional practices. When boys are initiated into becoming men, circumcision camps are often referenced. “Of course, this has been called into question, but the practice is about maturing into a fuller human being. It is a celebration and a call to take responsibility,” says Mokoena.

When a young woman undergoes puberty, she can no longer follow her father around. In addition, sleeping arrangements change; people can only sleep in the same room as those who are of similar age.

Mokoena says, “At first glance, this can seem strict or even patriarchal, but there is a wise logic to these rules. They encourage independence and peer relationships. They allow your parents to acknowledge that they’ve done their job raising you.”

WESTERN WEDDINGS AND CONSPICUOUS CONSUMPTION

Both Mokoena and Makanya lament how lobola, in particular, has changed an ancient kinship practice. “Marriage seems to reflect the capitalist society in which we live. The expensive and elaborate wedding dress seems more important than affirming an important part of African culture,” says Mokoena.

Meanwhile, many people believe that marriage is an unattainable goal because they can’t afford the lobola “It’s about keeping up with the Joneses, and if you can’t have a huge wedding, both traditional and ‘western’, then you have failed,” she adds. Marriage is, therefore, aspirational and a victim of the wider economic and social order.

“Rituals should be about developing rather than destroying people’s lives. You don’t want people to feel like outsiders. I don’t think our ancestors ever intended lobola, for example, to be exclusionary.”

Lobola is a way to imagine all the ways in which love can be applied. “It is asking what it takes to create love and a bond between families,” says Mokoena. C

SOCIAL GRANTS: A HAND UP, NOT A HAND-OUT

Social grants and cash transfers have been lifelines for many South Africans. The existing child support grant and proposed pregnancy grant both give children a healthier start in life, and they make democratic and economic sense.

BETH AMATO

When Covid-19 tore holes in the already flimsy social fabric of communities across South Africa, the government introduced a Social Relief of Distress grant for those in acute crisis. It supplemented the existing social grants and highlighted that the government could execute its social protection and constitutional mandate.

While the small amount of R350 is far below the national poverty line threshold of R1 058 per person per month (as of May 2023), cash transfers alleviated extreme poverty, says Thokozile Madonko, a Southern Centre for Inequality Studies researcher.

“Covid revealed that people had little to fall back on. Suddenly, there were people without money and the government could cover the basic minimum in response to a disaster,” she says.

SOCIAL SECURITY AND ECONOMIC ACTIVITY

Section 27 of the Constitution mandates the state to afford everyone the right to receive social security. It also obliges the state to take reasonable measures to help people attain this right. Ultimately, cash transfers should counter poverty and inequality, and protect children, older people, and those with disabilities.

Madonko says that financial grants allow people to be more economically active. “If everyone received a grant despite their income, they could begin to play a meaningful part in the economy and engage as democratic citizens,” she says.

Moreover, evidence from a basic income grant project piloted in Namibia showed that a monthly cash grant of N$100 per person each month had multiplier effects – it reduced child malnutrition, increased attendance in schools, and enhanced economic activity. Women could also move away from risky work.

In South Africa, the real value of social grants is decreasing because of the exorbitant cost-of-living, but they continue to play a role in alleviating poverty, particularly in female-headed households. “Basic cash injections are certainly useful in the context of the multiple crises humanity faces and the changing nature of work,” says Madonko.

A FUTURE BEYOND THE FIRST 1 000 DAYS

Professor Susan Goldstein, Managing Director in the South African Medical Research Council Centre for Health Economics and Decision Science, explains that most social grant recipients are poor black households in urban areas, where women and children are the most vulnerable.

“Pregnant women in these households, for example, can’t afford to buy nutritious food or seek antenatal care. A baby’s first 1 000 days [from conception to their second birthday] is a critical period of development in ensuring that they are later able to reach their full potential. Should stunting as a result of under nutrition occur, major social and health effects are felt later on. This costs the individual their health and future, and costs the government billions in healthcare spending,” she says.

Vulnerable groups in South Africa include these women and children, as well as those with disabilities, and the aged.

Professor Imraan Valodia, Pro Vice-Chancellor: Climate, Sustainability and Inequality, strongly supports the Older Persons Grant because it plays a vital role in social security, and the economic benefits are clear.

He says that the Child Support Grant is also critical. “If a child under six isn’t getting the right nutrition, it’s almost impossible to recover from that later in life,” he says.

PUSHING FOR A PREGNANCY GRANT

A pregnancy grant, not yet available in South Africa, could address

“Implementing a pregnancy grant will save the government money in the long run.”

child development concerns. Goldstein refutes claims that women fall pregnant merely to receive the State’s financial support. In fact, many needy women with children do not access the grant. Moreover, if the child grant is received, it is not spent frivolously.

Goldstein says that low-middle income countries such as India, Bangladesh, Mexico, Nepal, Nigeria, Kenya and Brazil have introduced pregnancy grants, voucher schemes, conditional cash and nutritional support. These interventions have proven quite effective in ensuring that mothers and children can access good nutrition during and post pregnancy.

Goldstein says that globally about 41% of mothers receive a maternity benefit. In Europe this number is 80%, but in Africa, only 16% of pregnant women receive a cash transfer.

She adds, “There has to be political commitment – because the consequences of not spending this money should be taken into account. Our research shows that implementing a pregnancy grant will save the government money in the long run and decrease medical costs,” says Goldstein.

The South African Law Reform Commission has proposed a pregnancy support grant to prioritise support for poor and vulnerable women.

EQUITY BEYOND THE BREAD LINE

Valodia says that social grants on their own don’t profoundly impact inequality in South Africa, even though an equitable society is a pillar of democracy.

“The grants must be supplemented with other initiatives to eradicate poverty and inequality. We need to identify what can change the current trajectory. This requires creativity,” he says.

Job creation in areas like green industrial development (where there are growing opportunities) could boost household income, he says. “We have important mineral resources that are important for the energy transition. We have more than half of the global resources for manganese. How can we shape employment opportunities around this? We have a real opportunity.”

Madonko asserts that whatever is introduced should translate into access to food, economic opportunities and a safe environment. “It’s not just about the absence of poverty. It is about social support creating a life of meaning,” she says. C

REALISING DISABILITY RIGHTS IN SOUTH AFRICA

People with disabilities still experience barriers to the realisation of their rights. Although policy is a useful tool to overcome these hurdles, implementation challenges remain and a new view on disability is required.

LEM CHETTY CHANTÉ SCHATZ

The Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, states that: “Everyone is equal before the law and has the right to equal protection and benefit of the law. Equality includes the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms. To promote the achievement of equality, legislative and other measures designed to protect or advance persons or categories of persons disadvantaged by unfair discrimination may be taken.”

For everyone in South Africa, our Constitutional rights are among the strongest and most just in the world. However, there is a long way to go in the practical implementation of many of those rights and freedoms. For people with disabilities, the chasm between legislation, policy, and implementation is that much deeper.

Few public or workspaces in South Africa today adequately meet the needs of people with disabilities. While some have demarcated access areas, modified bathroom facilities, maps to disability-friendly access points, and handrails on stairwells, the requirements for a person with disabilities to successfully engage in economic activity are generally lacking.

Although Wits' campuses include accessible control panel interfaces in elevators (Braille keypads, voice activation, mirrored back walls), other facilities such as tactile paving for the visually impaired, hearing loop systems and other smart facilities that accommodate “everyone” are generally few and far between elsewhere.

Dr Leila Abdool Gafoor, Head of the Disability Rights Unit at Wits says that while the University’s physical environment has created access for people with disabilities, this is not the case in all sectors of society.

“In my own work environment in the higher education sector, for example, I see reasonable accommodation for persons with disabilities being applied quite well and fairly, levelling the playing field between those with and those without disabilities. Most educational institutions have Disability Units that actively advocate for those who need support, and which provide that support to anyone who seeks it. While I think that South Africa’s policies are fantastic, as well as the overarching and guiding mechanisms in terms of what should be put into place, it is the struggle to implement them that I mostly see in our society.”

SILOS STYMIE PROGRESS

An advocate for disability rights, Naeema Hussein El Kout is a Lecturer in the Physiotherapy Department at Wits and is currently researching policies related to disability. She says that one of the biggest hurdles in considering disability rights is silos in governance. She quotes Sir Michael Marmot, a renowned epidemiologist and public health expert, who emphasises a crucial perspective: “ ‘Every sector is a health sector’. This underscores the interconnectedness of

“Disability rights are not being actualised and support has not improved significantly since 1994.”

the various aspects of our lives with our overall wellbeing. We need intersectoral collaboration with the Department of Labour and the Department of Education and so on, if we are going to be improving rights.”

NEW VIEWS ON DISABILITIES

El Kout scores policy implementation a 5 out of 10. She says, “Following many years of broad inequity in South Africa, considering that our democracy is young and our sociopolitical history fraught, disability rights are not being actualised and support has not improved significantly since 1994. This is true for many areas of society; we see efforts being made but we haven’t quite got there yet, particularly in improving healthcare.”

It's about trying to revolutionise policy and how disability is viewed, from just a physical lens, to include speech and rehabilitation from conditions including strokes and heart disease, Covid-19, mental health and HIV. “These are not often considered disabilities, but they are,” she says. Using guidelines from the World Health Organization, and focusing on public health and service delivery, she says that the aim is to ensure that policy not only supports accommodating people with disabilities, but also rehabilitation and before that, prevention. “How many years are lost to disability – in whatever form it comes – what has it done to a person’s life and how could that have been prevented if we intervened early?”

PRIORITISING POLICY IN PRACTICE

“My wish list is that there is more focus on health policy and that the agenda reaches the people who are considering national health priorities. Rehabilitation specialists need to be part of the policy teams. In a national health insurance scenario, rehabilitation would be prioritised as well as preventative care, promotion of healthy lifestyles and physical activity,” says El Kout.

The need is urgent. “We are still recovering from HIV, secondary complications from antiretrovirals and more recently the Covid pandemic. We don’t even have accurate figures for the prevalence of disability – I am certain that disability affects many more people than the current statistic of 15% of our population.”

Limited disability rights actualisation in a democratic South Africa due to a lack of true transformative policy and implementation, has a direct impact on employability, which in turn has an impact on the country’s economy and on its social conditions. C

NHI: FROM ASPIRATION TO IMPLEMENTATION

Access to healthcare services is a constitutional right but is equal healthcare in South Africa a reality in our lifetime?

LEM CHETTY

Ayoung doctor recently took to social media to bemoan a lack of electricity, making it difficult for her to get ready for work, while the relative of a patient elsewhere complained about a 36-hour wait in a hospital ward for their octogenarian mother to be seen. And no, this was not Limpopo, these incidences were in Liverpool and London, England.

Equitable universal healthcare for everyone, including here in South Africa, would be ideal, but what these UK examples show is that, even in well-funded countries, implementing and maintaining a public health system is increasingly difficult.

The National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme, currently in proposal phase in SA, is a roadmap to universal healthcare. But it has come under sharp scrutiny for its lack of detail and financial modelling.

THE

RIGHT TO HEALTHCARE, BUT … Professor Emeritus Martin Veller, former dean of the Faculty of Health Sciences at Wits, says that the birth of democracy sparked the idea of universal healthcare, but that the last 30 years have shown tthat it may not be possible.

“The principle of NHI is one that is certainly widely recognised as a need, as it is enshrined in our Constitution. How you implement and interpret it is the problem. Certainly, in its current format, it is unlikely to be possible to implement,” says Veller.

