Market reaction and Hilary Joffe:
Looking beyond GDP and growth, writes Abel Sithole, we have the means to address the alienation that besets our communities
● Izwe lethu! Izwe ngelethu!
This land is your land, and this land is our land From Cape Town to Musina, Port Nolloth to KwaMazambane
From the wet and fertile lush valleys of the majestic Ukhahlamba (Drakensberg mountains) to the waters of the long and winding Senqu (Oranjerivier) nourishing the parched land along its path.
From the coal, gold and diamond fields of the highveld to the maize fields, cattle pastures, and game of the savanna
Ringing out from our blue heavens
From the depth of our blue seas
To our everlasting blue mountains
This land was made for you, me, and our future generations Much has been said and written about the damage, destruction and loss caused by the violent unrest that gripped parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. The most obvious harm is the damage to and theft from retail spaces, stores, businesses, warehouses and logistical centres. Jobs have been lost and more will be lost as a result of the damage to businesses big and small.
Communities will incur additional costs and have to bear with the inconvenience of travelling to shop in areas outside their immediate location. Even those who are better off will see a reduction in what they can afford. Not so obvious but more devastating is the impact on the country’s reputation.
But the heaviest burden will be carried by those whose situation was already dire. It is incontestable who the losers are: they are the communities where riots took place, and the rioters who will have to live without services once the instant gratification and once-off uses of looted items have dissipated. Unlike the long-term payoff of the erstwhile struggle for freedom, this destruction of property will serve only to inconvenience and cause poverty to many people.
When the prices of goods and services rise, as they will, it is the poor who will be disproportionately affected. Their lives will become so much harder.
Destruction of property is not a new phenomenon in SA. News reports abound of community members destroying public properties, from public health to school facilities. This, and the recent destruction of property in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng, are clear indications that the rioters feel themselves to be sojourners, people who do not belong in their own country. Otherwise how could they trash the home where they must continue to live?
Soon they will bemoan the absence of doors, windows and roofs from their house in the dead of winter, forgetting that they were responsible for the destruction. Unemployment, poverty and inequality are probably the overriding factors. The extent to which these contribute to socioeconomic and political polarisation has characteristics that are specific to SA.
One such characteristic seems to be an alienation that creates this detachment from properties that are there for the benefit of all. This much was clear from the destruction of public property. Alienation leads to not identifying with or not having a sense of ownership of public property and infrastructure, and the public spaces that are theirs and/or benefit them. There is still a great sense that these belong to someone else. There is clearly a need to conscientise people, so that they see value in and protect public properties.
It is a fact that for a major portion of South Africans, the dawn of democracy and a unitary country in 1994 has not resulted in significant material change in their welfare. The welfare of many may have deteriorated with the increase in unemployment. However, it is also a fact that the new dispensation has put in place many programmes to improve the lives of South Africans, in areas such as housing, health, education, electrification, water and sanitation, etcetera. Nonetheless, it cannot all be done all at once for all, especially given the economic situation the country finds itself in. It is, however, very important to accept and celebrate these improvements while acknowledging that more could have been and should be done.
All areas and aspects of product provision and service must actively and diligently do what they have to do. Public servants must serve the public with due respect. Teachers must teach, police must safeguard the safety of communities, and health workers must attend to the health of patients. Each of us must make our own personal contribution to the quality of the meaningful and fulfilling life experiences that we want and aspire to. In this regard, retailers must service their customers fairly and not gouge, the hospitality industry must treat visitors hospitably, taxis must treat commuters with deference and due regard to their safety, and so forth.
Except for a high GDP per capita — which is largely affected by both internal and external factors and is difficult to attain as a result, especially for a country like SA with its history and associated apartheid legacy — the contributors to a good life should be attainable. According to the “World Happiness” report, these dimensions include a strong social support system among friends and family, freedom to make life choices, absence of corruption in government and business, generosity towards our less fortunate fellows, fostering each other’s safety and security, and being trustworthy. The aforementioned are the choices and practices that a society such as ours can make and live out. They do not require money and wealth to realise, though a certain level of money and wealth can foster them.
These are the attributes of the countries whose passports are sought. These conditions can be created right here by each one of us starting to practise these right away. We do not have to wait for tomorrow, for others or for the right conditions.
We must recognise the worth and individual agency of each one of us and each of our compatriots. We must recognise their ability to act in their best interests, and give primacy to this.
Everybody is first and foremost responsible for themselves and theirs. Everybody is the primary solution to the challenges they face. Everyone must have ownership. This land is their land. This land is our land, regardless of race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, means. This land is our land.
Pointing out the legacies of the past and the deficiencies and failures of the current era and current regime are crucial to building a better future. Furthermore, political jostling and contestation for power with its one-upmanship is a hallmark of
The rioters feel they are sojourners, people who do not belong in their own country
We must recognise the worth and individual agency of each of us and our compatriots
democracy. These notwithstanding, leadership across the board must refrain from sowing the seeds of alienation and stoking the fires of segregation and exclusion. All must foster the sense of belonging and ownership.
Izwe lethu! Our land! Izwe ngelethu! The land is ours!
* With due acknowledgement to Woody Guthrie for This Land is Your Land, and SA’s national anthem.