State has relinquished its duty of upliftment Angelo Louw

Constitutional drive to end to poverty, defend human rights is over, writes

He said the state was under too much strain due to growing debt to continue funding projects like housing. It was the responsibility of citizens to develop a culture of entrepreneurship in order to curb reliance on government programmes and grants.

Our research team is analysing trends in budget allocations over the past 10 years and is finding correlations between a stagnant budget for service delivery and an increasing budget for government debt. For example, while the allocations for general public services and debt service costs were similar in 2010-11 at R60.8-billion and R66.2billion respectively, by 2016-17 they had diverged to R86.2-billion and R147.7-billion a year. A perusal of our recent reports illustrates a snowball effect between the mismanagement of government funds and reliance on state funding.

One example is the over- and under-expenditure reported by six provinces relating to the education infrastructure grant over the past two financial years. Therefore, Gordhan’s call for the masses to play their part in the financial stability of our country is not only superficial, but highly unfair.

Of course, the public has a role to play in governance beyond voting. Public participation in our nation’s affairs is promoted by our constitution, which provides several means for citizens to have their voices heard. But the public entrusts leadership with the responsibility of devising and administering development strategies in the best interests of the larger populace. What we have witnessed in recent years, however, is a concerted effort to protect failing leaders (selected by struggle credentials rather than merit) at the expense of the accountable, effective governance required by our constitution.

It is here that Gordhan erred: we, the people, must take responsibility by playing our role in the development of our country, but so too

I was taken aback when Gordhan insinuated that citizens should stop relying on state for support

must the government.

Have our leaders become too comfortable in their positions of power that they are detached from the realities of our country, where 16.3 million South Africans live below the poverty line and 50% of those in work earn poverty wages?

Like Gordhan in his budget speech, President Jacob Zuma made constant reference to his consultations with business in preparation for his state of the nation address. For weeks before these important speeches, commentators across mainstream media called for a “business-friendly” budget.

In all these debates, the constitutional imperative of ensuring an end to poverty and inequality and the enjoyment of fundamental human rights by all was lost.

For an interpretation of why and how this happened one can do worse than read Karl Marx’s description of the development of a “petty bourgeoisie” in advanced capitalist societies. That is, a middle class of people so desperate to secure their wealth and status that they will act as a buffer between the underprivileged and the moneyed elite.

Our report on the progressive realisation of the right to food found that while we produce enough food to comfortably feed the nation, half the population suffers from malnourishment — living on cheap, processed foods that are high in sugar and fat. This affects healthcare expenditure due to a rise in dietaryrelated illnesses like diabetes.

It is facts like these that Gordhan fails to mention when he speaks