The main issue he cites is that the vast sum of funding needed to meet the basic tenets of universal healthcare is not available to government. “Secondly, there are insufficient healthcare professionals to care for the population,” he says, adding that overarching a project of this scale is the “poor track record of how the public sector has been run for the last 60 to 70 years, particularly for the

disenfranchised in our society. NHI is not in their favour.”

Veller adds, “Also missing from the discussion are our current healthcare outcomes, which are poor – way below the level of other countries with similar economies. A better healthcare system means that health outcomes, and as a result, the economy, would improve, but the NHI bill is being dangled like a carrot to win favour, despite its obvious limitations.”

“What’s not mentioned is that true universal healthcare has never been achieved anywhere in the world – bottomless funding from the public purse is unrealistic. In the UK, you can wait several years for a hip replacement, during which time your quality of life declines along with your ability to earn an income. It is an interesting cycle; when the amount of money spent on an individual is linked to their earning potential.”

SECTORAL AND SYSTEMIC OVERHAUL NEEDED

Adjunct Professor Alex van den Heever, the Chair of Social Security Systems Administration and Management Studies in the Wits School of Governance, is frank about the “grandiose proposal” that the NHI Bill in its current format represents.

“It’s a paper plan. It’s not a real proposal. The problem is that the institutional and fiscal elements are not aligned. It is unrealistic and unimplementable and comes on the back of years of government having done very little in the healthcare system,” he says.

Van den Heever stresses that there has also been no significant structural reform of systems or infrastructure in the public healthcare sector to entice private healthcare to integrate. “This is not how you access the private sector intelligence. Sophisticated design is needed,” he says.

These experts agree that many people do not realise that the NHI proposals in circulation aim to centralise the health budget, eliminating current provincial mandates: “To put healthcare into a centralised government structure has enormous implications for the public sector,” says Van den Heever. “It is not based on the way our systems are designed, nor on the way health systems are designed around the world. The risk of the NHI being run like Eskom is mammoth.”

He adds that patronage, the capture of public entities, and political interference, that all cause massive collapse and failure of any system, pose too great a risk.

WHAT’S THE SOLUTION?

Veller says a pragmatic approach could work. “We have to accept that we have a two-tier healthcare system that needs closer alignment. It is simply not fair that 85% of the population is denied access to what just 15% have in private healthcare. We must progressively find a way of integrating the two systems.”

He says that the NHI should not be funded by increased taxation and that other means of income should be found to improve healthcare. “From a universal access to healthcare perspective, we must be able to guarantee that the current dispensation not only guarantees healthcare for everyone, but also quality healthcare and outcomes.”

“We must fix the existing healthcare system. The NHI can be achieved only if what we already have is repaired. First, professionalise and depoliticise healthcare – that means the right people, doing the right job, under the right circumstances. Every cent spent, must be well spent.”

While Veller is in favour of a universal healthcare system, he says there is work to be done before we reach a functional option. “It is high time that the public healthcare sector is properly administered and that systems are adequately audited. We must

“It is simply not fair that 85% of the population is denied access to what just 15% have in private healthcare.”

really start looking at incorporating academic health systems into the sector. Where medicine is practised under academia, it is improved and is better for everyone. There is no doubt that academic healthcare is worldclass and should be integrated into the public sector more rigorously.”

Veller says that “at the institutional and individual level, we must incentivise excellence. Measure outcomes and incentivise people to do their jobs well, which happens in Thailand and Sweden.”

To make the NHI work, Veller advocates:

• In the short term: We must improve what we have and make it work, and really work. Get rid of political interference that has prevented it from achieving good outcomes.

• In the medium term: An incremental introduction of private sector participation and buying of services by the public sector. Pricing and competition must be good and that will encourage the public sector to improve, too. If there is good quality control, there will be a gradual integration of the two.

• Long term: Integration. It is simply not appropriate in a country like ours that most healthcare needs cannot be accessed by a large majority of the population. Improved healthcare outcomes have been demonstrated to make economies grow across the world. The question is how to achieve universal healthcare but not the NHI, which requires a funding mechanism.

He concludes: “As it stands, the NHI is unaffordable. The proposal must evolve beyond theoretical constructs. A pragmatic approach, informed by systems understanding and decentralised governance, is essential.”

Only then can we bridge the gap between aspiration and implementation, thereby ensuring equitable healthcare for all South Africans. C

Sandra Maytham-Bailey

PLAYING THE MIGRATION BLAME GAME

Pushing a nationalist agenda and fuelling xenophobia is politicians’ way of disguising the fundamental issues and causes of South Africa’s economic woes. But blaming foreigners is merely a smokescreen for politicians' own failures, writes Marcia Zali.

South Africa’s so-called porous borders and the right to free movement within the country have led in recent years to a rise in nationalism and an increase in antimigrant rhetoric. Political parties as well as citizen organisations have driven campaigns and staged protests aimed at intimidating migrant workers and other foreigners living in the country.

Some political parties have specifically targeted citizens of neighbouring countries who come to South Africa, claiming that they take up local resources and jobs, and use the issue in their election campaigns to gain voters.

By contrast, a number of South Africa’s neighbouring countries have in recent years benefited from relaxed border controls and visa restrictions and have seen their economies benefit enormously from the free movement of people, goods and money

SCAPEGOATING AS A DISTRACTION

“The scapegoating and demonisation of migrants merely draw people’s attention away from the true source of South Africa’s problems and erodes democracy while putting the welfare of many people – both our own citizens and foreigners – at risk,” says Professor Loren Landau, senior migration researcher at the Wits African Centre for Migration and Society (ACMS).

"Migrants are not the source of any of South Africa’s challenges. There are too few to make a substantial impact on employment

or crime, and they have nothing to do with corrupt officials, water cuts, or Eskom,” he says.

Landau explores how mobility on the African continent, particularly in respect of South Africa, is reshaping politics within communities, with a focus on the emerging political subjectivity, political authority, and governance regimes.

While the founding values of South Africa’s Constitution include the protection of human dignity, as well as equality and the advancement of human rights and freedom for all, migrants in the country have faced the persistent violation of their rights, including violent and sometimes deadly outbreaks of xenophobia, which could easily lead to a challenge of our democracy.

Landau says that visas have proven to have limited success in removing genuine security threats to the country, while greater restrictions on labour rights only tend to bolster informal markets in ways that suppress wages and create poor labour conditions.

FREE MOVEMENT IN A FREE MARKET BENEFITS EVERYONE

“Visa restrictions have economic, political, and security dimensions. Where there are no legitimate economic or security risks, allowing people to move at lower costs (financially and in terms of time) is generally better for everyone,” he says.

South Africa’s borders have always been open to migrant labourers, most of whom historically worked in the mines.

“The scapegoating and demonisation of migrants merely draws people’s attention away from the true source of South Africa’s problems.”

Government policies such as the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit give Zimbabwean nationals permission to live, work and study in South Africa, says Dr Johannes Machinya, Lecturer in the Wits Department of Sociology who has conducted several studies that looked at migration control and labour migration between South Africa and Zimbabwe.

A recent bilateral agreement between South Africa and Lesotho which grants Basotho nationals a 90-day visa further solidifies South Africa’s official stance on migration, especially among Souther African Development Community (SADC) countries.

However, while these visas allow migrants with valid travel documents into South Africa, Machinya says that they have also led to informal and unregulated labour practices.

“Ninety-day visas are given on condition that the bearer does not work in South Africa. This, in a capitalist system, leaves these people vulnerable and open to being exploited, and they don't have anywhere to run,” he says.

Down the work chain, South African citizens are not spared from the ripple-effect of having a “competitive” job market because they too can end up being vulnerable to unfavourable employment conditions.

MIGRANTS HAVE RIGHTS TOO

“An effort should also be made to sensitise migrants to their employment rights and inform them about institutions such as the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration where they can seek recourse from unfair labour practices whether they have work permits or not,” says Machinya.

While there is a perception that immigrants use up local resources, Wits ACMS Associate Professor Jo Vearey, coordinator

at the Migration and Health Project Southern Africa, says that there is no evidence showing that migrants are a burden on state resources.

“Evidence shows that health migrants from neighbouring countries mostly come into South Africa to get the medical care that they need before returning home. This is why it is important to hold the government and politicians accountable when they try to use migrants as a political tool to cover up their failures, because this is what fuels the anti-migrant sentiment in our communities,” she explains.

EASING THE TENSION

The project aims to improve responses to the health and wellbeing of migrants in the SADC region through generating and communicating knowledge. A report released by the ACMS shows that migrants, refugees and asylum seekers often face structural or indirect violence when attempting to access healthcare through the country’s public health sector.

To rectify the situation, Landau believes that migration control practices and policies should be improved. The combined belief of the ACMS researchers is that a more balanced, rights-based, and empirically informed policy discussion is needed to help ease tensions between neighbours and to protect the fundamental human rights of all who live in the country.

“Strengthening bodies like the South African Human Rights Commission, increasing advocacy and fostering partnerships that will advance the rights of migrants, implementing inclusive campaigns in the communities, upholding the existing laws, and holding the State accountable for the poor implementation of existing policies, are some of the measures that can be used to uphold and advance the rights of migrants,” says Vearey. C

STABILISING THE CRUMBLING WALLS OF THE FOURTH ESTATE

As one of the cornerstones of democracy, journalism as an institution is facing a bleak outlook. It needs to dig deep to find ways in which to pull itself out of the well, or at least it must learn to do things differently. If not, dark clouds overhead threaten our democratic system, writes Ufrieda Ho.

Journalism has been burnt by big tech, extractive owners and their gatekeepers, shifting revenue models and a falling out of love with its audiences. It’s left journalism singed and with dashed hopes of a phoenix-rising moment any time soon.

Bad news for journalism is also bad news for democracy. This is particularly true for South Africa, which faces elections at a pivotal moment in its 30-year recent history. At this point of deep reckoning, it leaves the two golden questions of journalism for journalism itself to answer – so what? And, what now?

Professor Glenda Daniels is Head of the Department, of Media Studies. In 2012, she headed the first State of the Newsroom project, based at the Wits Centre for Jour nalism. She says: “We are in a crisis; we have seen big tech dominate and gobble up all the profits with their global social media companies."

The promise of the internet resulting in more plurality of voices in society and as a leveller for the information agenda being hogged by traditional media channels didn't materialise.

Daniels says: “Sadly, mainstream legacy newspapers and the world of traditional journalism have been conflated with a misinformation and fake news era. What we have now is something quite chaotic in the media-scape.

"We've seen massive job losses and the loss of experience in newsrooms; a loss of sub-editors and fact checkers when we need more, not fewer of these skills."

HOLDING UP SOCIETY’S MIRROR

The role of a free media is to provide credible information and news, to be a reflection and record of society, to be a watchdog and to speak truth to power. In 2023, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, called freedom of the press the "foundation of democracy and justice - press freedom represents the very lifeblood of human rights."

Daniels says that journalism as a guardrail for democracy is being pushed to the limits in a dispirited and depleted media landscape, and that this is particularly significant in a year in which 64 countries are holding elections.

"The world seems split into binary opposition and democracy is being squeezed out. You see more authoritarianism and shrinking press freedom. Around the world journalists are being jailed, shot and killed. We see governments turning off the internet during elections, increased cyber bullying and cyber misogyny."

