The FW de Klerk Foundation released its annual report card 2024 on Monday, with the report assessing the degree to which rights and freedoms in the Bill of Rights are being enjoyed as a lived reality.
In doing so, the foundation said it considers how the government is meeting its obligations to respect, protect, promote and fulfil all the rights entrenched in the Constitution’s Bill of Rights.
The report was compiled by Constitutional Programmes Manager for the foundation, Daniela Elllerbeck, and the programme’s interns, Shanees Nkandu, and Sonia Twongyeirwe.
Elllerbeck said that the report card enables South Africans and their leaders to gauge how well the country is making the Constitution a reality for all – highlighting both successes and challenges.
“It is part of the foundation’s efforts to encourage citizens to engage in discussions about these important issues, because they should form part of daily dialogue as citizens and constantly feature in the media we consume.”
Overall the report saw a deterioration in 11/27 human rights, no change in 10/27 rights and an improvement in 4/27 rights.
Notably, rights deteriorating are: the right to ‘human dignity’, ‘freedom of religion, belief and opinion’, ‘freedom of expression’, ‘political rights’, ‘freedom of movement and residence’, ‘freedom of trade, occupation and profession’, ‘property’, ‘health care, food, water and social security’, ‘children’ and ‘equality’.
The report highlights that food insecurity is the highest it has been in a decade. Severe uncertainties embedded within the National Health Insurance Act, 2023, like the procurement of funds to finance universal health coverage, greatly risk limiting the right to access healthcare services (section 27) and could potentially destroy the private healthcare sector.
Children’s right to basic nutrition remains greatly under threat, with less than 21% of children receiving enough nutrition. Despite government efforts in the form of social grants and school nutrition programmes, responses remain inadequate. Additionally, disruptions to school feeding programmes have further exacerbated the crisis.
In 2024, South Africa’s unemployment rate was ca. 32,8% – with an even higher youth (aged 15-34 years) unemployment rate of ca. 45,5%. During the same period, almost half (49,4%) of young women were unemployed. The lack of safety in South Africa is a critical barrier to entry for women who want to participate in the economy. This impacts negatively on the realisation of the right to freedom of trade, occupation or profession, as enshrined in the Constitution.
Income inequality remained alarmingly high, with the IMF also expressing concerns that South Africa’s pronounced income inequality could further destabilise the nation’s socio-economic landscape, in addition to hampering economic growth.
High murder rates, health care disparities, firearm mismanagement and inefficiencies in law enforcement, all threaten the right to life (section 11).
The report also showed that the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act, 2024 (“BELA Act”), endangers constitutional rights by centralising control over education with the Government and disempowering school governing bodies (i.e. parents). Additionally, budget cuts caused a crisis, with many provinces unable to afford teachers
Executive director at the foundation, Christo van der Rheede said: “…Inclusive economic growth is an absolute necessity for South Africa’s Constitution to become a reality for all.
“South Africa needs to increase the number of taxpayers it has – in 2024 it only had approximately 7,4 million taxpayers for a population of over 60 million people. That is 60 million people with real needs. Our country has, once again, ‘arrived at a stage in its history where it is no longer an option for South Africans to agree to disagree’.”
“Without the job creation that results from economic growth, the number of taxpayers will remain low and the government’s resulting revenue too small to adequately address its 60 million people’s needs.
Van der Rheede said without sufficient money in state coffers to adequately address the need of its 60 million people, budget cuts to education and other sectors will continue to impact these rights negatively.
“Without the job creation that results from economic growth, income inequality, food insecurity, etc. will only remain and continue to negatively affect the South Africans’ dignity, equality and other rights and freedoms,” he said.
theolin.tembo@inl.co.za
