President Cyril Ramaphosa has promised South Africans that government was working to improve the functioning of local government to ensure citizens receive the services they deserve.
Ramaphosa delivered the keynote address at the 2023 Human Rights Day commemoration held in De Aar, in the Northern Cape.
The theme for this first commemorative day on the annual national calendar is “Consolidating and Sustaining Human Rights Culture into the Future”.
Ramaphosa said this was a significant year for the celebration of Human Rights Day as it was the one hundredth anniversary of the adoption of the first Bill of Rights in South Africa’s history.
He said this was an act of remarkable vision at a time when the majority of South Africans were by law denied the most basic of human rights.
The adoption of the Bill of Rights, which had no legal standing at the time, took place just a decade after the Native Land Act had resulted in the mass dispossession of Africans of their land.
It took place 13 years after the Union of South Africa confirmed that black South Africans would have no say in the running of their country.
“Today, as we mark Human Rights Day, we pay tribute to those men and women who had the foresight to proclaim that all people in this country have inalienable human rights.
“As we look to the future, let us reflect on the past,” he said.
One of the defining features of the Bill of Rights contained in our Constitution is the inclusion of social and economic rights.
In addition to the right to life, equality and human dignity, our Constitution also says that everyone has the right to housing, health care, food, water, social security and education.
Ramaphosa said that since the advent of democracy, successive administrations have done much to ensure the progressive realisation of these rights for all South Africans.
The expanding provision of basic services to households has been one of the most important interventions to improve the lives of all South Africans.
However, according to Statistics South Africa, access to water and sanitation, electricity, housing and other services like waste removal has increased steadily over the last three decades.
Around two million indigent households receive free basic water, free basic electricity and free solid waste removal.
Yet, despite this progress, there are still many people who do not have access to all of these services. Many people live in informal settlements without adequate housing, water or sanitation.
“The failure to provide adequate services consistently is a human rights issue,” Ramaphosa said.
But, he added, that through changes to legislation and support programmes, government was working to improve the capacity of public representatives and officials and directing more resources towards maintaining and upgrading local infrastructure.
Government recently re-introduced what are known as the ‘Green Drop’ and ‘Blue Drop’ reports, which detail the state of water provision in municipalities throughout the country. On the basis of these reports, he said they are undertaking interventions to fix the problems.
He said there were a number of water infrastructure projects under way to improve the security of supply of water to key areas across the country.
A significant intervention against poverty, he said, was the provision of social grants, which are the main source of income for about a quarter of households.
Just over 2.5 million people were receiving social grants in 1999, but today, over 18 million people are receiving these grants.
The Bill of Rights says that everyone has the right to a basic education and to further education, which the state must make progressively available and accessible.
South Africa has a significantly high level of enrolment in basic education. In 2019, 96% of six-year-old children attended an education institution.
However, the dropout rate from school is unacceptably high, with the result that less than half of children who start school get a Grade 12 pass, Ramaphosa said.
He said this was a problem that the education authorities, school leadership, educators and parents need to work together to address.
In addition, as part of a commitment to expand access to higher education for students from poor and working class backgrounds, the number of students funded by NSFAS increased from 580 000 in 2018 to 770 000 in 2021.
“Despite this, as we saw in the last few weeks, many students are still experiencing difficulties in funding their studies, accommodation and living expenses. This year, government plans to finalise the Comprehensive Student Funding Model for higher education. Among other things, this aims to reach those who don’t meet the NSFAS criteria but are still unable to afford tertiary education,” he said.
The Bill of Rights says that everyone has the right to have access to health care services, including reproductive health care.
However, there is still significant inequality in access to health care.
Ramaphosa said they were preparing for the implementation of the National Health Insurance (NHI) through the national quality improvement plan and putting in place the necessary staff and funding.
“We are improving the quality of care in our clinics through the Ideal Clinic programme. Using the experience of the Covid vaccination record system, we will introduce an electronic solution to improve management of health records,” he added.
The Bill of Rights guarantees the rights of all people to life, human dignity, freedom and security.
The high levels of violent crime, including crime against women and children, are a direct and brutal violation of these fundamental rights.
Ramaphosa commended society who has come together in different ways to respond to violent crime.
Communities have been working with police through Community Policing Forums. Civil society organisations are working with government to implement the National Strategic Plan on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide. Business is working with law enforcement agencies and state-owned companies to tackle damage to economic infrastructure.
Ramaphosa said that as the presence and the visibility of police is increased, and the National Prosecuting Authority is strengthened and the operation of our courts improved, “we need to mobilise everyone in society as part of a national effort to end violent crime.
“We cannot claim to be a country that respects human rights if we do not do everything in our power and within our resources to ensure that all South Africans have access to land, housing, food, water, health care and education.
“We cannot claim to respect human rights if we do not do everything we can to ensure all people have access to work and economic opportunity, and to live lives that are comfortable, safe and secure.
“There can be no doubt that we have achieved much in securing the rights of all South Africans. But we know from daily experience that we need to do much more,“ the president said.
The history of Human Rights Day is grounded in the Sharpeville Massacre that took place on the March 21, 1960, where apartheid police killed 69 anti-apartheid protesters.
Human Rights Day also honours 35 people who were killed on 21 March 1985 when apartheid police targeted community members after a funeral at Uitenhage/Langa.
As part of the democratic dispensation, South Africa observes March as Human Rights Month to promote respect for basic human rights for all and to restore and uphold human dignity in line with the Bill of Rights.
This period also honours those who fought for liberation, and celebrates the many rights guaranteed under the Constitution, and which are the basis for building a united and inclusive, non-racial, non-sexist and prosperous society.
kailene.pillay@inl.co.za
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