And in the end, it is the public that is failed. "Consumers of news suffer when journalism and journalists are no longer the conduits of reliable factual information and analysis. What we see today in traditional media is a lot of opinions which are not backed by facts that help the public make informed decisions about things like elections.

"Media think that people are not interested in the small person's point of view and struggles. But showing the struggles highlights what the powerful political elite is not doing. The media can be a lot more imaginative," she says.

alternative funding, including through donors, philanthropy and reader subscriptions.

Another positive is policy reform and legislation. Daniels is Secretary General of the South African National Editors’ Forum. She was part of a series of presentations to the Competition Commission that sought the imposition on tech giants such as Facebook and Google of a tax for using content and news produced by local media outlets which they had been reproducing for free on their platforms while earning ad revenue for every click. Australia has successfully tested this model with their News Media Bargaining Code that came into effect in March 2021.

Revenue generated by such a tax, Daniels says, could be channelled into newsroom-based training for junior journalists, reversing sector job losses and improving low freelance rates. There is also a need to revive community-based media that in the past decade has shrunk from 586 titles to under 200.

Professor William Gumede of the Wits School of Governance is Executive Chairperson of the Democracy Works Foundation and former deputy editor of The Sowetan In reimagining and innovating for journalism he says that there must be a reckoning of how journalism in a democratic era has been impacted under an ANC-led government. Gumede chaired the talks that led to the formation of the Multi-Party Charter, a coalition of opposition

“Consumers of news suffer when journalism and journalists are no longer the conduits of reliable factual information and analysis.”

parties that will contest the May 2024 elections.

"We have seen a decline in the quality of leadership in South Africa and in Africa at a time when we have needed it most. The ANC since 1994 has also been hostile to media," says Gumede. He cites as an example the withdrawal of government advertising from newspapers critical of government and the refusal of successive presidents to take live questions during press conferences.

VANITY PROJECTS

Gumede says that another threat for democracy has been the purchase of media houses by those intent on using them for their own political agenda and bias. "Newspapers have being stripped and exist as vanity projects for owners. They have become part of corruption, capture and patronage," he says.

Gumede says that something like Norway's Media Ownership

Act, which is meant to curtail political interference and propaganda through media channels could rein in this practice.

The Act also sets up frameworks for fund disbursement to support media plurality and media freedom and Norway now ranks first in press freedom in the Reporters Without Borders index.

Gumede adds that another damning failure is that even after 30 years of democracy, South Africa has a weak mass reading culture. The consequence of this, he says, is an electorate less able to interrogate news or discern propaganda from credible information. He says: "Supporters of political parties that run on populist slogans and ideology imbibe these slogans as if they were a set of commandments."

journalism is and what it is not, we can have a leaking in both directions that allows us to learn about the audiences that exist outside of the boundary and to learn what types of storytelling people want to access," she says, adding that traditional media could also have better insights into how social media achieves its audience reach and revenue streams.

The situation is bleak, Gumede concedes. But he still believes that journalists have a role to play as pillars for strong democracies, the so-called Fourth Estate. He adds that media will have to adapt and master new tech platforms in order to serve the broader interests of new generations of news consumers.

FORT MENTALITY

Dr Dinesh Balliah, Director of the Wits Centre for Journalism believes that journalism must face up to some harsh realities. She says: "Journalists are holding on to an idea of journalists as the custodian of journalism; that they somehow hold the line. But it’s the people who will decide what journalism will be, not journalists."

Balliah says that once journalism and journalists become less tied to the idea that journalism is a vocation and an identity even, the industry has a chance to "break out of its fort mentality".

"When we can move away from these hard boundaries of what

In turn, Balliah says that a more welcoming space for content creators who do "information work" means that they can be more exposed to the incorporation into their work of the fundamentals of journalism, without necessarily having to be practising journalists. This is a way to push back against the tide of misand disinformation and for audiences to strengthen their critical discernment of content, she says.

Balliah acknowledges that it's a tough message that she brings to a deflated industry. There may be no phoenix rising soon, but gazing into the ashes won't help either.

The crisis of sustainability in the industry calls for this reality check and for a plan that is multipronged and pragmatic, she says.

"We are ultimately about the business of journalism. We have to attract the people, train them with the right skills and the ethics of journalism so that they can become journalists in the traditional sense, but also so that they can enter a wider range of professions. The more people who may not choose to work as journalists but who understand the fundamentals of journalism, the better it is for building strong democracies," she says. C

AI AND DEMOCRACY: FOR BETTER AND FOR WORSE

For every noble cause in which Artificial Intelligence (AI) and digital technology have played a role, both have also been deployed by forces opposing good. Today’s news and current affairs landscape, which underpins our democracy, requires both ethical content producers and discerning consumers.

DERYN GRAHAM ZERO MALARIA BRITAIN/YOUTUBE

The extraordinary capacity of AI to target and reach millions of people can definitely be used for good. One example is the campaign by Malaria No More using, with his consent, David Beckham who is seen to ‘speak’ nine languages to deliver the organisation’s anti malaria message. Instead of simply dubbing the international soccer star, AI synchronises the movement of his lips to each language. Leveraging Beckham’s credibility and reach, this innovative use of technology nevertheless set alarm bells ringing around the potential use of the same technology to subvert democracy by manipulating politicians’ speeches.

FAKING IT

When ethics go out of the window, and large numbers of the population are poorly educated, a gap opens for unscrupulous pedlars of fake news to create stories that can be misleading and even dangerous. Certainly, they can undermine the democratic process by deliberately targeting specific population groups with their messaging.

We don’t even need sophisticated equipment to produce

AI-driven content. A cellphone and Photoshop can work, and images can easily be manipulated.

“A work of deep fake doesn’t even have to be of good quality for it to do immense damage,” says Richard Klein, Associate Professor and Deputy Head of the Wits School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics. “But even as we build tools to detect sophisticated deep fakes, so the technology to create images, videos and even voice excerpts becomes more advanced. It’s like the arms race out there, as creation and detection technology move to outdo each other.”

TRUST COURTS, NOT TECH

Professor Keith Breckenridge, Acting Co-Director at the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research believes that while AI may make some computer functions easier, it also has the power to increase suspicion as we become mistrustful of computergenerated content. However, he also believes that in the South African context, we have bigger issues that threaten to destabilise our democracy than AI.

“In the cascading hierarchy of trust in South Africa, the courts

still have the ultimate say, making them a vital part of the infrastructure that will determine the proper function and authenticity of a piece of AI or digitally created work. If we want to protect trust, when AI is used negligently or criminally, those responsible for deploying it need to be held liable,” he says.

“Tech companies cannot blame users’ lack of vigilance if, for example, their own systems are hacked or security is breached, nor can they blame consumers of fake news for being gullible,” he adds.

WHOSE NEWS ‘JUST FOR YOU’?

The proliferation of online news sites and social media platforms has resulted in volumes of authentic, reliable news as well as fake news, mis- and disinformation, and deep fake visual imagery. We are all required to sift through pages and pages of information to extract news, form our opinions and later, to exercise our democratic rights and elect our public servants. However, if social media, using AI algorithms, individualises our newsfeed according to our own biases, AI becomes divisive, restricting our access to a broader range of sources.

“Algorithms skew the delivery of information along what individuals may have expressed an interest in at any given moment, but which doesn’t necessarily represent what their general interests are,” says Klein, “and this can further entrench a single idea and close off access to other viewpoints.”

BIG TECH THREAT

Benjamin Rosman, Professor in the Wits School of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics, and Head of the Robotics, Autonomous Intelligence and Learning Laboratory, believes that while philosophically we can all agree that AI and other technologies have democratised access to information and content creation, practically it is a potentially dangerous tool. Although its ability to further someone’s education outside of the formal system, and to enable personal growth and development is a form of democracy, it can also mislead and misinform.

“The barriers to entry for the many uses of AI are low, but all the funding and support is directed to the tech giants. The set up of the information ecosystem is inherently dangerous,” says Rosman.

Klein concurs: “The big tech companies have a disproportionate amount of power in this space, and regulators are way behind and need to catch up very quickly.”

AI, ETHICS, AND HUMANS

Applying AI in a purely administrative and technical function can assist democracy and the electoral process by managing voter rolls, spotting anomalies and duplications, and synthesising massive amounts of data pre and post the ballot. In addition, AI is helpful in multilingual societies such as South Africa and offers wider opportunities for political engagement. It can translate manifestos, and electoral proceedings, for example, into all official languages or even into a format that matches individual cognitive styles, including pictorial representations of information.

However, in the wrong hands it can be used to influence human behaviour, including decision-making at the ballot box and skewing an electoral outcome in one direction over another. Ultimately AI can undermine independent thought and everything for which democracies stand.

In a recent finding published in the Paris Charter on AI & Journalism, it was determined that ‘ethics must guide’ the use and application of AI. Sadly, in the hands of humans who must be the final arbiters, we cannot be sure that this will always be the case and that our democratic and human rights will always be protected and upheld. C

HOW CRYPTOCURRENCY DEMOCRATISES FINANCIAL ACTIVITY

If freedom of choice is a key element of democracy, then cryptocurrencies are democratising the financial landscape.

So says Associate Professor in the Wits Margo Steele School of Accountancy, Asheer Jaywant Ram, for whom the single most important impact of cryptocurrencies (also called crypto assets) has been to emancipate users from the influence and dominance of traditional banks.

“Crypto is democratising the management and movement of money,” he says.

Despite crypto being banned in several countries across the African continent and in China, South Africa has embraced it, taking what steps it can to protect investors by regulating and legislating its use.

According to the website of The Intergovernmental Fintech Working Group, a collective of financial sector regulators, they are working to ‘demystify the regulatory landscape, provide a safe space for experimentation and actively advance innovation’ which Ram applauds. “South Africa is taking the power to the people,” he says.

Although scepticism about the wild fluctuations in the value of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin has prevented more consumers from adopting crypto, governments’ reservations revolve more around their inability to track the movement of crypto transactions, which remain anonymous on the blockchain. This opens crypto up to potential misuse for money laundering, tax evasion and other less than savoury or legal financial activity.

But, using cryptocurrencies also frees people, for example in crisis zones, to continue to run businesses, to buy, sell and invest, where their economies and currencies are unstable and even under siege.

Greater uptake of crypto is inevitable, Ram believes. “Some studies have shown that South Africa ranks fifth in the world in terms of crypto ownership and 84% of holders of the different crypto urrencies are aged between 18 and 44,” he says.

While more users experiment with existing crypto currencies and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority is likely to grant more crypto trading licences in the future, some central banks are looking at creating digital and possibly even eventually cryptocurrencies of their own. However, these will remain under the control of the central banking authority, in South Africa’s case the Reserve Bank – which is the converse of what crypto supporters advocate.

However, Ram says, “South Africa has taken steps in the right direction regarding the use and trading of crypto, and this is democratising our financial sector. We already have proof of concept; retailers like Pick ‘n Pay have even piloted accepting payment in crypto, and I believe it has a future utility in this country.”

“With crypto, users have the choice not to have to engage with traditional financial infrastructures. If freedom of choice is a key element of democracy, then cryptocurrencies are democratising the financial landscape,” asserts Ram.

DEMOCRACTISING KNOWLEDGE THROUGH OPEN ACCESS

More than half of South Africa’s academic publications appear in Open Access sources, with Wits University embracing this trend. Open Access presents an opportunity for universities to strengthen South Africa’s evolving democracy.

