By Nontshi Shange
The Coronavirus pandemic has brought to light many of the cracks in South Africa’s governing systems. Although South Africa is no stranger to corruption, the looting of state funds, the failure to supply the community with food parcels, hand sanitizers, and face masks, have shown low-income communities that they can only rely on themselves during the pandemic.
On 20 November 2020, the Clermont community was joined together by Shakespear Baleni, an Activator and community leader. The community of Clermont, West of Durban, is one of the oldest townships in South Africa. The community is infested with legacy issues left by Apartheid while simultaneously navigating through issues created by the ruling party.
During the panel discussion, they came together to find solutions to the never-ending stream of service delivery issues that they have had to face. They joined together to create a panel that would analyze potential solutions to hold the government accountable. They hoped to promote public participation and encourage an increase in transparency to co-create mechanisms for accountability within the community.
“For democracy to fully function we need to encourage community participation,” says Shakespear Baleni. The pandemic has slowed down community participation as they no longer have the same level of freedom they had before the pandemic due to the necessary government regulations. However, they also require more participation than ever before to better the current situation they find themselves in.
Speaker, Mr. Khambule said that it was important to encourage the youth to participate in these types of engagements to groom them to become active citizens to better the community. Community members need to build networks that they can rely on outside of government to avoid being entrapped by the government.
Sphamandla Mhlongo made the point that municipalities waste money through hiring external service providers even when they have the internal capacity to do the work. Through using community resources, the government would be able to pinpoint the issues which the community faces. They would simultaneously bring income into the community, bettering the lives of many.
In joining the community together, Shakespear Baleni built a network of community members who would take the active decision to hold the government accountable. Through creating programs and encouraging voting, the community will build themselves. In deciding to vote for leadership that will serve the community with integrity, every person will be chosen to better the community.
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