A robust panel discussion initiative to stimulate dialogue around democracy and citizenship, titled: The Future South Africa We Want and Deserve, took place at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Hotel School, Ritson Campus on 2 October 2024.
DUT and the social enterprise start-up Higher Education Media organised a dynamic dialogue of utmost importance, which focused on finding better collective solutions and ensuring civil society’s contribution to the national discourse.
The panel featured the Vice-Chancellor and Principal of DUT, Professor Thandwa Mthembu, social activist Jay Naidoo, Slindile Khanyile, Editor and founder of IsiZulu’s online financial publication Umbele, and the Managing Director of PetroCONNECT, Mr Sbonelo Mbatha.
The robust dialogue, shaped by the active participation of academia, business, civil society, and media panellists, as well as the voices of citizens, academics, and civil society, was a collective effort focused on reshaping the future.
This dialogue, which took place in the wake of the 2024 elections, holds significant importance. With 27 million voters registered to vote, the elections underscored the need to deepen South Africa’s democracy. The fact that only 16 million South Africans participated in the poll, despite more than 11 million youth registering, highlights the urgency of this dialogue.
Media executive-turned-entrepreneur Vasantha Angamuthu moderated the discussion, and one of the key questions that was dissected pertained to the lessons one can take from 30 years of democracy to build the future one wants.
DUT’s Vice-Chancellor and Principal, Prof Mthembu, gave the welcome address to the panellists and attendees. He thanked High Education Media Services for organising the dialogue to stimulate debates at tertiary institutions throughout the country. He emphasised that this was important, especially given all the changes that the country had experienced over the last three months.
“The Government of National Unity and what it portends for us as a country, whether it could be a game changer, those are all the important discussions we must have,” said Prof Mthembu.
He emphasised that he was proud of the fact that DUT is the second university to host such a dialogue. The first discussion, he highlighted, took place at the University of Johannesburg on 4 July 2024.
Social activist and former Government official Dr Jay Naidoo added to his conversation, explaining that the sad reality was that 40% of the registered South African voting population did not vote in the last election.
“This is a chilling statistic that should have been the subject of a national public debate,” he said.
A doctorate recipient from DUT, Dr Naidoo, who lives in the North-West Province, close to Marikana, remarked that Stats SA recently stated that this province has more unemployed than employed people. He asked what he could do to contribute to nation-building and healing oneself and the country. He then focused on what he was doing to make his contribution and challenged everyone to do better.
“At the Constitution’s heart was a deep commitment to addressing the apartheid legacy of dispossession of land, the exclusion from the real economy and the commitment to tackle head-on the poverty and inequality that is still a spectre haunting black people. We have failed to deliver a ‘democracy dividend’ to our people. As the election result demonstrates, citizens no longer trust those in power. Our transformation project stalled many decades ago, and our country remains deeply wounded and divided,” he replied.
Naidoo also delved into mining, the bulwark of the apartheid system. “Leading up to democracy, we imagined how mining would transform as we fought for freedom. Through countless discussions, we sought to ensure the old brutal mining models. There would be proper consultations with communities. This has now been hijacked by consultants and unethical gatekeepers, whether in the communities or the mining companies. No real consultation takes place,” he echoed.
He did amplify the fact that what is seen is a land grab by international corporations that have little interest in workers’ and environmental rights.
“We want negotiations directly with the mining companies. We are now working with the youth with training in organising and empowering grassroots leaders to negotiate the community priorities to bring complete transparency into how money is spent through the Speech-language pathologists (SLPs). The Alliance we are co-creating will provide support and technical know-how to enable a community to participate and shape the priorities, with everyone in that community knowing where the money is spent. This is about accountability even in a community,” he proffered.
Panellist Slindile Khanyile gave context to her reasoning that saw low voter turnout this year. “I think that people have begun to understand the power of their vote, and I think that South Africans are looking for a government that is going to be accountable,” she said.
Khanyile indicated that one gets the government one deserves based on one’s participation in it. Panellist Mr Sbonelo Mbatha also explained what one can do to contribute to building South Africa, which one would like to see.
“I would lower the barriers to entrepreneurship and the policies that make it so difficult to run businesses in South Africa. The second thing I’ll do is revisit some of our tax laws. Many people believe that business people don’t like paying taxes. The reality is that business people want to see what their taxes do. So, in other words, if you were to restructure this, you’ll see much difference,” he shared.
Other conversations concerned education, which was said to be the most powerful weapon for changing the world. The Director of Higher Education Media Services, Edwin Naidu, brought the dialogue to a close. He conveyed that this initiative was the start of a journey to understand the challenges and find solutions to shape The Future South Africa We Want and Deserve. Naidu further thanked everyone for attending in person and online as part of their efforts to create dialogue for change.
To deepen democracy, similar dialogues are planned for the University of Western Cape, the Vaal University of Technology, and Nelson Mandela University going forward.
Pictured: The Vice-Chancellor and principal Professor Thandwa Mthembu and attendees at the dialogue around democracy and citizenship titled The Future South Africa We Want and Deserve.
Waheeda Peters
