![]() South Africa is regarded as one of the most unequal states, with one of the lowest life expectancies, in the world. The socio-economic and spatial disparities in the present day resemble the disparities during apartheid – a testament to the continued legacy of apartheid laws, the effects of which the state has failed to reverse. While our democracy is arguably a young democracy, the state has failed to respect, promote, and fulfil key socio-economic rights such as access to education, housing and healthcare as well as failing to adequately implement land reform for most of the population. The transformative constitutional promise and the guiding principles were a starting point, not the final destination. This, and the absence of ethical leadership along with elevated levels of corruption, all serve to dilute the potential towards a fully transformative constitutional democracy that delivers on its promises of a better life for all South Africans.ġ Preamble of Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996.Ģ Raduvha v Minister of Safety and Security and Another Z(10) BCLR 1326 (CC) 2016 (2) SACR 540 (CC) at para 55 The Failure to Fulfil The Constitutional Promise The rise of authoritarian and populist politics, not only within factions of the ruling party the Africa National Congress but also in major opposition parties the Democratic Alliance and the Economic Freedom Fighters, fuel racial tensions, influence attacks on democratic institutions and the rule of law. It is a consequence of policy choices, neglectful abrogation, and malignant violations of international and constitutional human rights that successive governments have made in South Africa, and which have served to effectively maintain inequality over time. The chasm between the rich and poor in contemporary South Africa is not inevitable. The ideological belief that our Constitution is a symbolic bridge between our past and our future can only be truly transformative if there is an effective and accountable government that is committed to addressing structural inequalities, arising out of the underlying systems of oppression, inherited from the apartheid state, which continues to thwart the economic emancipation of historically marginalised groups. The report card on South Africa’s performance in the last 27 years since the end of the first struggle, however, is abysmal. The struggle for the emancipation of black South Africans ended in 1994 and signalled the dawn of a new struggle for the economic emancipation and the realisation of socio-economic rights for all its people. Whilst a constitutional supremacy guarantees civil and political rights, it does little to address structural inequality and economic apartheid. ![]() 2ĭespite promises by the state to improve the lived realities of our people through advancing a transformative constitution, this “egalitarian society founded on values of human dignity, equality, and freedom for all, remains elusive”. We all committed ourselves to a new and egalitarian society founded on values of human dignity, equality and freedom for all”. ![]() We started an ambitious and laudable project to develop, nurture and infuse a culture of respect for human rights in all aspects of our lives. In doing so we signalled a decisive break with our past – a ringing rejection of a history of denial of human rights to our people. The Constitutional Court in the Raduvha case stated that “over two decades ago, we adopted our Constitution. 1 The success of any Constitutional Democracy thrives on these democratic values and promises a better life for all through the realisation of not only civil and political rights but socio-economic rights as well. The Preamble of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, adopted in 1996, sets out the main goals of our Constitution: to heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights, to lay the foundations for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people, to ensure that every citizen is equally protected by law, to improve the quality of life of all citizens, to free the potential of each person, and to build a united and democratic South Africa able to take its rightful place as a sovereign state in the family of nations. In 1994, South Africa transitioned from an undemocratic apartheid state into a constitutional democracy governed by a Constitution which holds basic values and principles such as human dignity and equality. The following Op-Ed is written by Sherylle Dass, Zimkhitha Mhlahlo & Tsukudu Moroeng of the Legal Resources Centre
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