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South Africa’s democracy is hailed the world over as a model system of governance.
This is because of the rights orientated constitution which includes the Bill of Rights.
In terms of the constitution, the gov we ernment is a representation of the people, who themselves were contemplated by the authors, as governing.
These many rights have earned the country the label of being a progressive nation of the global south, an example of what freedom means for a nation.
Tied to these rights are citizens obligations, civil duties, which are seldom spoken of as most people place their individual rights ahead of anything else.
This means citizens, residents, have a duty to participate in their governance and the constitution provides for many ways of facilitating that crucial public consensus which is the backbone of any democracy
Sadly in the first years of democracy, the majority in South Africa went mute, gradually withdrew from public participation leaving a resourced minority to dominate discourse.
As a result of the withdrawal of the majority, municipalities have struggled to get communities to participate in IDP ( Intergrated Development Programme) meetings that are aimed at deciding priorities ahead of a local authority’s budget process. meaning budgets have been based largely on the desires of fringe groups who in most cases have a vested interest.
In communities such as Sekhukhune where the ANC is dominant, such public meetings have been dominated by supporters of the party that the opposition would often accuse the party of trying to use state platforms for electioneering.
Of course opposition parties have a duty to hold those elected to lead to account but equally the opposition has a duty to ensure that its own constituencies participate in the governance of the country through these meetings.
There’s currently a number of invitations from state institutions for public comments before decisions are made by lawmakers.
One of those is the IEC notice seeking to solicit public opinion on the viability and or desirability of an electronic voting system in South Africa. This is an important process not just for political parties but for civil society as well and it would be refreshing and a boost for good governance in South Africa for citizens to participate fully by airing their views.
Parliament has also issued a public notice as part of a regular review which essentially gives citizens an opportunity to suggest new laws, make additions or call for removal of any legislation in the constitution.
It is the silence of the majority that created fertile ground for the success of misinformation campaigns pursued by the so-called Solidarity Movement which has now made South Africa a target of US aggression.
As you read this the DA has intensified a campaign against the country’s empowerment laws that it labelled “race-based laws”. Sadly there’s not been enough voices from the majority defending the transformation agenda.
If things go on in this manner, we might as well forget about majority rule
