Nico Koopman
Dear Grandchildren.
I send various letters to you in this year of celebrating three decades of democracy and freedom in South Africa. On April 27, 1994 we participated, for the first time, in democratic elections.
On Freedom Day, we commemorate the momentous occasion in our country’s history.
Many people have made a lot of sacrifices so that we can have an inclusive, participatory and constitutional democracy. South Africa is a constitutional democracy.
This means that our Constitution provides the vision, basic law and guardrails for our journey towards inalienable dignity for all; the healing of political, economic, ecological, societal, physical, psychological, moral, spiritual and historical wounds; reconciling justice and responsible freedom; and equality of worth and dignity and of access to the necessities of life.
Our democracy is a participatory democracy. We can have an impact upon the direction our country takes through participation in elections, public discourse, dialogue and debate about matters relating to the common good.
We also have an inclusive democracy. Nobody is excluded from this democracy based upon factors like colour, culture, creed, religion, gender, sexual orientation, differently abledness and socio-economic position.
Based on factors like these, millions were excluded from decision-making processes in the past.
Thirty years later, we can measure our progress as a democratic society.
One word comes to mind – ambivalence. We have indeed improved in some areas. We produced one of the best constitutions in the world. For the most part, we have developed good policies that serve the life that the Constitution envisages. We have established various entities to advance the constitutional vision. These include the Constitutional Court, the South African Human Rights Commission, the Commission for Gender Equality, the Public Protector and a variety of other entities. Over three decades, we have held free and fair local, provincial and national elections.
Unfortunately, in other regards we did not make adequate progress. For example, provisions for necessities like healthcare, housing, education and welfare services have not improved sufficiently. Millions struggle socio-economically. Poverty, unemployment and inequality levels are extremely high and are, in fact, getting worse.
Maintenance of basic infrastructure like water supply, electricity supply, roads, trains, harbours, parks and so on has deteriorated.
Various stumbling blocks need to be overcome to improve our collective report as a nation. We need to ask for whom democracy is good news. If only materially well-off people enjoy the necessities and goods of the land, the seed is sown for scepticism about democracy, and even violent resistance to it. We might end up tasting the bitter fruits of this cynicism and revolt. In fact, much of the crime and violence that we experience can be attributed to socio-economic exclusion and marginalisation. We need to ensure that political freedom is accompanied by socio-economic freedom, especially for the most vulnerable.
Our collective report will read better if we do not focus only on human rights but also on right humans. We need citizens and leaders who are committed to the common good, especially to the most vulnerable, and who nurture and instil hope in action, hope that imagines and pursues new possibilities.
We need people of integrity, sincerity and authenticity. Such citizens and leaders do not tolerate crime, corruption, mediocrity and underperformance, cadre deployment and nepotism, greed and gluttony, and the destruction of our children’s future.
Citizens and leaders of civic virtue and character, integrity and sincerity will help us materialise a democracy that brings freedom for all; the freedom that we celebrate on Freedom Day, with hopeful anticipation and renewed commitment.
Till next time.
* Professor Koopman is Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Social Impact, Transformation and Personnel at Stellenbosch University. He writes in his personal capacity.
Cape Times