Ebrahim Harvey
CROSSFIRE
The Civil Society Initiative launched recently by Roelf Meyer and Ray McCauley, head of the Rhema Church, is significant, if only because it highlights, more than anything else, the decline of South African civil society over the past few years.
Vital to building a vibrant democracy is an active and involved civil society. For this purpose there is indeed an urgent need to revitalise and build civil society, which is much less active now than it was before 1994.
Because Meyer is a former stalwart of the National Party and McCauley did not lift a finger against the apartheid system, some commentators have criticised the birth of this initative as an “ivory tower” which has no links with our past struggles.
While this is correct, it is a mistake to question or oppose this initiative in the first place on the grounds that we already have a strong civil society in this country.
While more evident in some areas than in others, there has been a general decline of civil society since 1994 to an extent where it is mistaken and misleading to say that it is strong.
We are weak in comparison with both what we had before 1994 and what exists in many other countries.
We need a strong civil society in all areas in order to strengthen a still- fragile democracy and safeguard the important gains that have been made.
Every democratic gain, even the most basic, if not defended, can be, and often is, rolled back. Besides, our transition since 1994 has thrown up a whole range of new challenges.
It is not true, as some claim, that the Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) does not hesitate to take up social, political and economic issues.
It often hesitates because of its own declining political strength in relation to the ruling party and as much as it has often guardedly clashed with it on some issues, it has avoided doing so on others.
There are many issues which, were it the 1980s and even early 1990s, Cosatu would have taken up much more strongly than now. Its structures, militancy and solidarity have weakened considerably over the past few years.
The other major trade union federation, the National Council of Trade Unions (Nactu), is today much weaker and appears to be more interested in striking business deals at the top than taking up the day-to-day issues of its members.
However, the decline of civic organisations has also been stark over the past few years. The fate and future of the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco), which is allied to the ruling party but at a level much more junior than that of Cosatu, is clearly at stake.
Little is heard of Sanco today except for the disarray it is in.
The level of activity of civic organisations has seriously dropped around the country at a time when it is sorely needed on issues of local government, restructuring, service delivery and so on. In some areas it has collapsed.
The NGO sector is not vibrant, as some claim, and many are struggling to survive after hundreds have gone under.
Only recently have there been some changes in this area. But here, too, there has been a significant decline in activism even on issues pertinent to their effective functioning, like lack of funding and state support.
The irony is that from a develop- mental standpoint, strong NGOs are, in fact, needed now more than ever before and activism for that purpose is urgent.
Alongside civic organisations we have seen the decline of youth organisations.
The African National Congress Youth League has itself experienced significant decline in activity and interest over the past few years. The powerful youth movement of the 1970s and 1980s is no more.
The youth, going through the most difficult period in human history, are tormented, tempted and torn apart by all sorts of pressures and influences which earlier generations did not face.
If we look at schools and universities the same disturbing trend is evident. The levels of activity and interest in student matters have gone from a high to a low point.
A significant degree of depoliticisation of students has taken place. The once- powerful student representative councils are a shadow of their past.
Alongside this we have seen a similar trend with teachers, whose interest in and commitment to education and the welfare of students has also waned.
Even the social and political interests of churches and their earlier strong civil and human rights culture have diminished since 1994.
Important, too, for a vibrant civil society are consumer organisations, which we don’t have and which, in other countries, wield considerable power.
The stony and dangerous silence of many civil society organisations with regard to the subpoenas served by the Human Rights Commission on many newspaper editors recently is yet another clear indication of the decline of civil society.
Cosatu, Sanco and the South African Non- Governmental Organisations Coalition (Sangoco) did not utter a word in protest against the subpoenas.
We also need a strategic assessment of the strength of civil society because the numerical, social and strategic weight of some sectors are more important than others.
Cosatu, whose strength has declined in recent years, is still far more important than many other civil society organisations.
Besides, co-ordination and cohesion of the different sectors of civil society, which we also don’t have, is very important if it is to become a really powerful force.
Therefore, as much as the Civil Society Initiative may be a non-starter, it does not in the least detract from the fact that we need urgently to build a strong mass movement of civil society in this country.