Are universities there to generate skilled employees to foster economic development, to serve the needs of the state and the economy, or perhaps to produce graduates who can question the world order and systems around them? Or all of these – however conflicted those objectives might appear?

In a country still coming to terms with its apartheid past, this role might be even more conflicted as institutions balance research needs – a traditional pillar of universities – with the call to help transform South African society.

“Currently we live in a time of extraordinary partisanship, a time of threats to democracy,” says Professor Ruksana Osman, Senior Deputy Vice-Chancellor: Academic at Wits. “So in essence a university’s role is about ensuring hope amid the inhumanity around us by staying true to our commitment to open expression and democracy, and then finding and keeping our pedagogic

centre as a University.”

The Open Science movement is seeking a middle ground that satisfies all sides of that debate.

OPEN SCIENCE FOR SOCIETY

Open Access (OA) is an international movement that aims to provide free and open online access to academic publications and data. The movement traces its origins back to the 1990s and was in part a response to the rising costs of accessing academic research published in commercial academic journals. Since then, OA has grown exponentially in popularity, perhaps best illustrated in the ‘scientific globalism’ around the sharing of research on Covid-19.

OA publication has become more sophisticated, categorised (gold, green, hybrid, diamond, bronze, etc.) according to levels, costing and point of access. Increasingly, OA champions have

MORGAN MORRIS CHANTÉ SCHATZ

also made a direct link between Open Access and the good health of democracies. To strengthen this connection, South Africa is developing an open science policy that, among other aspects, looks at including civil society and social movements in the selection and collection development and management plans of academic libraries and archives.

“It’s widely accepted that any democracy needs an informed citizenry,” says Dr Daisy Selematsela, University Librarian at Wits. “To participate fully in public life, beyond just casting a ballot every five years, citizens need access to information and special collections that would encompass grey literature for informed decision making and the advancement of societal knowledge.”

OPEN ACCESS AT WITS

Mirroring global trends, Open Access publication in South Africa has accelerated in recent years. As at January 2024, some 53% of academic publications are Open Access, according to Selematsela and Lazarus Matizirofa, Associate Director of Research, Scholarly Communication, Digital Services and Systems at Wits. In an Open Access presentation earlier this year, they reported that a total of 224 000 OA publications have racked up around 7.4 million citations.

OA publication has also taken off at Wits, a signatory to the Berlin Declaration on Open Access to Knowledge in the Sciences and Humanities, and the University is punching well above its weight. In 2023, for instance, although the University’s more than 28 000 OA publications fell short of the number of closed publications (approximately 36 000) they tallied 697 083 citations compared to 692 296 citations for articles published in closed journals. “We are witnessing a changing of the guard, if you will, in the publishing of academic research at Wits and elsewhere,” says Matizirofa.

MAKING SCIENCE VISIBLE

To facilitate this growth in Open Access publications (not all published on existing platforms) Wits Libraries are expanding their Repository and Publishing Platforms. This diversified data repository will be supported through a Research Visibility Impact Framework, in part to aid researchers in raising their online profiles and their research visibility. As part of this process, the Wits Researcher Visibility and Impact Tool will seek to gain more visibility for Wits’ research.

“In turn, that will generate more collaborative prospects and the ability to partner with colleagues across disciplines, institutions, and borders,” says Matizirofa.

However, OA is not without its challenges, especially in the Global South, where getting bigger publishing houses to accept scripts can be difficult, explains Selematsela. Another challenge relates to issues of social justice around the North/ South open scholarship divide.

On the other hand, the rewards of OA are undeniable. By embracing a culture of shared knowledge, universities stand to impact societies beyond just their own graduates. “Healthy democracies are founded on informed citizens,” says Selematsela. “So as Open Access grows in scale, the opportunities to reshape our society, and inform our democracy, grows in tandem.” C

TO BE FREE OR NOT TO BE FREE

#FEESMUSTFALL AND THE STRUGGLE FOR ‘OPEN ACCESS’ TO HIGHER

EDUCATION

Wits University has had its share of brushes with the challenges facing higher education institutions in South Africa’s democracy, which at thirty, is approaching its first midlife crisis.

When the #FeesMustFall protests broke out at universities across the country in 2015 – starting at Wits – the movement quickly divided the country into two broad camps. On the one side were those who ridiculed students’ demands for free education as symptomatic of the younger generation’s impractical entitlement complex, divorced from South Africa’s fiscal realities. On the other, a chorus of scholars and others rose in support of the students, arguing that free higher education is not just feasible, but also imperative if South Africa is to live up to its lofty democratic ambitions.

“A LEGITIMATE REQUEST”

A Wits University panel established in 2016 to take a census of opinions on the subject found that, across the University, the demand for free higher education was ‘a legitimate request that demands interrogation’.

The recommendations coming from the Commission of Inquiry into the feasibility of making higher education and training fee-free in South Africa (2017) would back up the feasibility argument, at least for those students most in need.

The Commission’s recommendations included the expansion of existing bursary and loan tools (including extended repayment periods), along with novel measures such as loans from commercial banks shored up by government sureties.

Proposals from the Wits panel, including the use of an array of financial instruments and an amended loan system, echoed the recommendations of the Commission. Wits panellists also argued for greater participation from the private sector, perhaps through a ‘systematic mechanism that channels private sector funds to universities’.

WHO PAYS?

But as yet, in South Africa, no one has come up with a credible answer as to who should foot the bill for free higher education, says the Chair of that Wits panel, Professor Hlonipha Mokoena of the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WiSER).

What’s more, the call for free education has sired some unintended consequences, such as a boom in private and increasingly expensive student residences, often paid directly by the state through the National Students’ Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS), she adds.

The debate on free higher education appears to have gone off the boiler for now. However, it’s likely to resurface as inequalities deepen and South Africa’s democracy continues to face obstacles.

“The #FeesMustFall moment was an extremely important moment in the history of South African higher education because it revealed many latent and unexpressed expectations regarding the meaning and value of a university degree,” says Mokoena.

“The jury is, however, out on whether these expectations can ever be fulfilled since to fulfil these expectations would involve opening many painful and unresolved conversations about what democracy, in general, means.”

RELIGION AND THE STATE: A SHIFTING COCKTAIL OF CONTRADICTIONS

Many countries are grappling with religious challenges. In South Africa, politics shaped religion, while religion helped bring about democracy. But can political structures withstand the pressures of religious groups’ ‘New Right’ ideology?

Religion and politics have always been intertwined in South Africa. During the early years of National Party rule, the government-approved Christian church and the State were joined at the hip. Conservative churches and politics used religion to help justify nationalism and apartheid –with some notable exceptions from people such as Beyers Naudé, the Afrikaans church leader who challenged racism and inequality from the pulpit.

It did not take long, however, for many religious institutions to take up cudgels against the discriminatory laws of the land.

Currently Academic Director of the Doctoral Programme in the W its-Edinburgh Programme in Sustainable African Futures (WESAF), a collaboration between the University of Edinburgh and the University of the Witwatersrand, Barbara Bompani has studied politics and religion, and the way that they shape each other, for more than 20 years. She came from the University of Bologna to South Africa to investigate the role that religion played in the struggle against apartheid towards the end of the 1990s. Her Master’s dissertation in political science was about religion and politics during apartheid, focusing particularly on mainstream Christian churches and councils such as the South African Council of Churches and the SA Catholic Bishops Conference, as well as on important leaders.

“I found that churches were some of the few civil spaces where politics played an important role before 1994,” says Bompani. “There was a lot of politics taking place in religious venues and it influenced religious debates. For example, a funeral could be a

space to talk about politics during apartheid when other political spaces were banned.”

Bompani found a wealth of information in the Wits Historical Papers Research Archive.

“There is this amazing collection where I found documentation about the relevance of religious organisations and about international organisations funding churches which opposed apartheid.”

Leaders and followers of other faiths, such as Islam and Judaism, were also vocal and public in the anti-apartheid movement, but it is the Christian church that has changed most radically since South Africa became a democracy.

APOLITICAL CHURCHES?

Bompani remained in South Africa as a visiting PhD student at Wits. Her doctoral thesis also focused on religion and politics in this country, this time including traditional African churches.

“One of the interesting things for me was that in the literature, African Independent Churches were defined as apolitical, but this raised the question of what politics is. You can define it as the organised politics of a political party, as in a church supporting the African National Congress (ANC) or the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), but if you talk about democracy, values and rights, these are also political concepts, and these churches were embracing and promoting them everyday.”

Bompani’s PhD research explored development and change in religion and politics between 1994 and 2000 and on the way the

SUE DE GROOT LAUREN MULLIGAN

two were intertwined in the first years of democracy. The changes that happened after 1994 were significant, she says.

“There was a strong alliance between mainstream churches and the ANC. Church leaders were very vocal, energetic and organised, not only during apartheid but during the transition, keeping peace during very tense times.”

After 1994, these church voices became less strident. This, says Bompani, was partly a question of resources and priorities.

“Before apartheid ended, a lot of international funds were being channelled through the church – it was the first time that the European Union had funded religious organisations – but with the end of apartheid a lot of church funding stopped because there were other priorities. There was also a sense from mainstream churches that there was no longer such a need to be so public and so political.”

This opened up a space for other kinds of churches to fill. Pentecostalism/evangelism rose and became more vocal. Also, African Independent Churches became more public along with a renewed interest in African traditions which bled into politics under the Zuma presidency.

“I think what influenced the change in religion and politics and the shaping of one by the other in that time was about the change in energy and the different actors that emerged,” says Bompani.

A RIGHT TO BELONG

Bompani is also an associate of the African Centre for Migration and Society, based at Wits, and has conducted research in East Africa, particularly Uganda. Both the US and Uganda are examples

of how the religious right influences politics and politicians, some of whom will pragmatically campaign in churches because of their numerical voting power.

Bompani says that so-called ‘family values’ have infiltrated the heart of public conversations because they are pushed by the Pentecostalist actors into the political landscape.

“These organisations bring out important tensions within the public sphere: what’s right? what’s wrong? who belongs? who doesn’t belong? If you are not a ‘moral citizen’ you don’t belong to the moral community and you should be excluded – LGBTQIA+ people, for example, or sex workers, who may be considered as immoral subjects, see their rights denied. Religion changes the perception of what society is and what should be at the centre of the political agenda.”

Bompani believes that South Africa’s Constitution is strong enough to withstand challenges to the dignity and equality for all that is promised by this document.

“A liberal understanding of religion allows for diversity, whereas a conservative understanding does not. This dichotomised warfare between good and evil is theological but not always applied in nature. However, democratic structures in South Africa are very strong. It’s society that worries me. What if you change the opinions of society so much that society wants to change the political structure?”

Whichever side of the divide on which one stands, we should not shy away from these arguments and counter-arguments. Democracy thrives on diversity and debate, and the diversity of debate. C

FINDING UBUNTU IN THE WORD OF THE LAW

Busisiwe Kamolane-Kgadima, the Acting Director at the Centre for Applied Legal Studies is driven by human rights, and the fight for social justice.

LEANNE RENCKEN CHANTÉ SCHATZ

Listening to Busisiwe Kamolane-Kgadima describe her journey from law student to newly appointed Acting Director at the Centre for Applied Legal Studies (CALS), you’d be mistaken for thinking it’s been easy –serendipitous, even. But when you probe a little deeper, you begin to understand how hard she’s worked to get to this point.

