Fatima Shabodien, Independent Development Consultant

South Africa is globally recognised and revered for its vibrant tradition of organised civil society. It’s useful to remind ourselves that despite our many shortcomings, we are recognised and celebrated as one of the strongest civil society sectors in the region, if not the world. This is not to be taken for granted. It’s a tradition to be proud of and fiercely guarded.

Our Constitution presupposes a strong, diverse, and vibrant organised civil society as a counterbalance to the power of the state to yield a well-functioning democracy. South Africa has a long tradition as an activist nation. Even though the anti-apartheid movement is where many trace our activist roots, the reality is that our activist spirit can be traced back even further to the first Khoi San resistance wars and the numerous uprisings of our enslaved ancestors against colonial rule in the 1600s. This is a tradition that is deeply rooted in our DNA as a nation.

It is embodied in our spirit of rejecting what is unjust and our commitment to confront and transform
these injustices. Civil society is comprised of many organisational forms. The most commonly known are NGOs, but community-based organisations, social movements, trade unions, and faith-based organisations are expressions of civil society. While many of these share a social justice vision of society, not all do. In analysing the sector, it is useful to acknowledge that “service” organisations and “social justice” organisations exist on a continuum.

Service organisations are those that step into the vacuum of services not rendered by the state to poor and marginalised communities, despite its Constitutional obligation to do so. These would include organisations such as Early Childhood Development centres, women’s shelters and soup kitchens. The absence of these services often has life-or-death consequences for those served. While this work is crucial, it is unlikely on its own to ever disrupt the structural drivers that created these problems in the first place.

Social justice organisations tend to ask the harder questions and concentrate their efforts on addressing the root causes of a problem, aiming to create longer- term systemic change. It’s useful for organisations to ask themselves where their work is located: are we addressing the manifestation of the crisis or the structural drivers? There has been a long tradition of international solidarity supporting the work of South African civil society organisations (CSOs). This started changing in 1994 with the belief that the realisation of a democratic state heralded the end of our most dire problems. This resulted in a CSO resource crisis that has slowly unfolded over the past three decades. South Africa is now classified as a middle- income country and therefore not seen as a priority for developmental assistance. It is, however, at the same time classified as the most unequal country in the world with its wealth concentrated in the hands of a few. In many ways, South Africa represents a perfect microcosm of the crises facing the world: enough resources for all to live a relatively decent life (in terms of food, water, land and education). Given the concentration of these assets in the hands of a minority, the majority often goes without. The consequence of the Covid crisis and the continued withdrawal of historical donors from South Africa has led to a deepening of the financial crisis for the sector.

The sector is unfortunately rarely recognised for its significant contribution to South Africa in social, political, and economic terms. For example, it is rarely recognised for the size of its economy and its contribution to the South African economy. In his 2002 presentation to the parliamentary portfolio committee on finance, Professor Mark Swilling estimated the economy of the sector to have been R9.3 billion in 1998/99, or 1.2% of GDP. At that time, the work of its 1.5 million volunteers was valued at R5.1 billion. At present-day value, the sector can be estimated to have a total value of R40 billion.

According to the Department of Social Development, there are just over 270,000 registered NGOs. This does not include the multitude of small, informal and unregistered CBOs. While these operate with much smaller budgets, they nonetheless employ staff and engage volunteers, enabling them to provide invaluable support to those in need.

Stats SA, the statutory body mandated with measuring what matters, has never formally tracked the size and scope of the sector. It is said that one only counts what matters. Given the contribution of the sector, there is a need to campaign for Stats SA to survey the sector at regular intervals. This would greatly aid the recognition of the importance, value, and contribution of the sector.

Beyond this economic contribution, the sector has made a significant contribution to shaping a post- apartheid democracy. Seminal contributions by the sector have included successful campaigns for anti-retrovirals, the Fees Must Fall movement, GBV (#TotalShutdown) campaigns, Palestinian solidarity, and sectoral wage determinations for domestic and farm workers, amongst others.

The work of exposing the state capture project in the face of significant hostility was another significant contribution of the sector. This sector should be recognised for its role in pulling South Africa back from the Constitutional precipice at numerous pivotal moments in our history.

For these and other reasons, it is imperative that the sector remain cognisant of its own “internal contradictions”, including racism, misogyny, and nepotism. Given its mandate for oversight and accountability, the character and composition of its governance structures continue to be its Achilles’ heel. Before its credibility is compromised by others who are anxious to do so, the sector must maintain a critical perspective on itself.

Fatima Shabodien is an independent development consultant with nearly 30 years of experience in the international development sector.

This article was first published in the 2024 Inyathelo Annual Report.