South Africans have long hoped for a better life, but almost 30 years into our democracy we continue to be plagued by inaction and silence when we need deliberate and intentional participation. It is difficult to imagine that anything will shift in the coming months.

Our democracy is burdened by an electoral system that was intended to be transitional. A structural democracy that has not enabled the best to thrive, but rather has allowed our freedoms to mean very little in the wake of crippling unemployment, worsening inequality and exclusion.

So much has been achieved and yet there is so much still outstanding. The democratic project remains incomplete for as long as South Africans go hungry, are excluded from participation in our society and the young and old remain vulnerable and exposed.

The burden of leadership in South Africa cannot ignore the complexities of our broken society, but it also cannot expect the people to simply imagine a better world and hold on to the dream of a better South Africa.

President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa entered the historic City Hall in Cape Town on 9 February, to outline his administration’s vision for South Africa, and the promise of delivery.

City Hall is a building not intended for use for the joint sitting of South Africa’s democratic Parliament, but had to be used as the venue after flawed security and access controls culminated in a fire that engulfed the parliamentary precinct.

The State of the Nation Address (Sona) has to be deliberate, focused and provide certainty — especially when a nation and its people are suffering. The parliamentary proceedings would have avoided the crippling and destructive consequences of rolling electricity blackouts and power failures while the rest of the country continues to live through the consequences of “load shedding”.

Story of SA is a tale of exclusion

The story of South Africa today is punctuated too frequently by the tale of exclusion that is entrenched in almost every cycle of life. The impact is felt from cradle to grave, and yet it does not need to be this way. South Africa sits on untapped natural resources and human capital resources waiting to be leveraged.

After Ramaphosa outlined the ambitions and goals of a democratic administration, South Africans will continue to feel the crippling consequences of the cost-of-living crisis, rolling failures of our electricity system, worsening unemployment and the uncertainty of knowing what its elected government will do to remedy their plight. It is impossible to hold on to hope.

Tinkering and making minor adjustments will not be enough, even though we knew this as far back as 2018. To force South Africa out of its cycle of exclusion and abuse, there must be a tectonic shift in how we do business and how democracy convenes and delivers.

Minor adjustments to the deck chairs will not be enough to serve South Africans better, nor will it achieve the rebuilding of a government broken by the machinations of a political machinery that has been focused too long on self-interest and broken promises.

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The problem with change is that it inevitably consumes even when it is ignored and resisted. Local governments across the country reflect the challenges that will soon play out in South Africa following the outcomes of the 2024 national and provincial elections.

The social compact required to rebuild and revive South Africa does not require much as we have seen South Africans stand ready to contribute to rebuilding their country.

We have seen the readiness of young people to sacrifice their interests by demanding access to higher education.

We have seen civic organisations battle against the government on issues of access to information, education, sanitation and access to basic healthcare. South Africans are definitely not scared of entering the ring, and not only challenging its government, but rather of doing the work of upliftment and service across communities and towns in our country.

There has never been a need to invite South Africans into the ring, but rather what we require now is deliberate commitment and systematic change to how the government functions.

Decades of inaction

Electoral reform will simply be insufficient to cure the decades of inaction, malfeasance, apathy and self-interest that have wired themselves into our public institutions.

The erosion of a well-functioning government is the true threat to our democracy. Regardless of the political party that is able to secure the majority, we require guardrails and safeguards that not only protect against abuse and inaction, but also enable accountability that drives both delivery and transparency.

Just last week, US President Joe Biden purposely and deliberately outlined his State of the Union, outlining the deliberate and intentional plans of his administration.

Read more in Daily Maverick: “Joe Biden versus the hecklers — State of the Union Speech 2023”

Beyond the heckling, jeering and chaos of a joint sitting of Congress, Biden was clear in his objectives and indeed even negotiated particular outcomes in a confrontational sitting of the Congress — an important reminder that leaders are required to enter the ring even at moments that are not scripted.

Our elected representatives have to do far more if we are ever going to confront our challenges of unemployment, inequality and poverty. Beyond the talk of reform and commitments to do better, the Ramaphosa administration has a constitutional obligation to serve the interests of South Africans. We cannot allow chaos and inaction to reign supreme.

Apathy

The time between now and Ramaphosa’s final State of the Nation Address before the 2024 election is far too short. The cost of government continuing in an apathetic fashion is simply not tolerable, and beyond the countless lives lost and livelihoods diminished, the incumbents will feel the outcomes of a watershed election.

I remain doubtful that the 2024 elections will provide any clear answers to our existential threats, but rather will further erode the functioning of our parliamentary systems in both the national and provincial spheres.

South Africans cannot wait for a government of its choosing to do better. The demand before the current administration is clear, and the inability to respond and answer the pleas of South Africans will simply fasten the perpetual cycle of exclusion that awaits millions at the southern tip of Africa. DM