The metaphor that she uses to describe this journey is that of construction – building a future not just for herself, but for the country, for other black women, for the disadvantaged and unrepresented. This future is one that is carefully chosen, critically examined, one brick at a time.

While her Acting Director role was announced in February 2024, Kamolane-Kgadima has been at the Centre for five years. In this time, she completed her articles as well as her LLM at Wits University, launched and led the Research and Advocacy Unit, and served as Deputy Director before her most recent promotion.

CENTRED IN HUMAN RIGHTS

Her current position is one of enormous responsibility, and she speaks of CALS as a living, breathing “tool of the law” that works across various aspects of human rights, fosters the advancement of social justice, including advocating for the protection of activists, and backs it all up with research and data collection. While she has been involved in leading many projects under this framework, she is particularly passionate about CALS attracting students to the social justice sector: “We really believe in trying to get people out of the position that I, and many other students were in when we started our law studies, which is not knowing that human rights law presents a viable, impactful and fulfilling career opportunity and that human rights law can permeate all other areas of the law.”

It was in her fourth year as an LLB student at the University of Pretoria, where Kamolane-Kgadima had her epiphany. “Writing an essay about the South African ‘mud schools’ case study during a child law elective with Professor Ann Skelton, I suddenly realised that public-interest related work was exactly what I’d been looking for.”

This “Aha! moment” was critical in constructing KamolaneKgadima's future as a human rights lawyer and social justice activist, but looking back, she says that her personality had been pushing her in this direction from an early age.

“When I was trying to figure out my future career path, what was always important for me was that the work I chose to do had to make a positive impact in people’s lives,” she says. “In hindsight, I have always lived my life with this perspective in mind, but I also wanted it to be my career as well.”

CONSTITUTIONALLY SPEAKING

Having completed her LLB degree at the University of Pretoria, Kamolane-Kgadima started her career as a legal intern and was later accepted into the coveted Constitutional Court law clerk programme. She describes her year clerking for Chief Justice Mogoeng as a conscientising and seminal experience.

“The experience and mentorship at the Constitutional Court was absolutely phenomenal. It gave me a deeper understanding of how the law can be used as a powerful tool to advance democracy and social justice. Working closely with the Chief Justice in conducting extensive research and writing judgments that have implications for the whole country, imprinted upon me a weight of responsibility to contribute to the building of our country and its constitutional democracy.”

Kamolane-Kgadima says that the career opportunities that have opened up for her also affirmed her belief that “everything happens the way it’s supposed to happen, to get you to where you are supposed to be”. While this may be true, it’s becoming

“We really believe in trying to get people out of the position that I and many other students were in when we started our law studies.”

clear in this interview just how strategic and determined she is, so I challenge her on this point, saying that it feels unjust to give fate all the credit.

CONFIDENCE THROUGH UBUNTU

Smiling, she agrees: “You don’t get to where you are without people in your life to guide you, to believe in you, and to help put you in the right rooms. I have had the privilege of having many exceptional people play this role in my life. I’ve also learnt to bet on myself, to trust my gut and to seize opportunities and take risks.”

Her to-do list at CALS includes a stewardship that is cognisant of the present climate, that can forecast what is going to happen and is strategic in how it reacts and responds: “We are going into an election, for example, we have to be prepared to respond to various challenges that may arise while being proactive in seeking opportunities to advance our cause. We must consider things such as, if we end up with a coalition government, what does that look like? And what does that mean for the work that we're doing?”

CALS’ work involves holding the state and private entities accountable, shifting critical judgments from the theoretical into the implementation phase, capacitating state entities, partnering with grassroots movements in expanding their work, addressing historical and social injustices, and responding to rapidly changing situations both in this country and beyond our borders. “CALS has contributed a lot to the country, and will continue to do that, but there are so many lessons that we can learn from other African countries, and so much knowledge that we can give in return. Social justice and the kind of world we want to live in is not only tied to South Africa, but we also need to start focusing our attention on how we impact the rest of the continent, and the world,” she explains.

TOWARDS A TRANSFORMED FUTURE

She’s achieved a lot at the Centre already, knows it well and is pleased by the transformation signified by recent appointments.

“It's the first time that CALS has a black female director and an all-black female management team. It's interesting to see these changes happening and it means so much for the public interest sector and the legal profession. I don’t take it lightly, though, being here, showing other young black women that it’s possible, despite all the barriers that we face. I hope that my appointment is a spark that encourages others to pursue their dreams, and a challenge to the institutions whose leadership is still dominated by white males.”

As Kamolane-Kgadima has her eye squarely on CALS, it's a bit premature to ask what’s next, but she is willing to concede: “My utopia would be to see a world in which we make each other’s lives better, where doing things doesn’t come at the expense of another person or require the exploitation of marginalised people.” C

STOKVELS SECURE INCOME AND SOCIAL CAPITAL

A stokvel research project in the Wits Margo Steele School of Accountancy could lead to greater financial freedom, transparency, and accessibility for members.

SARAH HUDLESTON

One of the most egregious injustices of South Africa’s apartheid system was the exclusion of the majority from the country’s economy. As a result, there was much mistrust of formal financial institutions – even after the 1994 dawn of democracy. Many communities, comprising families and close-knit neighbours where there was a strong element of trust, established stokvels.

The Wits Margo Steele School of Accountancy is busy with a research project into stokvels which is set to run for over a decade. This research will include the development of an app that will enable each member of a stokvel to have an accurate picture

of their savings fund, liabilities and assets.

The project is aimed at democratising the use of what has arguably become South Africa’s most important community financial institution and instrument of wealth creation. Today, the stokvel market is worth an estimated R45 billion.

Professor Wayne van Zijl from the School says that the history of stokvels, which are sometimes referred to as rotational savings clubs, lies in the fact that they were subscribed to by very close family members resulting in an interesting co-existence and relationship between the fund’s financial and cultural aspects.

“The original main aim of a stokvel was for members to be able

to save money for important events such as burials as well as other needs,” says Van Zijl. “Many of these stokvels grew exponentially, often merging with another stokvel.”

However, because stokvels are now serving larger groups of people, they have become a target for scammers who take advantage of members’ limited financial literacy. The research project aims to understand the stokvel environment and to create a free-to-use mobile application to make each stokvel’s financial data accessible to all its members.

“In doing so, it should reduce the risk of fraud and help stokvels make better financial decisions, ultimately helping them uplift themselves from their current economic status,” says Van Zijl.

FAMILY TIES

Van Zijl says that researchers were interested to discover that in some burial stokvel constitutions there are strict guidelines about the emotional support that members are expected to provide. For example, there are penalties imposed on members for not providing support in terms of bringing food, cleaning, and helping arrange the funeral procession which tends to mitigate the financial risk for the member.

Taking on members who are not close relatives, says Van Zijl, introduces increased risks of fraud due to the dilution of cultural and emotional connections in the association.

STOKVEL APP FOR FINANCIAL LITERACY

Faeeza Soni, a Senior Lecturer in the Wits Margo Steele School of Accountancy says that the stokvel mergers that Van Zijl mentions present challenges. “When stokvels get bigger, it gets more complicated from an accounting point of view,” says Soni, who is involved with the research project which is still in its infancy, and which is using and analysing the data of one stokvel to inform planning.

She says, “We have started by examining a single stokvel, which has revealed that its recorded transactions are not always that simple. We have found that there are some complicated

SHOULD PRIVATE COMPANIES PUBLISH SUSTAINABILITY REPORTS?

In South Africa between 90% and 100% of public companies compile sustainability (or integrated) reports. Should private companies be obligated to undertake similar forms of disclosure? Not necessarily, since the contexts are vastly different.

Professor Warren Maroun in the Wits Margo Steele School of Accountancy says that he often asks students whether sustainability reports are not just marketing tools that are being used to acquiesce to the demands of public sentiment and the ‘woke culture’.

“I would say there are lots of cheaper ways of engaging in impression management. We know there are many institutional and retail investors and other stakeholders who are reading the integrated or sustainability reports and engaging with those companies on their financial and social and environmental performance,” says Maroun.

“We cannot say that these reports are completely free of impression management or ‘greenwashing’. As to whether private companies should be preparing these sustainability reports, I would say not.”

Public, listed companies provide returns to investors and have a statutory obligation to prepare financial statements according

“Giving members access to these records, such as via an app, increases financial inclusion for even the least financially literate.”

transactions occurring, so we are examining them so that we can suggest possible improvements.”

Further complications include instances where the numbers do not add up, says Soni, prompting researchers to conclude that, even with close-knit family stokvels, it is important to highlight these risks.

“Raising awareness of these issues is a good starting point. Transparency in the transactional records of stokvels for their members improves the stokvels’ governance. Giving members access to these records, such as via an app, increases financial inclusion for even the least financially literate,” says Soni.

Soni suggests that the proposed app will be easy for stokvel members to download and use and will give them simplified accounting information.

“They will be able to find out what contributions there have been, or what is owing from previous months, and what is available to be paid out.”

Van Zijl adds that the app will help to educate members as to how much they should contribute and enable an understanding of what their pay-out ratio is, or how much they are paying in bank fees.

“Members would be able to see that, for example, if there are only 20 people in the stokvel, only three could receive a payout,” he says. “Members could also learn from the app what a reasonable amount would be to add to the stokvel each month without reducing a member’s ability to meet the current needs of their family.” C

to established conventions, says Maroun, adding that they also must take social and environmental impact factors into account. “Their ethical reputation in the market and with consumers and other stakeholders is crucial,” he says.

However when it comes to private companies, the context is very different. Instead of a company potentially having many thousands of owners, the holding of these private companies is often very closed with shareholders and management sometimes being the same people, he says.

ETHICS AND INTEGRATED THINKING

Maroun says that research in the Wits Margo Steele School of Accountancy has been examining the idea that integrated thinking should come before integrated reporting.

“So, whether companies are listed or not, whether they are state owned entities or are operating in the not-for-profit sector, and irrespective of size, the same principles relating to ethical behaviour should apply,” says Maroun.

Some of these companies may not prepare formal sustainability reports, but in terms of their customers, promoting themselves and ensuring their social licence to operate, they may be keen to demonstrate their commitment to the environment and ethical practices.

WHO IS ACCOUNTABLE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS?

We have a right to an environment that is not harmful to our health or wellbeing, which is protected by a robust legislative framework, but where does the buck stop when it comes to accountability? A multi-faceted approach is required.

SARAH HUDLESTON

In the last decade South Africans have experienced a litany of infrastructure issues that have hindered the supply of clean water and working sewerage systems, and which could be seen as an infringement of citizens’ basic human rights.

The lack of delivery of clean water, the flowing of untreated effluent and the dumping of toxic chemicals into rivers, and the growing problem of acid mine drainage have now become commonplace issues.

Johannesburg is currently experiencing major water outages, largely attributable to electricity loadshedding and poorly maintained electric pumps, but also due to the ageing infrastructure of pipes.

Over the past few years, Durban’s tourist economy has been decimated. High levels of E. coli have been recorded in the sea off the City’s popular beaches, resulting in their closure during the busy holiday season.

THE WRONGS WITH VAGUE RIGHTS

Professor Craig Sheridan, a chemical engineer based in the School of Geography, Archeology and Environmental Studies, says that the Constitution is confusing because there is no indication that citizens have the right to water although it’s clear that citizens have the ‘right of access’ to sufficient water.

“It is perceived that we are supposed to get a basic allocation of free water, yet one wonders whether this rather means the access to a tap or stand tap that is supposed to give us water.

