Post-democracy SA faces challenges, but there is hope

Ashley Forbes

On this year's Day of Reconciliation, we reflected on 30 years of democracy – an era marked by progress and persistent challenges. While we have achieved significant political transformation, the journey toward true economic and social equity remains incomplete.

This day provides us with an opportunity to pause, reflect, and renew our commitment to building an inclusive future for all South Africans.

The Foundation of Reconciliation

Reconciliation begins with acknowledging the truth. Can white South Africans confront the historical realities of colonialism and apartheid – the systemic exploitation, violence, and dispossession inflicted on the indigenous majority? These injustices persist in modern forms, perpetuated by entrenched systems of inequality and the powerful living descendants of past oppressors.

All communities must face uncomfortable truths, grow from them, and rise above narrow self-interests. Then can we truly embrace ideals like justice, reconciliation, unity, and inclusive prosperity. Reconciliation also demands accountability. South Africa’s 1994 social compact promised transformation, but political efforts have largely failed to address structural inequities, leaving vast sections of the population disillusioned.

The Resistance of the Elite

South Africa's corporate elite poses one of the greatest threats to democracy, reconciliation and peace. Rooted in a colonial mindset, they prioritise profit over human life and use their influence to resist meaningful transformation. Despite the decline of apartheid, this powerful minority continues to manipulate political and economic systems to protect their interests, maintaining the world's most unequal society.

These elites leverage fear, claiming that disrupting their economic empires would lead to economic collapse and anarchy – a claim disproved by history. Their resistance to change has stalled progress on critical issues like land reform, social justice, and economic inclusivity. The failure to dismantle the economic structures that apartheid created, undermines democracy, and exacerbates social discontent.

The elite play a dangerous game by undermining democracy, while engaging in immoral acts that prevent meaningful transformation. They steadily increase their power, locally and internationally, to perpetuate the interests of a very small predatory and immoral capitalist class. This will inevitably inflame massive social discontent, but the elite are content, because they have unfettered access to the coercive forces of the state.

The Power of Grassroots Resistance

Every act of resistance, no matter how small, contributes to change, from a citizen reporting poor service delivery to communities organising protests. These efforts challenge the status quo and lay the groundwork for larger movements. Resistance is strategic and builds capacity and solidarity over time.

The 2024 national elections proved the power of civil society and grassroots action, in particular. Millions of South Africans voted to end the ANC’s 30-year dominance, holding it accountable for failing to deliver economic and social transformation. This collective action transcended racial and socio-economic divides, signalling a maturing resistance movement that is driven by an increasingly organised and informed civil society.

Challenges of the New Coalition Government

The new 2024 coalition government, led by the ANC and DA, has compounded these challenges. With its neoliberal policies and alarming lack of urgency to address economic transformation, the new coalition government prioritises the interests of the elite over the public good. The new coalition government is silent on land justice and the dismantling of monopolies. No five-year plan exists for the transformation of the economy. Neither is there any discussion on annual targets or monitoring mechanisms, for the eradication of gross inequality.

The new ANC-DA-plus coalition government does not challenge the criminal business elite for undermining our democracy and has no political will to prosecute the often corrupt high-level public and private sector. The new coalition government has no inclination to hold the mining bosses to account for failing to make abandoned mines safe, and rehabilitate the land for agriculture, low-cost housing or small-scale mining operations. They ignore the powerful retailers who manipulate food prices to the detriment of farmers and consumers alike and who dump millions of rand of edible food every day. They show no commitment to fire the government ministers for their utter incompetence in enforcing effective border control measures or to hold the pharmaceutical companies to account for producing highly toxic pesticides like Terbufos for commercial and smallholder farming use. Even after the damning UN report of July 2024 and the banning of such pesticides by the EU and Southern African Development Community (SADC). They waste our time with neoliberal trickle-down economics and consistently avoid dealing with the root causes that set up the vast majority of the population for failure.

The new coalition government has a deliberate strategy to utilise every coalition partner to shield political and private sector elites from accountability and prosecution and to stoke divisions amongst population groups. It has clearly demonstrated its willingness to use the resources of state, to wage war on civil society. The DA has led the charge for the new coalition government, against homeless people, in their desperation to remove poverty from public view. The Minister in the Office of the President legitimises murder by calling for the “smoking out” of the small-scale mineworkers and to unconstitutionally deploy the police force to deny basic food, water and medical care to the thousands of, (and I quote) “criminal” small-scale mineworkers who remain besieged in the Stilfontein mine. The president leads the charge against small township businesses, that fuels xenophobia and destroys the confidence and trust that local communities have in small township enterprises. The Patriotic Alliance stokes xenophobia against our African brothers. The Freedom Front Plus agitates against the Constitution by opposing the well-meaning intentions of affirmative action and expropriation of land without compensation.

Who knows what the new coalition government has in store for us? But one thing is certain – they will undermine accountability by shielding the business and political elites from prosecution, while criminalising the poor and marginalised. Civil society is advised to brace for continued resistance against this administration's regressive agenda in the days and years leading up to the local government elections in 2026 and national government elections in 2029.

A Vision for the Future

Despite these challenges, there is hope. South Africa’s civil society has stepped into the leadership void and are uniting across all divides to demand accountability and justice. This decentralised movement represents a new political force, rooted in grassroots activism, committed to dismantling the entrenched systems, institutions, and attitudes of gross inequality.

The path forward requires sustained resistance and a collective multi-generational effort to address the root causes of injustice. By building on the progress of the past 30 years and holding leaders accountable, we can create a society that truly embodies the values of reconciliation, national unity, inclusive prosperity and peace in the coming 30 years.

The Day of Reconciliation reminds us of our shared history, resilience, and potential. South Africa has the resources and capacity to raise the standard of living of the entire population. But this requires breaking free from the stranglehold of the ruling elites. Let us honour those who fought for justice by recommitting to the ideals of democracy and equality. Let us salute the millions of South Africans who have acted to defend our people, communities and nation. Let us light those mesmerising fires while the sun goes down on 2024, stare into those swirling flames of our turbulent yet victorious past and bask in the warmth of Africa, that is always a constant reminder of our collective greatness.

* Forbes, a former Robben Island prisoner, assisted with the establishment of the Robben Island Museum where he was estates and services manager. Now semi-retired, he assists several non-profit organisations.

Cape Times