Sea-change needed for the future
Dr Mamphela Ramphele is a renowned academic, Indlulamithi researcher and an active citizen promoting re-imagination and rebuilding South Africa.
THERE are moments in a country’s trajectory when its citizens have an opportunity to take stock of its recent history, and engage in earnest conversations about possible future scenarios.
In South Africa we have been given this opportunity with the launch of the Indlulamithi (Nguni word for giraffe, meaning above the trees) scenarios – a researchbased participative initiative designed to re-invigorate our efforts to create a vibrant and socially cohesive society.
Many South Africans who were inspired by the democratic transition of 1994 have lost their enthusiasm and energy after two decades. Rampant corruption, lingering and growing inequalities, and an abysmal failure to heal the wounds of centuries of division and deprivation have left large sections of our society with a sense of betrayal, cynicism and anger.
We have declared August 9 a holiday to celebrate women as citizens, and their contributions as leaders at all levels of society. What does it mean in the context of 100 rapes and three murders our women are subjected to on a daily basis? What relevance does the National Women’s Day have for the 100 mothers whose daughters were brutally assaulted the day before?
Our failure to live up to our commitments to build a just and equitable society – united in its diversity – is threatening the very foundations of our democracy.
With the publication of the Indlulamithi South Africa Scenarios 2030, we have a clearer view of what a future South Africa might look like a decade down in time, depending on the choices we as a collective make today. One of the scenarios takes us on the Gwara Gwara route – a floundering false dawn in a country where we fail to deal with the rot of corruption and, eventually, descend into a vortex of low growth, high crime and institutional erosion.
A second scenario is that of an iSbhujwa South Africa, where the country remains defined by deep social divisions between rich and poor, where unremitting social protests continue, and where society is kept moving by the dynamic of self-interest.
But, Indlulamithi also offers a third scenario of a nation in step with itself – Nayi le Walk – where, thanks to wise leadership, sound economic strategies and broad participation by all sectors of our society can become a country of go-getters and we can achieve the fundamental socio-economic restructuring that is so urgently needed.
In a real sense Indlulamithi has taken us back to the future that we have imagined at the birth of our constitutional democracy. This is eloquently captured in the preamble of our constitution where we collectively committed our nation to:
Heal the divisions of the past and establish a society with democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights.
Lay the foundation for a democratic and open society in which government is based on the will of the people, and every citizen is equally protected by law.
Improve the quality of life of all citizens, and free the potential of each person.
Build a united and democratic South Africa that is able to take up its place as a sovereign state in the family of nations.
A quarter of a century after our democratic transition we have an opportunity to pause, reflect, and re-imagine a future that will reignite hope in all our citizens, especially the youth and the marginalised. Our failure to build a democratic, nonracial and inclusive society can be attributed largely to the absence of a shared vision, and an encompassing social compact enshrined in the ideals of ubuntu.
Ubuntu is the defining element of our African culture to build social capital to address some of the most fundamental issues that will enable us to heal the wounds of an unjust system that remains colour-coded to this day.
We can heal the wounds of the divisions of the past by focusing our attention and efforts on the largest and most vulnerable segments of the population – young people, women, and poor urban and rural communities.
We can transform our education and training system to ensure that our youthful generation becomes an asset-base for human, intellectual and social capital.
We can reorganise our economy into a more sustainable, inclusive and regenerative dispensation that promotes common good and human dignity.
A re-imagined South Africa is a country in which we ensure that every citizen has a stake in sustainable and shared prosperity. We can create a society and build an economy that is thriving with the capacity to lift the entire continent of Africa and mobilise its potential for greatness, and its capacity to renew itself.
The Indlulamithi initiative has demonstrated that it is possible to bring people from diverse backgrounds and lived experiences together, and generate productive conversations that lead to a shared commitment to development and progress.
We have reached a pivotal moment in our history. We have all the ingredients for success. The choice is ours – whether we continue to hesitate at the threshold of a new, brighter future or whether we start right away with reshaping our country into the successful society it can become.