Democracy & Social Justice

Having just elected a new president who has not yet made it clear whether or not he will be capable of addressing corruption, poverty and inequality, South Africans must either learn to live with uncertainty or embrace possibility. I am too cautious to suggest that we might begin to hope, but certainly, as the distance between 1994 and today widens, I see the merit in examining what is possible and looking for places where feats of imagination and acts of hard work might yet produce positive results.

The Cape Town office of the Heinrich Boell Foundation in conversation on the 2019 South African Elections “While the team had diverse views on the contested areas of South Africa’s political landscape, all agreed that a consolidation of Ramaphosa’s political power now very much depends on his new cabinet. This will not just be determined by his political will alone, but also his ability to manoeuvre through the tricky corridors of the ruling party’s house of cards.”

“…the view from the ground of the 2019 elections does not bode well for South Africa’s constitutional vision of an equal, non-racial society where every person’s human potential can be fulfilled.”

".....difficult choices are made not in five-year intervals at the voting booth. They are made in day-to-day life. In struggle for a better life. In the picket lines, community halls, classrooms, offices, on social-media timelines and in the streets......"

"More than half of the population withdrew their consent in this last election, holding little hope for this system to respond to their crisis in any coherent or meaningful way. Despite the many possible actions that could be taken, the new parliament and the new administration will almost certainly vindicate their choice."

The black lesbian human rights activist and activist Funeka Soldaat talks about the situation of the LGBTIQ community in South Africa 25 years after the end of apartheid.

25 years after the end of apartheid, South African society has to live with firmly anchored corruption, says Hennie van Vuuren.

Cartoonist Godfrey Mwampembwa, known as Gado, talks about South Africa’s social situation 25 years after the end of apartheid.

Akpan Hogan Ekpo, Professor of Economics and Public Policy at Uyo University in Nigeria, talks about the state of democracy in South Africa 25 years after the end of apartheid.