Are South Africans committed to democracy?

From 18 to 22 July 2016, the UCT Graduate School of Development Policy and Practice (GSDPP) presented the third iteration of its ground-breaking Understanding Poverty and Inequality in South Africa course. Professor Trevor Manuel, who amongst other things is an Honorary Professor at UCT and Senior Fellow at the GSDPP, was the guest speaker.

His opening words left the course’s 27 participants, drawn from across government, with no illusions as to what the week ahead would hold. Manuel’s incisive talk reminded them that no political democracy can flourish if the mass of its people remain in poverty, without land and without tangible prospects for a better life. Attacking poverty and deprivation must therefore be the first priority of any democratic government.

“Understanding the issues of our political democracy, and what happens in the lives of people, is fundamentally important to everything we {as government} do. Certainly to everything you do as public servants,” he said. “And I think it's very important that we recognise that the discussion of poverty and inequality is embedded in everything we believe in.”

Manuel further emphasised that poverty is driven by inequality and cannot be addressed without resolving its root causes. Inequalities between social classes and countries, combined with discrimination based on gender, race, culture and sexual orientation, form patterns of poverty and exclusion that pervade the world today, he said. Structural inequalities in South Africa and the global economy have meant that the benefits of economic growth have accrued to the elite and the widening gap between the “haves” and the “have nots” is of very real concern.

As economists like Wilkinson, Piketty, and Stiglitz have repeatedly pointed out, the costs of inequality are high and dealing with the scourge is a complex social and economic challenge, Manuel continued. He highlighted four pillars that need to be part of any strategy that attempts this: broadening social security; improving access to services; understanding and managing the things that impact upon vulnerable people (such as labour market regulation); and growing employment across all sectors. And these must reinforce and support each other - they “need to find resonance in everything we do,” he explained. Labour and financial markets, if structured correctly, can contribute towards more inclusive growth. However, they are insufficient on their own to eradicate poverty and inequality. The provision of social services—education, health and social protection—is very important and helps to support the poorer sections of society, but other substantial changes are required to address the structural imbalance in the country.

In seeking to get to grips with the multifaceted nature of the challenge, Manuel also emphasised that participants’ understanding needed to move beyond the numbers. While there is excellent and nuanced data available from StatsSA and elsewhere – it is not on its own sufficient to inform policy, he said.

As Nobel prize-winning economist Robert Solow said regarding his theory of growth, we need to balance the science of economics with the art of policymaking. Similarly, policymakers in South Africa need to balance the numbers with an appreciation of the lived experience of the poor. “You can teach people all kinds of things and you can teach them to do long econometric equations. That's largely the science. But that science doesn't produce growth in and of itself,” said Manuel, citing Solow.

Manuel went on to challenge those present: “Do we not know what poverty feels like, smells like, and tastes like?  Do we not get to the roots of inequality? What is it about this? Is it the money problem?”

These questions are at the heart of the Understanding Poverty and Inequality in South Africa course says Alan Hirsch, director of the GSDPP. “The course is designed to help participants to grapple with the reality of poverty and inequality, not just on an intellectual level, but by immersing them in the actual conditions of poverty and then inviting them to apply this learning to questions of how to reduce poverty and inequality,” he comments.

To achieve this immersion, participants were set a real-life challenge to purchase food for a family with budgets corresponding to the food expenditure of households in each of South Africa’s income deciles. This experience helped them to realise the “limited choices” available when money is scarce and how much effort and energy is needed to shop under such conditions. For some participants it was a rude awakening to what poverty really feels like and many listed it as one of the most useful aspects of the course.

“The exercise dramatically changed my view on the issue of poverty and inequality,” said one participant. She added that the exercise brought to life some of the realities and challenges facing poor households in South Africa today. Those with the least amount of money to spend found it a huge challenge and frustration trying to balance concern for good nutrition with what they could afford.

For Manuel, this kind of shift in perspective is critical to the future success of democracy. Right now the country is pulling in the opposite direction to where we need to be, he said and public servants have a hugely important role to play in turning things around.

“At the heart of the issue is whether we are committed to democracy,” he said. “This democracy will not survive unless we have a public service capable of measuring and giving effect to change and more importantly, empowering people to be involved in these processes.”

The Understanding Poverty and Inequality in South Africa course was attended by 27 senior public officials from the following national departments: Department: Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation (DPME), Department of Public Service and Administration, the National Treasury, the Presidency, Department of Social Development, Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs and Statistics SA.  Provincial representatives from six provinces also attended. A stellar cast of speakers included Tasneem Essop (National Planning Commission), Murray Leibbrandt (Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit), Haroon Bhorat (Development Policy Research Unit), Cecil Mlatsheni (National Income Dynamics Study) and Wongama Baleni (Department of Coffee), among others, followed Manuel at the podium.