“What we do have is a democratic right to an environment which is not harmful to our health or wellbeing. This is not ‘access to an environment’,” he says.

“The problem with many of these legal phrases, in my opinion, is that they are vague. Who, for example, defines harmful versus not harmful? I guess that answer often sits in the legislative limits of what you are allowed to put into the atmosphere or into water. So, if you discharge water containing effluent into the environment, there will be limits as to what is allowed to be pumped into other systems.”

Whether it’s a nebulous right to access, or to actual water, or to a non-harmful environment, Sheridan says that we have a responsibility to become more water-efficient, as Cape Town did: “During the Day Zero crisis it became even more critical that sewerage could not go back into the dams without being treated first. Contaminants need to be removed and only purified water pumped back into the rivers and dams.”

CULPABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL RIGHTS

In the early 2000s, while doing his PhD in Chemical Engineering at UCT, Sheridan consulted on a case where the Oude Molen distillery in Grabouw was pumping alcoholic effluent into the Klipdrift River, due to the malfunctioning pumps pumping cooling water from reservoirs into the effluent disposal dam. The director of the company pleaded guilty in the court case that ensued. But this director’s admission of guilt is evidently the exception, not the norm. Mazi Choshane, who is a junior attorney and active in the Environmental Justice Programme at Wits, says that it’s concerning that, despite having robust environmental laws in place, there seems to be a lack of accountability – and one of the primary challenges is often the enforcement of these laws, she says – particularly in mining.

ROBUST LAWS LACK ENFORCEMENT

“The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy plays a crucial role in managing and regulating the mining sector, including

“This lack of enforcement allows powerful entities to act without consequence, undermining confidence in democracy and the environmental rule of law.”

addressing environmental and social challenges associated with mining activities,” says Choshane. “But legacy issues related to the sector, such as acid mine drainage which is a major ongoing environmental issue, and the rehabilitation of derelict and ownerless mines, are of major concern. They pose serious risks to water quality, ecosystems, and human health.”

Chosane points out that in 2021, an estimated 6 100 mines in South Africa were classified as “derelict and ownerless”. And when the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Toxics and Human Rights visited South Africa between 31 July and 11 August 2023, he noted that while we have a robust legislative framework that supports accountability and effective remedies, law enforcement and implementation often fall short.

“This lack of enforcement allows powerful entities to act without consequence, undermining confidence in democracy and the environmental rule of law,” says Choshane.

INCREASED LITIGATION BUT LESS ATTENTION

Ruchir Naidoo, an advocate and PhD candidate in Environmental Law as Wits, says that there is an upward trend in environmental litigation. “Civil society and political parties are exercising their constitutional rights to a clean and healthy environment through our courts,” he says.

Naidoo points out that in February 2024, the residents of Verulam, a town in KwaZulu-Natal, appealed to the United Nations for assistance with a severe water supply crisis which they deemed to be a violation of human rights.

There is also an increase in youth and community-based initiatives across various sectors, particularly relating to climate change and pollution issues, according to Naidoo. “But while it appears that there is a growing sense of environmental awareness and people are taking action, environmental issues continue to receive far less attention than South Africa’s historic issues of poverty, crime and unemployment.”

He concurs with Chosane that South Africa has excellent environmental legislation, but non-compliance with and poor enforcement of those laws mean that negative impacts on the environment continue to be felt in large parts of the country, and very often in the most vulnerable and historically disadvantaged communities, such as those in Verulam.

What will it take to invoke our democratic right to an environment which is not harmful to our health or wellbeing?

Chosane believes that, while international commitments to and membership of relevant global bodies provide a framework and platform for addressing environmental issues, the root causes of environmental challenges require a multi-faceted approach involving the government, civil society, the private sector, and the public. C

WHAT ENVIRONMENTAL EQUALITY IN AFRICA REALLY LOOKS LIKE

As countries move to adopt green technologies to fight climate change, there is a sense of déjà vu as the Global South is left at a disadvantage in this new revolution. South Africa must urgently industrialise to ensure sustainability and a genuinely just transition.

The just energy transition is meant to be an equal, democratic process where the world gradually moves towards lower carbon technology. Green technologies are reliant on minerals such as cobalt and lithium that are abundant in some African nations. There is a concern that this revolution will produce a new scramble for these commodities and that the rich will simply exploit poorer nations using their wealth and influence.

“The big global players are positioning themselves to control access to these resources,” warns Professor Imraan Valodia, Pro ViceChancellor: Climate, Sustainability and Inequality, and Director of the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies (SCIS) at Wits University. “The amount of funding being pumped into this is huge.”

INDUSTRIALISING AFRICA

The United States’ Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 has allotted $663 billion for climate action investments. Part of this is aimed at stimulating manufacturing in the green economy, which in turn will require certain specific materials. But while countries like China and the US are spending their way to a greener future, it is Africa that needs to transform and mitigate climate change.

“Africa has to industrialise if it doesn’t want to be a provider of raw materials, and it needs to take the green path,” says Professor Dean Brady in the School of Chemistry at Wits. “This is for two reasons: One being we need to prevent climate change as, according to the Wits Global Change Institute, southern Africa is particularly vulnerable because of its geographical location

SHAUN SMILLIE

and its rate of socioeconomic development. Secondly, green technologies tend to be more efficient by definition [they produce less waste] and therefore are more competitive.” Brady believes that countries like South Africa can fund this in part through ringfencing green taxes, such as the carbon tax.

PROTECTIONIST TARIFFS UNDERMINE AFRICA

Valodia believes that the use of green technologies to industrialise will become urgent for developing countries, because developed nations are introducing protectionist tariffs to safeguard their economies as they de-carbonise.

An example of this is the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), a European Union tariff on imported, carbon-intensive products like steel, cement, and aluminium which will come into effect in 2025.

“The basic plan with CBAM is that, for example, if you import a car into the EU, they can calculate backwards the amount of carbon used in its manufacture and tax you on this,” explains Valodia.

This means an add-on cost for local exporters putting an estimated R53 billion of South African exports at risk in the short-term.

“Across the country communities are benefitting from conservation, thanks to changes in policy and legislation.”

The UK is planning to introduce a similar carbon tariff in 2027, and other countries, like Canada, Japan and the US, are in the process of introducing their own such border taxes.

“The rich nations need to finance this adjustment in countries in the Global South rather than expecting us to bear the burden on our exports,” says Valodia.

OPAQUE FUNDING ‘AID’

Even the aid provided by wealthier countries to help move developing countries to green economies has been found wanting. At COP27, the 27th annual UN meeting on climate, several European countries and the US announced an $8.5 billion funding package to help South Africa in its just transition in the energy sector.

In an article published in March 2024 titled, What happened to the Just Energy Transition grant funding? Valodia and SCIS colleagues Katrina Lehmann-Grube, Julia Taylor, and Sonia Phalatse took a closer look at this funding package. What they found was that only 4% of the total amount was grant financing with most of the balance comprising concessional loans.

“Most of it is funding packaged as technical support that is actually going to institutions in their own countries, not to us,” says Valodia. “There needs to be proper commendatory schemes that go to the people that need it, rather than grand schemes that just benefit people in the north.”

FUNDING AFRICA’S JUST TRANSITION

But countries in the Global South are fighting back and BRICs countries have strongly opposed the introduction of CBAM. Their primary concern is that the risks associated with the tariff will not be equally distributed across the globe.

It has been suggested that certain concessions could be negotiated between South Africa and the European Union, where our existing climate change mechanisms, like green taxes, are used as an off-set.

There is also more funding money available that could be accessed, although some of this funding is controlled by the big powers.

At COP28 in 2023, it was decided to formally establish a loss and damage fund to support vulnerable countries to deal with the effects of climate change. The decision to make the World Bank the administrator of the fund was a controversial one of concern to many developing countries, given that the United States is the finance institution’s largest shareholder and the only country that has veto powers to change the structure of the Bank. Another option was for the United Nations to administer such a fund.

Still, South Africa needs to find a way to speed itself to a green future. “The sooner we do this, the better for us,” says Brady. “Africa is projected to be the most populous continent by the end of the 21st century and we really need to industrialise with efficient and non-polluting technologies for any chance of a healthy and wealthy future. There have already been a lot of missed opportunities.” C

A DROUGHT OF POLITICAL WILL

The right to have access to a basic water supply is enshrined in the Bill of Rights but making it a reality for more South Africans still requires a fight.

UFRIEDA HO CHANTÉ SCHATZ

Water is life; it is also a weapon of political and social control making this scarce natural resource one that’s increasingly reliant on strong democracies to ensure that it is competently managed, fairly accessed and distributed, and mindfully conserved.

The Dean of the Faculty of Humanities, Professor Mucha Musemwa, is an environmental historian. Water for him is a liquid history and a mirror of the “flows and consumption that follow the contour of social stratification”. Musemwa says that colonialism and apartheid were marked by injustices and discrepancies in how water was – and still is – either made available or restricted depending on race, gender, geographical location and wealth. With the dawn of democracy came the promise of access to water as a basic right. It became a social and environmental justice issue. Underscoring this consciousness, the Water Act of 1998 was enacted to democratise access to this critical resource.

But at the 30-year mark of democracy, Musemwa flags a different kind of threat to water and human rights.

CONFLICTS AND TENSIONS

“Even before we think about water as what some people believe will be the reason for the next world war, we should be thinking about conflicts and tensions over water at a local level. We need to ask why we are experiencing service delivery protests and demonstrations over water outages and water leaks, why we have cholera outbreaks, water shedding, and a water mafia causing artificial water shortages in some areas,” he says.

Musemwa calls out incompetent leadership. He adds: “It is a case of not having the right kind of leadership dedicated to resolving problems. The South African government is complicit in perpetuating inequities, as it has taken very little action against corrupt officials who siphon off resources earmarked for water and sanitation development.”

DEMOCRATISING NATURAL RESOURCES

The story of water and its precarity at this point in our democracy should be a reminder that, more than ever before, the role of elections, robust legal frameworks and the Constitution do matter,

Musemwa says. As he points out, water flows into everything from the unresolved land issue, food security, the levelling of economic opportunities in the agricultural and forestry sector and our ability to better withstand the mounting climate change pressures.

Professor Tumai Murombo is a Law Professor and former director of the Mandela Institute in the Wits School of Law. He says that the unequal access and unequal distribution of water remains an agenda topper, 30 years into democracy, but it’s also deeply complex.

“Balancing access to water, food security, environmental sustainability, and dealing with historical injustices is a fraught exercise. Water law, politics and policies are issues shaped by the global economic system. We see inequalities at a micro level, we can see them at a regional and national level, but these are amplified at the level of global economies, technology development, and intellectual property rights regimes,” Murombo says.

He adds that South Africa is still experiencing “a chaos of transition” with competing economic interests in a polarised political space. He highlights the key sticking point which is the issue of the historical water use licenses granted mainly to commercial, white-owned farms by the previous regime. They remain lawful, but without a clear policy approach of how they are to be adjusted for fairer water use allocation, these entitlements remain heavily skewed and keep historically disadvantaged groups

“Upgrading and replacing infrastructure in terms of water, roads, and sanitation just makes sense because the alternative is possible mass civil unrest.”

locked out.

