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THEMBI SIWEYA: South Africa’s story is not only one of doom and gloom
opinion
With every year’s 27th April Freedom Day, which is in essence our birthday, South Africa is offered an opportunity to take a step back and take stock. And one of the important issues to consider is how the laws and policies of the country are made, who can influence what they look like and for whose benefit are they made.
One of the major reasons the country’s constitution is said to be amongst the most progressive in the world is because of how it provides for both representative and participatory democracy. Through elections that have been successfully happening every five years without fail, representative democracy is seen through voting of public representative and political parties of choice. In between elections, the government is obliged to consult affected people, organisations, and communities when it makes laws and policies, meaning there is participatory democracy.
South Africa’s history of discrimination based on the colour of one’s skin is no secret. For years, millions of South Africans suffered under the oppressive apartheid regime, denied basic needs and opportunities all because of their race. 1994 was a year of hope for many South Africans who vehemently opposed apartheid. The remarkably peaceful transformation from apartheid to democracy in the mid-90s was nothing short of a revelation. Deputy chair of Sasfin Securities, David Shapiro, recently told the BizNews Power Hour that he is deeply disillusioned with South Africa. Shapiro remarked, “I don’t think we’re going to regain the view that people had of us in the 90s when democracy was introduced. The only way we can get back to being the beacon of light for Africa is to remove everybody and start again. I’ve become very disappointed in what we’ve seen.” These are sentiments shared by many South Africans. Below, Christi van der Westhuizen writes that a lack of interrogat
Roger de la Harpe, Gallo Images
The hardships and turmoil suffered to get us where we are today also inspired thinking about the type of Constitution that would be best for our country, writes
Thembi Siweya.
Occasions such as the 27th April (Freedom Day) and 16th June (Youth Day) offer an opportunity to take a step back and take stock. And one of the critical issues to consider is how the laws and policies of the country are made, who can influence what they look like, and for whose benefit are they made.
One of the primary reasons the country’s Constitution is said to be among the most progressive in the world is because of how it provides for both representative and participatory democracy.
It’s Freedom Day in SA 27
th April. Many of us will remember standing in multi-racial, highly diverse queues for the first time as we defied, with a peaceful vote, world predictions of a looming civil war. We talked of our ‘political miracle’, we spoke of the possibility of an ‘economic miracle’ to follow, which hasn’t really happened. We even spoke of s ‘social miracle’ with the prospects of moving towards a truly non-racial society, that hasn’t really happened either. So what is there to celebrate? Are we still and nation of Insiders vs Outsiders as Steven Friedman points out?