There’s no happiness in SA, only misery
ON March 20, the world acknowledged World Happiness Day, but few South Africans acknowledged the day. In the current context of socio-economic pressures and political instability, are South Africans really happy?
The majority of the population at present is struggling to meet their monthly expenses and provide the basic necessities for their families. Unemployment has escalated since the Covid-19 pandemic and the July 2021 riots coupled with inflating food prices.
The price of food has escalated for various reasons. The ongoing war between Ukraine and Russia has impacted the availability, accessibility, and cost of wheat. The continual increase in fuel prices and the impact of load shedding have modified the cost of production of a variety of food products.
However, the salaries of South Africans remain unchanged and the stress of continually managing lifestyle and food budgets continue. Some foods that have escalated the most in price are potatoes, onions, cake flour, bread, butternut, fish, and cooking oil. These items are basic items required in any kitchen despite various eating patterns influenced by culture and religion.
Under this type of duress, can one truly identify what happiness is and experience it thereafter? Happiness has become a measure of successful societies and/ or happy nations globally.
According to the World Happiness Report of 2023, the simplest way to measure a nation’s happiness is to ask how satisfied they are with their lives. It further explains that life satisfaction is closely associated with prosperity, good health and pro-social patterns of behaviour of people.
Central to this assessment is the inclusion of a misery contribution scale. For many South Africans, the miseries are too many. Certain areas in KwaZulu-Natal post the floods in April 2022, still do not have access to running water in their homes. The inaccessibility of other basic necessities such as electricity and health-care facilities are important municipal services that contribute towards happiness.
Presently, we are expected and forced to cope with load shedding amid other economic challenges, and some theorists say this is an undisputed example of misery. The inaccessibility and scarcity and or unaffordability of basic necessities and lack of service delivery have also led to South Africans having minimal public trust in our local and national government.
The continual political factions and in-fighting of our ruling party and the ongoing wars between all the political parties which have become a normative practice within our society are contributing pointers towards dissatisfaction and unhappiness. Amid this chaos, is the well-being of the South African citizen ever considered and thought of by our leaders?
The countries that have been measured to be the happiest have prioritised happiness as a key indicator of a healthy society. Our happiness too needs to be prioritised, but this can only be achieved when our people have access to basic resources such as running water, electricity, and healthy food.
The fundamental six factors that measure happiness levels include income, health, having strong social support, the freedom to make choices, minimal corruption or public trust, and generosity in the sense of altruism.
These indicators have helped us understand what happiness means to international citizens and how they define the term in relation to their lifestyle and surroundings. Some of the countries that have been reported to be the homes of the happiest people include Denmark, Finland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and Norway.
It is not surprising these countries are located in the northern region of the world. This region has been always known for its strong economy, good social systems and educational facilities. Access to these resources means their populations have their basic needs and requirements met. Therefore, their government has the capacity to pursue happiness as a goal on a national scale. Their populations too are comparatively a lot smaller than South Africa’s.
South Africans have been proactive in behaviour that serves humanity. The prevalence of non-profit charitable organisations in our society and the continual efforts they make to assist the impoverished have been valuable to our society. This behaviour is also identified as a contributing factor to happiness. An act that benefits others can elevate people into experiencing the emotion of happiness.
Central to sustaining a healthy and happy nation, we should be focused on meeting the United Nation’s sustainable development goals and the happiness of our people should be our government’s priority. Happiness may have been at its peak when South Africa became a democracy.
Post the democracy period, this would have declined due to the lack of service delivery. The World Happiness Report of 2023 clearly stipulated that governments around the world and non-governmental organisations should establish human rights similar to those of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This initiative can be possibly achieved in years to come, but for now, the key is for South Africans to find contentment and happiness amidst their woes.
Often we need to look at innovative ways to create happy spaces and moments in our lives despite the challenges and continual stresses. Perhaps the fact that we all share very similar challenges to one another as fellow South Africans contribute to feelings of contentment and a belief that this daunting period of high inflation and intermittent access to electricity and water will pass soon.
However, a belief without proactive measures can only lead to misery. For now, our happiness and contentment should derive from the measures and initiatives we as a nation are undertaking to improve and correct the inadequacies and injustices that have developed during the post-democracy era.