Scholar laments corruption and persistent apartheid legacy

The Safety and Violence Initiative at UCT says it’s an absolute tragedy that 30 into democracy, South Africa continues to be dogged by high levels of corruption, poverty, and other legacies of apartheid.

Professor Cathy Ward spoke to YNews ahead of Freedom Day celebrations, set for tomorrow.

The day commemorates the country’s first democratic elections, which for the first in history, saw South Africans from all backgrounds standing together in snaking queues to choose a government of their choice.

The African National Congress (ANC) won those elections, bringing an official end to 46 years of apartheid. While the policies of deeply institutionalised racism were overturned, with black South Africans allowed to study, stay and marry whomever they want – among others – various civil rights groups feel that more needs to be done to improve their prospects and living conditions.

Professor Ward says crimes that occur behind closed doors, such as intimate partner violence and child abuse, are also other concerning social ills that fuel substance abuse, which in turn sparks all other problems.

“It is an absolute tragedy that, in 30 years of democracy, these continue to be issues in our society.  It’s imperative that growing the economy and creating legitimate, stable, long-term employment are goals of government, so that we can begin to move out of this horror,” she says.

The Professor says this should also be supported by social programmes that help children thrive.

“Programmes that improve our education system and prevent violence at schools and in the home.  In this election season, I hope that those elected will keep this in the forefront of their minds.”

Despite government’s various intervention programmes aimed at ensuring the well-being of children, according to a 2022 South African Child Gauge, South Africa’s youth are near breaking point.

It says their exposure to extraordinarily high levels of adversity increases their risk of developing mental health challenges.

According to the research, two-thirds of children (63%) in the country live below the upper-bound poverty line; with nearly one in two children (42%) having experienced violence, including physical violence (35%) and sexual abuse (35%). In some parts of the country, almost all children have either witnessed or experienced violence in their homes, schools and/or communities.

Public Health Specialist, Rinky Modise, says this is proof that the government can’t win the battle alone.

“In government we do have learner support agents who support children with all their vulnerabilities. But there are things that can’t be stopped by the government alone, but it takes a collective effort. We also have a responsibility as a society to reduce the levels of violence.”

She says parental support for children’s sporting activities can also go a long way in ensuring mentally healthy children.

“We need to continue to encourage extracurricular activities for our children and ensuring that our children feel our presence. When there is sport event at school, we should be there because when we support their physical well-being it impacts their mental well-being.”

Modise is urging parents to limit the time their children spend on TV and other technological gadgets.

“Ensure that they do have time to engage with children of their age to improve their social skills as well.”

She believes South Africans need to go back to the basics and take accountability in ensuring the well-being of children by influencing good behaviour in their young ones.

“We need to ensure that everything that we do is in the interest of the child. That is why even the government says if you turn a blind eye to a child being abused you are an accomplice. We need to protect their well-being because your child will be a friend to my child and they will influence one another,” she adds.

A Senior Research fellow at the Institute for Security Studies, Dr Chandre Gould, agrees that there have been many positive developments over the past 30 years, which tend to be overshadowed by the seemingly intractable challenges that remain.

“One of which is the stubbornly high level of violence. While there was a significant reduction in the murder rate between 1994 and 2011, since 2011 the murder rate has been increasing year on year. This is despite year-on-year increases in the police budget over the same period,” she explains.

“This tells us that just investing more money in the SAPS will not help to reduce the problem. One of the biggest drivers of the murder rate is arguments, and disagreements between people. We use violence to resolve our conflicts, inside and outside our homes. In other words, we accept violence as ‘normal’. This is a serious problem.”

Dr Gould says another area for concern is the decreasing levels of trust in democracy and in public institutions, including the police and justice system.

“At its most extreme, this leads to vigilantism, which often turns violent. Looking forward there is a need to build trust in the rule of law and in public institutions, improve police leadership and address high levels of domestic violence,” she concludes.