“There will be delays and trade-offs, challenges and pushbacks in a democracy – using the very democratic Constitution and laws, but it means practically that we aren’t making big enough strides forward,” he says. Proposed amendments to the 1998 National Water Act are still out for public comment and will grind through Parliament this autumn. The proposed amendments are critical for the reallocation of water resources and for curtailing existing users. He adds that there is also a dearth of specialised legal expertise in the country, creating more delays.

“We are not where we should be. We do have the foundational legal framework, and some experience but implementation remains hesitant and poor. It might take five or 10 years more, but we will get a greater degree of legal certainty in how we reallocate water resources more fairly,” he says.

ACTIVE CITIZENRY

For Professor Craig Sheridan, another critical pillar alongside legal frameworks and policies is for South Africans to be better active citizens taking personal responsibility to be strong stewards of water use and conservation. We cannot ignore that safe drinking water coming out of a tap has travelled a long journey. Water, he says, is a renewable resource but one that’s also easily wasted and polluted.

Sheridan, who is based in the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies and is the Co-Director of the Centre in Water Research and Development, says that active citizenship means doing a more deliberate job of holding authorities to account when it comes to delivery. He says: “The situation right now is that we are not even playing catch-up. We are in deficit in terms of things like the maintenance of pipelines and national planning for water security for a growing population. We also need a secure supply of water that is not linked to treaties with our neighbouring countries that can be torn up when we have weak leadership and governance.”

Sheridan says that citizens need to demand the exercising of political will and competence. We also need to keep up pressure to make planning and investing in water security a priority, as well as the desalination and reclamation of wastewater to potable water. Ultimately he says that citizens have to “engage with democracy” as a safeguard to keep water from becoming a “tipping point issue”.

“Upgrading and replacing infrastructure in terms of water, roads and sanitation just makes sense because the alternative is possible mass civil unrest,” he says.

Sheridan says that outrage is growing and was palpably demonstrated this past summer when parts of Johannesburg – the economic heartland of the country – had no water for close to two weeks. It’s “stressful, but also unifying”. People standing together and choosing to use their voice is positive, he says.

“I am choosing to speak up publicly – it’s not a comfortable position for me as an academic and engineer – but I will speak my truth so that those in government who should be making a difference start to take action. Water is a basic human right, and we should be defending that right,” Sheridan says. C

CONFLICTS OF (NATURAL) INTEREST

The creation of conservation areas across the world has become a tug-of-war between providing for the needs of local communities and preserving critical natural resources. But research shows that people and nature can live and thrive alongside each other.

SHAUN SMILLIE

For centuries the Makuleke community lived in the northeastern corner of South Africa, close to the modernday border between Zimbabwe and Mozambique. But by the beginning of the 20th century the squeeze on a disenfranchised community had begun, as they were forced to make way for the private game reserves that were springing up in the Lowveld.

In 1912, the Singwidzi Game Reserve displaced several Makuleke villages, followed by the establishment in 1933 of the Pafuri Game Reserve.

The limited number of game rangers policing the area meant that the community still had limited access to their former lands, but this changed in 1969 when Pafuri was incorporated into the Kruger National Park and the Makuleke were forcibly removed.

The South African government was not alone in removing communities from newly-established conservation areas. Other countries including the United States had also displaced communities as they carved out pristine wilderness areas that became the preserve of wealthier tourists.

But more recently, over the last several decades, there has been a change in thinking. The old idea of wildlife reserves as exclusive domains fell away and was replaced by a more inclusive model that took into consideration the needs of those communities living adjacent to these areas.

South Africa joined this global movement and shortly after the advent of democracy, the Makuleke made history. Under the Restitution of Land Rights Act, in 1997, they reached the first successful settlement of a land restitution claim involving a South African national park.

BENEFITTING FROM CONSERVATION

Through the settlement, the Makuleke chose to keep the land as a joint management venture between themselves and the Kruger National Park to generate funds and jobs for their community. Today, there are five-star lodges and educational programmes running aimed at uplifting the community on the 22 000 hectares of land.

The Makuleke are not alone; across the country communities are benefitting from conservation thanks to changes in policy and legislation.

In addition to the more than 2 000 jobs created by the Kruger National Park, peripheral services such as car washes and emergency towing services at camps have been outsourced to

entrepreneurs from the neighbouring communities.

The recent South African National Parks (SANParks) Resource Use Policy of 2019 allows for a number of renewable and nonrenewable resources to be harvested in their parks annually, including thatch harvesting, the collection of medicinal plants and even the picking of mopani worms, all done under the watchful eye of an armed ranger.

“In a post-apartheid South Africa, the point is that those national reserves actually belong to the people and those who were disadvantaged by the establishment of these conservation areas should not still be disadvantaged by the continued existence of these parks. As citizens, they should be the first line of stakeholders who should be benefitting from conservation,” says Wayne Twine, Associate Professor in the School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences.

It is not just state-run reserves; many private reserves have community outreach programmes and are addressing the needs of communities within their areas with job opportunities and ancillary services which are outsourced to small, local businesses.

But Twine warns that addressing the needs of both is often a complex balancing act that requires the building of good relationships and honest communication. SANParks has used forums to communicate with the various communities.

“It’s really important that you don’t wait until you have a crisis before you reach out to neighbouring communities,” says Twine. Also, it's important that expectations are kept realistic. “It’s about balances and trade-offs,” he adds.

DATA-DRIVEN DECISION-MAKING

It is not just about providing economic opportunities. Recently the people living alongside the Kruger National Park between Numbi Gate and Matsulu complained of elephants venturing onto their land. SANParks said in a press release that they were in discussion with affected communities to work together on the construction of a fence, which is expected to take about eight months to complete.

But protecting ecosystems that better serve both communities and conservation requires gathering data that can help in the making of future policy decisions. This is what the Future Ecosystems for Africa Programme, a partnership between scientists, policy makers and land users and led by academics at Wits, provides.

“If we get good data, we can find ways to enable people

to derive the benefit of the land’s resources while maintaining healthy ecosystems,” says Professor Sally Archibald, the Principal Investigator at the Future Ecosystems for Africa Programme in the School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences.

Their research is also helping to dispel some preconceptions held by the Global North about conservation in the developing world. One example of this is afforestation programmes that involve planting trees in areas that evolved as open, grassy savannah systems with their own unique biodiversity. Although the aim is to help mitigate the impact of climate change, scientists like Archibald have argued that this would destroy these ecological areas, reduce water supplies and do little to reduce atmospheric CO2 levels.

COMBATTING THE ‘WILDERNESS PHILOSOPHY’

The ‘wilderness philosophy’ is something that was brought to Africa with colonialism and is exemplified by fortress conservation – the idea that protected areas can only exist by excluding humans from the land.

However, recent research done by Archibald in the Mozambique Niassa Special Reserve in collaboration with Claire Spottiswoode and David Lloyd Jones from the University of Cape Town is showing that people can live in such protected areas while leaving a minimal imprint on the ecosystem.

Funded by the European Research Council, the research involved studying honey hunters who live in the park and who, in order to calm the bees and access the hives, light fires at the base of trees and then chop them down.

“Many people, with a more ‘wilderness philosophy’ would think that this is shocking, and the activity needed to be stopped. But we have shown that they are harvesting a very small proportion of the total tree population and that the rates of tree recovery make

these activities sustainable. Our student, Rion Cuthill, has done great work in showing that, yes, sometimes, honey hunting does cause wildfires, but they often happen at times of the year when it is recommended that you burn,” says Archibald.

In 2022 the UN Convention on Biological Diversity adopted the ‘Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework’ which set a 2030 deadline for one third of the planet being under effective conservation management.

“The Framework had pushback from Africa and South America over not just who was going to fund this, but also what it means to conserve. Can we consider landscapes conserved if they have people living on them and are managed in a sustainable way?”

asks Archibald.

To help international organisations best fund projects in Africa, together with colleagues Barnie Kgope in the Department of Environmental Affairs and Odirilwe Selomane from the University of Pretoria, Archibald is developing a checklist that provides guidance on how projects should be funded in Africa.

“This is so that we not only become the recipients of funding, but so we can also guide that funding towards activities that really will benefit our biodiversity and people. Otherwise, we are always going to be fighting, telling people you can’t plant trees on grasslands,” explains Archibald.

But while much has been done to democratise the relationships between communities and conservation areas, the future looms with challenges, and climate change and a growing population will make resources even more scarce.

“There are certainly going to be challenges, and that is why going forward it is important to find innovative ways of creating economic opportunities for communities through conservation –rather than conservation being pitted against development,” says Twine. C

USING UBUNTU TO RECOGNISE ANIMAL RIGHTS

Under the South African Constitution, animals do not enjoy the same rights as humans, but if we apply the principles of Ubuntu, which have been acknowledged under the law, animals may yet be afforded the same dignities as us. Dr Sheena Swemmer argues the case for animal rights.

In 2020, the National Council of Societies for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals approached the High Court in Grahamstown for an urgent interdict to stop the export of 40 000 – 80 000 sheep across the ocean for slaughter at their destination in the Middle East.

The NSPCA argued that shipping live sheep across the equator is a form of severe cruelty and would never meet welfare standards as set out in the Animals Protection Act 71 of 1962. Due to the high temperatures on board these carriers and the sheep’s inability to thermoregulate, many die in transit due to circulatory and respiratory failure. Some also perish from being trampled in overcrowded conditions, and others die from being exposed to ammonia in urea, which is allowed to accumulate during the voyage without being hosed away.

Ultimately, the Court permitted the transportation of the sheep, a finding it came to after weighing the economic benefits to the exporting company and farmers in the Eastern Cape of live export, against what it saw as ‘manageable’ animal welfare issues.

I argue that until animals are granted the enjoyment of certain rights under the South African Constitution, they will continue to endure gross mistreatment by humans despite laws to protect their interests. This is because the Constitutional rights enjoyed by humans easily trump those of animals, as they carry more legal significance than other privileges or entitlements created in law.

For example, and in the instance of the above case, the rights of humans to work and carry out business or trade were a critical factor, ultimately overriding the animals’ welfare interests. Yet, if animals had rights entrenched in the same way as humans, it would be more difficult to limit those rights.

ENTRENCHING ANIMAL RIGHTS

The courts have not interpreted the rights set out in the Constitution to apply directly to animals. Even rights in respect to an environment, of which animals are deemed to form part, only applies directly to human interests. The provision states that “everyone has the right to have the environment protected, for the benefit of present and future generations” – with courts interpreting “everyone” to only include humans.

Given that judges predominantly adopt an anthropocentric interpretation – that is, they consider human beings the most significant entities in the Universe – when giving content to rights in the Constitution, a mandatory framework which endorses, emphasises and guides judges into recognising animal rights must be applied to the interpretation process.

Section 39 of the Constitution provides the interpretative techniques that judges must adopt when interpreting what a right means or to whom it applies. The Section states that when a court interprets a right, it must “promote the values that underlie an open and democratic society based on human dignity, equality and freedom”.

Section 1 of the Constitution sets out the values, which, for example, include human dignity, equality, the advancement of human rights and freedoms, non-racialism, non-sexism, and the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law.

ADJUDICATION BY UBUNTU

In the first Constitutional Court case, S v Makwanyane (which declared the death penalty unconstitutional), the court explicitly acknowledged Ubuntu as a value, although it was not referred to as a value in the Constitution itself.

Ubuntu is a moral theory that includes animals as bearers of moral status, which means having a right to have your interests

“At the heart of Ubuntu is the idea that a society based on human dignity must take care of its most vulnerable members.”

realised and protected because you have value. All those individuals who share a common value will also have their interests equally realised and protected. In the case of Ubuntu, the ability to belong to a community is valuable.

