Human rights and citizenship in post-apartheid South Africa

Abstract

The South African constitutional discourse is the foundational agency that produces citizenship, centring subjectivity as a relational engagement with the existential reality of the everyday life of ordinary people. In this paper, however, it is pointed out that in terms of the constitutional provisions, the nature of inter-subjectivity, i.e. subject-to-subject relations, orients and indeed frames relations of power undergirding citizenship. It is furthermore argued that though the conceptual parameters of citizenship are often nebulous, as a discursive referent, however, it informs both the basis and dimensions of a constitutional democracy, such as obtained in post-apartheid South Africa. Even so, it would appear that the construction of a discourse of change and the effective transformation/elimination of oppressive/exploitative practices in the every day life of ordinary people are fraught with a range of structural slippages and incidents of institutional inertia. In this regard, the paper highlights several issues: First, the dominant discourse on the new South Africa is predicated upon a declarative citizenship, not an assertive citizenship, in that elected officials (presumably) representing the citizenry declare the noble ideals of an inclusive society by representing their specific constituencies in all spheres of government, as opposed to the electorate participating directly at all levels of decision-making in all spheres of government. Second, citizenship as ensconced in the Constitution is based on the premise that all humans have equal access to rights, in contradistinction to the prevailing reality that only those with financial wherewithal can have their rights enforced; even in cases where socio-economic rights have been successfully defended in a Court of Law such as in the case of Grootboom vs. SA State (1999). In this instance though, rights to adequate service delivery were not followed through by compelling local authorities to provide quality, sustainable t Dr. John J Williams <jjwillia@cct.org.za> lectures in the School of Government at the University of Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa, and is a Principal Planning

An evaluation of urbanisation challenges experienced in the Low-Income Areas of Khayelitsha, Cape Town, South Africa

“…But what is at play is the total disregard of what is envisioned in the constitution and this is the crux of the problem which this study seeks to reveal. This could be argued in terms of jurisprudence or Case Law as in the Grootboom case of 1999 which clari ed that socio-economic rights should be respected in the country (Williams, 2001). Having said that, paradoxically, by 2018 many residents in these areas continues to live in overcrowded areas coupled with irregular, inequitable and apartheid-style services like bucket toilets.…”

Foregrounding Socioeconomic Rights in Transitional Justice: Realising Justice for Violations of Economic and Social Rights

“…Th e protection and enforcement of these rights would constitute substantive justice'. 26 It is evident that violations of economic and social rights have been ignored or sidelined within transitional justice as they are not viewed as a legitimate concern for prosecutorial justice or are deemed too diffi cult an issue for criminal accountability. Rather they can be viewed as an element of social justice which has been excluded from the fi eld.…”