News24.com | Mmusi Maimane | 27 years of the Constitution: We must demand better from our leaders

This week marked the 27th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution. Despite the sacrosanct rights provided for under the Constitution, the dignity of black South Africans has not been restored and many citizens remain trapped in poverty, argues Mmusi Maimane.

Monday marked the 27th anniversary of the adoption of the South African Constitution on 8 May 1996. Widely regarded as one of the most progressive and advanced Constitutions in the world, the signature feature is the depth of its Bill of Rights – the "cornerstone of democracy" as the text declares. This is a Constitution that was made possible by the sweat, blood and tears of many South Africans willing to sacrifice it all for freedom.

In addition to the personal and political human rights it affords, the Bill of Rights details a set of sacrosanct socioeconomic rights – housing, education, healthcare, water, food, social security, among others – which the state must make available to all South Africans without fail

These are the tools government was handed to restore and promote the dignity of millions of black South Africans. The Constitutional arsenal to counter poverty and inequality that was the direct result of 50 years of discriminatory apartheid rule was, and still is, unparalleled.

Yet 27 years on, the dignity of black South Africans has not been restored and the number of citizens trapped in poverty, joblessness and hopelessness rises each and every year.

Anti-poor, anti-black

However unsettling the facts may be, they are still the facts. The average black child receives an inferior education from a second-class education system. She receives inferior healthcare from a broken healthcare system. And she lives in an abode that strips away her dignity. The ANC in government is thus categorically anti-poor, anti-black and anti-South African.

I do not wish to reignite any sort of class or race warfare among groupings by addressing this topic. Rather, to establish the misgoverning ANC as the common enemy of South Africans who are enraged by injustice and want to build one South Africa.

This is no better illustrated than the social grants terrain. President Cyril Ramaphosa recently lauded the fact that since 1999, social grant recipients have increased from just over 2.5 million people over 18 million people. He called it "one of the greatest achievements of democratic SA".

On the contrary, the sharp increase in social grants across all categories illustrates how this ANC government has institutionalised - and even incentivised - poverty since coming to power. The absence of a coherent economic vision to put a job in every home is the cause of this huge grant pool. 

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Though social grants are an important part of our hard-earned post-apartheid economic tool kit, a social grant by itself doesn't give dignity to families and does little to lift people out of poverty. Instead, it keeps poor citizens dependent on government for basic needs, keeping their socioeconomic freedom at bay. These grants have to be accompanied by real socioeconomic stimulus tools to ensure that we address the 42% unemployment rate that has relegated so many citizens to poverty and socioeconomic vulnerability.

With more than half of citizens living below the upper poverty line, the life of a poor South African is one of dependence and indignity. There have been at least three recent examples of how dependence of a failing government by poor South Africans leads to severe vulnerability.

First was the Gauteng Department of Social Development's decision to cut funding for social welfare services by R216-million. This included a 52.4% budget cut for HIV services; a 28.9% cut for people with disabilities; a 20.5% cut for the elderly; a 21.1% cut for family services; zero allocation for child protection services; an 18.2% cut for childcare services and a 57% cut for crime prevention programmes.

Lack of payment 

Second was the failure of government to pay its monthly subsidy to bus company PUTCO, resulting in a halting of this transport function that services lower LSM communities. Poor households spend up to 70% of their income on food and transport costs, yet are not guaranteed transport services on trains, buses, or taxis.

And third, was the lack of payment for feeding schemes in schools and hospitals. The Baragwanath Hospital is without food, and learners in KwaZulu-Natal schools go hungry and are unable to learn. Poorer children are forced to go to school hungry, and those wholly dependent on public health will not die of the illness that takes them to hospital, but of starvation.

READ | ANALYSIS: The Constitution 25 years on - A dream deferred or great expectations realised?

These failures may be seen as anecdotal. However, they demonstrate while some South Africans have the financial means to buy their way out of relying on the failing government, most cannot. As with load shedding, crime and water shortages, it is poor citizens who are without alternatives and end up worst affected.

The pressure on the dam wall is building, and if there is no resolve to these crises, we will witness a revolution of the poor that will make the Arab Spring look like a Sunday picnic. There exists an increasing urgency to address poverty, inequality, and unemployment and in turn restore dignity to those who have had their rights stolen. 

Injection of investment 

One way to do so is the injection of large sums of investment through the establishment of Township Special Economic Zones (TSEZs). There is a dual benefit here. Jobs are created whereby citizens can work where they live, saving on transport costs and allowing parents to be closer to their families. And secondly, it averts the status quo whereby one works in the city and comes back home to under-developed townships. The very communities where poor citizens live will be uplifted and developed, bringing dignity to these communities. 

We must be bold in this endeavour. The injection of investment must be substantial, and I suggest it be funded from the sale of listed shares owned by government's Industrial Development Corporation (IDC), currently valued at R200 billion. Government doesn't need to own shares in big companies. Rather, township economies need to be stimulated and funded to uplift communities, and create new jobs and wealth for disadvantaged citizens. 

The current state of South Africa is cause for great concern. However, with decisive action and a commitment to reform, our nation can overcome these challenges and chart a course towards a brighter future. It is our collective responsibility as South Africans to demand better from our leaders and hold them accountable for their actions.

- Mmusi Maimane is Build One South Africa (BOSA) Leader

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