A famous maxim for describing is that “I am because we are”, highlighting individuals' connectedness and interdependence. For many theorists, including myself, being part of a community is not dependent on your being a human. Instead, being part of a community is dependent on individuals having the potential to interact with other members in a cooperative and caring way.

If animals form part of the community, then they, too, have value under and would have a claim to the protection of their interests. In terms of Section 39 and the findings of the Constitutional Court, Ubuntu is one of the values or tools that must be used to interpret rights. If Ubuntu is to be truly reflected within the interpretation of the rights in the Constitution, then animals also will have a claim to certain rights that protect their interests.

Many animal species work cooperatively and show a sense of care and empathy for others. For example, Asian elephants live in closely bonded, family-centric units and display a wide range of other-directed, often cooperative behaviour. Studies also show that mice indicate greater empathy for their ‘cage mates’ than towards strange mice, thus having a form of affinity for their community.

EQUALISING ANIMAL AND HUMAN NEEDS

The court has endorsed Ubuntu as a value and thus an interpretive tool many times, including recently in King N.O. v De Jager In this case, the Constitutional Court said, “[t]his Court has affirmed Ubuntu as a principle in our law which should inform all forms of adjudication. At the heart of Ubuntu is the idea that a society based on human dignity must take care of its most vulnerable members and leave no one behind. It emphasises the adage that none of us are free until all of us are free”.

When faced with the inherently inhumane conditions associated with the live export of sheep, a court correctly applying a Section 39 interpretation of rights would be required to include Ubuntu in their approach and consider animals’ and their human counterparts’ interests equally. The balancing exercise would then take place where the animal and human needs have equal weight, in which case the animals would have a stronger basis in law to compete with human interests. C

Dr Sheena Swemmer currently works at the Centre for Applied Legal Studies at Wits, where she is the Head of the Gender Justice Programme. She is both a researcher and a practising human rights attorney. Her research focuses on violence against women, children and animals, and the law.

ETHICAL CONUNDRUMS OF THE GREAT DICTATOR

Having been elected as president for a day, I am, your Eminence, Supreme Leader and Commander in Chief, struggling with the same deep ethical question as all those who have come before me – to plunder or to serve?

MY FELLOW SOUTH AFRICANS

Thank you for electing me, your humble servant, to lead you through the muddy waters of the future of our beautiful, beloved country. I deeply appreciate the trust that you have placed in me, and as is customary, gladly accept the office of the president –along with all the privileges, and none of the responsibilities that go along with it.

Please allow me some of your valuable time to inform you of my plans during my one day in charge. I sincerely hope, that during this time, I will achieve as much, if not more, than our 2015 weekend special Minister of Finance, Des van Rooyen, who spent

a whole three days in office.

While there is plenty for me to look forward to during my 24 hours, I would be less than honest if I didn’t tell you that among the things I am most looking forward to include being driven in a blue light convoy at high speed, and spending time rubbing shoulders with the who’s who of the world in the winter wonderland of Davos (although as a politician, being less than honest is something that comes naturally to me).

OR, COUCHED IN A DIFFERENT WAY…

However, most highly anticipated is having international business people depositing large amounts of cash in hard currency in the

folds of my couch, while my attention is diverted elsewhere. I believe I would derive as much joy from that, as I would from hosting peers that are wanted for international crimes against humanity.

What I can tell you, however, is one thing that I will not be doing, for as long as our police stations are not even connected to each other, our hospitals are falling apart, and our children are drowning in pit-toilets at school, is having fantasies of building new ‘smart cities’, connected with bullet trains. In my opinion, we should be outraged at the deplorable state of our infrastructure.

I am reminded of walking through the beautiful Company Gardens that run alongside the buildings of Parliament the other day when, looking up at this magnificent heritage building and seat of governance, I did so with a heavy heart. Instead of feeling pride, I felt sadness staring up at the derelict building, its windows broken and plasterwork peeling and collapsing.

It must be noted, though, that this damage was caused not by any malfeasance on the part of the previous regime but occurred, as we may all remember, after an act of arson in 2022. It now requires R2 billion to be restored to its former glory, money that we don’t have because it was spent on a firepool, somewhere in rural KwaZulu-Natal.

Contrast this situation with the near destruction of Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris in 2019, where a fire caused damage worth €767 million (over R15,3 billion). Within one day of an appeal for help by the French President Emmanuel Macron, a total of €846 million (about R16,9 billion) was raised through pledges from across the world.

PERSONAL ENRICHMENT VERSUS ECONOMIC GROWTH

I must admit, occupying the seat of the most powerful person in South Africa for a day, I am torn between the decision either to enrich myself and my comrades beyond belief, or, on the other hand, to do what’s right for the country and all its citizens – that is to ensure sustainable development through economic growth and to rebuild the infrastructure necessary for the achievement of our goals.

Naturally, like my predecessors, I lean toward the latter (former?) However, some of my advisors have very different ideas, and strangely enough believe that by improving the future for all South Africans, my esteemed colleagues and I will also stand to benefit.

I have been told that in order to change the future of the country for the better, Professor Alex Van den Heever of the Wits School of Governance says we need to do three things. Number one, we need to get rid of systemic corruption, number two, we need to get the country’s economy back on track and number three, we need to fix the social functions of the country, which would need work and input from points one and two.

AN EXECUTIVE ACCOUNTABLE TO THE PUBLIC

In order to put a stop to systemic corruption, Van den Heever says that we need to change the legislative framework that regulates the relationship between the executive and all organs of state, so that they can be held accountable by the public, and not the state itself. Unless we do this, says Van den Heever, no policy could work.

To get the economy going, we need to prioritise areas of infrastructure investment, and get our roads, freight, ports and electricity transmission back in reasonable working order. This would not only result in a huge improvement in our employment figures, but we’d be able to capitalise on our massively abundant natural resources. By doing these two things, we can then finance our social responsibilities, such as crime prevention, education,

“I am torn between the decision either to enrich myself or, on the other hand, to do what’s right for the country.”

social security and improved healthcare.

At the moment, Van den Heever says, we lose up to 40% of the financial resources that we have to corruption.

To be completely honest, I have always believed that every single problem in our great country could easily be fixed, if only there was the necessary political will to back it up. I still believe that. However, Van den Heever says that while this may be true, at the moment there is no real interest in serving the public. Effectively, the necessary political will is stymied by the systemic corruption.

There are so many gaps and multiple cabals in our political system, that even if the person right at the top wants to do the right thing, people in positions of power below are holding them back. Take as an example that not a single person has, up to now, been prosecuted from the findings of the Zondo Commission.

POLITICAL INTERFERENCE

The fact that South Africa’s public organisations afford political office bearers, i.e. the executive government, such powers of interference and involvement in their day-to-day running, allows for massive abuse of power. In addition, our political principals do not have to make decisions for the benefit of the country, but for their own personal benefit and perhaps even that of the political party they serve. A case in point is Minister Pravin Gordhan, who, due to a misinterpretation of the law, acts as the sole ‘owner’ of entities such as Eskom and South African Airways.

“No single person should be in a position where he or she alone could appoint a board of a state-owned entity,” says Van den Heever.

If, as my advisors urge me to do, if I were to fix the country and put it back on the path of economic growth and improved social wellbeing for all its people, there is just so much work to be done. It is possible, but we would need a completely new social compact and a new set of rules governing how we work in the future.

Various analysts have in recent years pointed out that the coming century is the “African Century” due to the continent’s youthful population and growth. Our richness in human capital (and our diversity, I would add) is what is going to make us world leaders in the next century.

But, as another advisor, Professor Craig Sheridan from the School of Geography, Archaeology and Environmental Studies points out, we need to educate our people.

“If I were president for a day,” he says (Ahem!) “I would borrow a trillion dollars, and properly fund education, so that all our youth can be educated to similar levels as those of Finland, and the rest would follow.” It will take time, acknowledges Sheridan, but the gains would be worth it.

Now, if all you great citizens of our beloved country will excuse me, I have to go and call my bank manager.

Yours honourably

Your humble servant, His Eminence, Commander in Chief, Supreme Leader and President (for a day) Schalk Mouton

DEMOCRACY AND ARCHIVES: A QUEST FOR TRUTH

Archives are the custodians of evidence in the pursuit of truth and records of Commissions of Inquiry are fundamental in determining the facts that support democracy, writes Wits archivist Gabriele Mohale.

Commissions of Inquiry have played a crucial role throughout South Africa’s history. Appointed by the highest office in the land, the judiciary is mandated to investigate and interrogate, and commissions are therefore a powerful tool in ‘seeking the truth’ and their processes can well be qualified as democratic in nature.

Equally important are inquests, judicial inquiries to ascertain the facts of an incident, which too are truth seeking by nature. Inquests into the death of detainees have proved important in making public those secrets from South Africa’s apartheid past that would otherwise have remained hidden. Many of the findings from these proceedings, however, remain shrouded in ambiguity.

Records of commissions and inquests have found their way into university-based archives such as the Historical Papers Research Archive in the William Cullen Library at Wits and were deposited by progressive legal firms, organisations and individuals. These archives include various commissions of inquiry into social conditions such as housing, health, farm labour and the penal system. During South Africa’s highly charged and volatile transitional period up to 1994, the reports by the Goldstone Commissions of Inquiry were instrumental in exposing human rights abuses. The inquests into the deaths of Steve Biko, Ahmed Timol and Neil Aggett among many others, include records that are now extensively consulted by South Africa’s prosecuting authorities in their investigation into apartheid-era crimes. Often, they are the last traces remaining from original proceedings, as records of inquests are fragmented or missing from the State’s archives.

“Their pursuit of the truth runs like a golden thread through their archival records.”

In recent years we have received outstanding additions to our archive holdings, including the papers of the former Chief Justice Arthur Chaskalson, and of Advocate George Bizos. Their pursuit of the truth runs like a golden thread through their archival records, from the early Rivonia Trial in 1963/64 to the development of the Constitution for a new South Africa and the role of its judiciary in a democratic dispensation.

The events at the Lonmin Mine in Marikana in 2012, which became known as the ‘Marikana massacre’, once more resulted in a Commission of Inquiry to investigate what led to the deaths of the miners. As with previous commissions, its report is publicly

available, but not the records generated by the commission itself. The records have found their way into Historical Papers through the full electronic submission made by Advocate Matthew Chaskalson, containing proceedings, exhibits, video footage, photographs, autopsy reports and assessments. These documents are presently supporting the cases being brought by the victims’ families and will comprise evidence in the quest to seek out the full truth. C

Gabriele Mohale originally trained as a typesetter in Berlin, Germany, before coming to South Africa in 1991. She joined Wits’ Historical Papers Research Archive as an archivist in 2007, during which time she completed her Master’s in Heritage Studies, graduating in 2009. She has been Acting Head of Wits’ Historical Papers Research Archive since 2017. In recent years, Mohale has been involved in accentuating the role and status of archives in civil society, in partnership with academic departments and civil society archives and organisations.

L-R: Rivonia Trial defence team members George Bizos, Joel Joffe, and Justice Arthur Chaskalson, with former Vice-Chancellor Professor Loyiso Nongxa, pore over the 1963/64 trial records now preserved in the Historical Papers Research Archives in the William Cullen Library. The photo was taken during their visit on 6 May 2010.

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