Dr Zanele Zuma
Writing about how the legacy of former president Nelson Mandela can be protected around his support and care for children is a difficult one in the wake of what is happening in South Africa.
In retrospect, one may ask how much the legacy has been destroyed and what are the future ramifications for South African women and children whose state of life is slowly becoming worse owing to several social ills and the atrocities committed against them as we approach Mandela Day.
Resolution A/RES/64/13 of the United Nations General Assembly declared July 18 as “Nelson Mandela International Day” in recognition of the former South African president’s contribution to the culture of peace and freedom. It further recognises Mandela’s values and dedication to humanity by fighting for gender equality, the rights of children and other vulnerable groups and the fight against poverty, among other rights.
One cannot confidently talk about protecting the legacy of humanity in the South African context where the killing of women and children is taking its toll. Reports of corruption and maladministration by senior officials from the public to private sectors are compelling evidence of the stagnation of good principles. The escalating unemployment rate has resulted in poverty and high crime rates in almost all South African communities, reinforcing their diminished living conditions. Amid the socio-economic compromising state, there seems to be no intervention for support nor poverty alleviation strategies. In fact, South Africa is witnessing the erosion of principles of ubuntu and humanity daily.
The violation of children continues. They are raped, impregnated by older men, forced into marriage and in extreme cases facing death. Sadly, most of the time when we see any action being taken in a form of campaigns or protest marches it is after such crimes have already been committed.
South Africa is widely acknowledged as having one of the progressive and transformative constitutions with its primary concern to facilitate change in political, social and economic relations with Mandela participating its formulation. Nevertheless, attempts to reinforce such a constitution in some situations are increasingly met with lawlessness, corruption, instability, among other divisive actions. The tenets of the Constitution are not manifested in practise and adherence and that is slowly driving humanity and the principles of ubuntu to the verge of collapse.
The scourge of gender-based violence that includes violence against children has spread to all the facets of life, from home to work, in the streets, places of worship, political space, schools and universities. It takes many forms, including physical, sexual, economic, emotional, psychological inflicting a lot of harm on the most vulnerable women and children. The spiralling of gender-based violence and femicide (GBVF+) and the increasing cases of the violation and killing of children continues to make South Africa an unsafe place.
When the world is celebrating Mandela Day on July 18 and South Africa is celebrating Mandela Month, there is neither much improvement nor achievement of what Mandela envisioned and lived for. There remains a widening gap between the rich and the poor that is exacerbated by unemployment that gravely affect the already marginalised communities in South Africa.
When Mandela delivered one of his speeches after his release from prison, he instructed the masses who had been involved in violence to throw their arms into the sea and go back to school. In one of his speeches, he said “Education is the most powerful weapon you can utilise to transform the world”. Indeed, education is considered a tool to alleviate poverty including that of a black South African girl child. However, some children are unable to attend school because of several factors such as failing infrastructure due to poor service delivery, gangsterism manifested by drug dealing rivalries, girl-child pregnancies and early sexual activities that are partly premised in impoverished communities.
So, there is a dire need to protect the legacy that Mandela envisioned and improving it not only on these celebratory days but every. The question that a South African must ask is “how can we retain and build up from what Mandela envisioned”. We need to reinvest in the spirit of ubuntu where we do good things without expecting anything in return. So often, South Africans become attention seekers where any good gesture must be followed by cameras.
Ubuntu should have no boundaries or limits. Politicians as patriots should be hunting for the needy people and help feed the hungry without the expecting to gaining a vote. Just set a good example. The people who were affected by floods in 2022 in KwaZulu-Natal are still living in community halls with the rights of children being compromised. This should be an opportunity for people who are leading the country to extend the spirit of ubuntu and humanity not with actions contrary to all that is considered as the legacy of the late president Nelson Mandela.
Dr Zanele Zuma is from the School of Public Health at Wits University
The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of Independent Media or IOL.