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Membership Current Activities Western Cape Update - February 09
Membership Current Activities Western Cape Update - February 09 | Western Cape Update - February 09 |
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 CIVIL SOCIETY RAISES ITS VOICE AT HISTORICAL SUMMITLeaders to stand in solidarity On Saturday 21 February civil society leaders from all corners of the Western Cape gathered at Goudini Spa just outside Rawsonville to address the critical need for an improved and cohesive civil society. The 300-strong mass representing various sectors within civil society were greeted by key stakeholders in the Western Cape including representatives from government and labour. Hard work also ensued later in the day as groups broke away to assess, discuss and recommend ways of improving civil society. These recommendations were brought to the floor for further consideration. Jointly hosted by the Provincial Development Council (PDC) and the South African National NGO Coalition (SANGOCO), the historical summit aimed to create a unified civil society through facilitated discussions and recommendations about the status quo and way forward. The PDC is a multi-stakeholder structure that aims to bring together the four sectors of society – government, labour, business and civil society. SANGOGO, who recently re-launched themselves, are a structure who advocate meaningful social dialogue in the Western Cape. With the PDC’s convener of civil society, Fatima Shabodien, candidly asking “what is your vision for civil society?”, and a poem read by Zenariah Barnends of Greymatter & Finch, the proceedings kicked off without any further ado. Speaking from experience Having recently disembarked from a 21-day hunger strike to draw attention to the Zimbabwean humanitarian crisis, Kumi Naidoo, who co-founded SANGOCO, addressed the crowd about the reality and challenges facing the civil society sector and emphasised the importance of a well organised representation. He further emphasised the relevance of maximising the power of civil society. To the delight of eager listeners, Kumi outwardly challenged government by saying “if you can find money to lobby to bring the World Cup here; if you can find the money to lobby to bring the A1 (Formula1) race here; and if you can find the money to pay for court cases for a range of officials that are going to corruption cases then you can find the money to address the poorest of the poor. “However, we also have to recognise that with responsibility; with greater influence; with greater resources also comes a burden for each of us of greater public accountability. We have to see ourselves as fundamentally accountable, transparent and legitimate in our activities. “The various bodies must stand together to strengthen civil society,” he said. A premier appearance “Civil society always worries me,” were some of the opening words from Lynn Brown, premier of the Western Cape. “The big question is how do I, as an activist in government, help you, as an activist outside of government, to organise yourselves in such a way that we are in fact able to improve the quality of our people’s lives?” The premier continued, urging leaders to build a united force that will speak for the next five years and create partnerships that are respectful and lasting, while holding government accountable. She added that civil society leaders are key to reaching these goals. “Wherever we are, and (from) whichever organisation, government will never reach the people you reach in the same way. So you’re an important cog in the partnership of moving forward,” she said. She also challenged civil society organisations to read the provincial economic review and outlook to become informed in order to become involved in, for example, the budget. Ending, the premier encouraged leaders to work together to bring more hope to the people they serve through building a strong voice that holds government accountable, but that finds a way to partner with government. “(Let’s) give proper teeth and real meaning to what it means to be a partner in development,” she concluded. Labour takes the stage COSATU’s Tony Ehrenreich was next to address the audience, challenging them to build solidarity in order to confront the social troubles presented on a daily basis. By achieving solidarity, he said that they could be the voice for social justice, solidarity, greater equality in the province, county, and rest of the world. “Our job as leaders is to ensure that we build an organisation that is more free, more fair, more accountable, and more transparent, but able to give people their voices. Because as the leaders here today you are the articulation of the needs of our people,” he said. He urged the audience, as leaders with a responsibility, to not only commit to finding solutions, but properly identify the problems. Future focus Speaking on behalf of SANGOCO, Damaris Fritz, the coalition’s chairperson, said the summit went fairly well, despite not achieving exactly what was set out to achieve. “We wanted to leave here today with a coherent civil society that can decide, as a collective, on issues pertaining to our different sectors. So that (to me) remains a challenge, but not however a challenge that I won’t be able to pick up at the end of the day,” she said. The day did contain some notable successes, however, and Demaris believes a very good “tone” was set in all the regions of the Western Cape. “Most of the regions came up with their regional committees, which for me is the beginning of a dream that will come true. I also think it was good to see a full house and a very good mixture of culture and diversity; I think it was great. “There are still a lot of issues that were raised, but we need to pick those up and make sure we address them and give constructive feedback. The next step would be to go to the regions. I think there is a big need in the regions where people are hungry for someone to hear their issues. And I think that is what I’ve been elected to do and I will attempt to make sure I that I do get to most of the regions who are about to set themselves up through regional structures.” Partnerships forged During the summit a large emphasis was placed meaningful partnerships, not only within the four society sectors – government, labour, civil society and business – but within respective organisations. “I believe that we cannot do this alone,” said Demaris, adding that “just as we’ve partnered with the PDC on this engagement, collectively we will take the resolutions of the issues back to civil society.” Another significant partnership was also announced at the summit – between SANGOCO and the National Welfare Forum. Said the Forum’s co-ordinator, Rajesh Latchman, “two historical partners will once again work together to ensure that poor and marginalised people have the support to hold government accountable for their delivery promises for a better life.” “We are very pleased to see the revival of SANGOCO in the province and wish them well on their journey back to their rightful place as the united voice of civil society in South Africa,” he said. Bookmark this article:          |