SOCIAL JUSTICE

South Africa remains one of the most unequal countries in the world. The post-democratic government has not only failed to address the painful legacy of our past, but has in fact deepened inequality.

Too many South Africans still live without access to quality education, healthcare, basic services and quality housing. The suffering of fellow South Africans can and must not be accepted, and we must urgently remove the barriers to achieving a more just society. We must do so because a society as unequal as ours is unsustainable for all who live in it.

We need to act as one to build, with great urgency, a more just and inclusive society by addressing key challenges:

• Inequality:our income inequality is the highest in the world, with black, coloured and Indian South Africans and women being at a significant disadvantage. Upward social mobility and accumulation of social capital remain low for black South Africans. Women are more severely affected by unemployment and poverty, and women in South Africa are subjected to the scourge of gender-based violence.
• Discrimination: discrimination and prejudice based on gender identity, race, sexual preference, disability, nationality and various other characteristics exclude too many individuals from achieving their potential. Only in a society where personal and cultural diversity is tolerated and celebrated can all individuals live a fulfilled life.
• Healthcare and disability rights:our healthcare is severely underperforming because of fundamental mismanagement of health care facilities. At the same time, more impoverished communities tend to experience more health problems and are thus are more reliant on a failing public health system. Furthermore, persons with disabilities do not receive adequate support to fulfil their potential due to lack of access to the necessary specialised services and support.
• Lack of effective empowerment systems: our social support systems do not empower vulnerable individuals to become self-sufficient. Indeed, millions of South Africans face enormous hurdles almost from the moment of birth – they lack access to the necessary nutrition for cognitive and other development, lack access to decent sanitation and experience substandard schooling. Inadequate transport infrastructure means that the few economic opportunities that may be available are too expensive to access. This creates a context which dependency on some form of state assistance is almost inevitable.

What We Believe

• Achieving social justice requires a sustained and proactive programme of action aimed at creating a fair society, in which each citizen can reach their full potential.
• We must act as one against all forms of discrimination, prejudice and injustice and actively work to build fair, just and inclusive society.
• Achieving social justice also requires the empowerment of women and girls by establishing gender equality in all spheres of life.
• We will take action against economic inequality through a pro-poor governance agenda that will ensure that the most vulnerable in our society – the Forgotten People – can live a life of dignity.
• Interventions aimed at social justice have to be aimed at equality of opportunity, not equality of outcome. In other words, everyone must be empowered to compete on equal footing, but outcomes should be determined by individual capabilities. Social justice can only be achieved by empowering those that have previously been excluded from opportunity and by removing barriers that prohibit the equal exercise of rights and privileges. Social justice must be aimed at the inclusion of underrepresented groups and not at the exclusion of other groups.
• Land reform must be accelerated, and land must be redistributed in a fair, predictable and legally sound manner. We stand against Expropriation Without Compensation and amending the Constitution. Land reform can be achieved within the existing legislative framework; we just need the political will and competent leadership to execute its provisions.

Our Solutions Blueprint

Act as One to build a prosperous, non-racial and secure future for all South Africans.