20 Year of South African Democracy ─ So Where to Now?

This publication is the outcome of a conference marking the beginning of South Africa’s third decade of democracy hosted in November 2014 by the Mapungubwe Institute for Strategic Reflection (MISTRA) and the Thabo Mbeki African Leadership Institute (TMALI) at the University of South Africa (Unisa). The conference was entitled 20 Years of South African Democracy: So Where to Now? The main focus of the conference was projective reflections into the next two decades of democracy. It aimed to deal with the theoretical perspectives underpinning the state of South Africa in two decades of democracy and, most importantly, prospects for the future. This publication covers the following main themes of the conference: ‧ Reflections on Historical Moments ‧ The South African Political Economy ‧ Values, Nation Formation and Social Compacting ‧ Innovation and Transdisciplinary Knowledge for Action ‧ Building a Capable Development State Contained herein are inputs from a wide range of prominent South African and international thinkers, practitioners and activists. Some are in the form of prepared papers and others are taken from transcripts of presentations. They are presented in the hope that the thought-provoking and incisive discourse that took place at the conference can contribute to the continuation of a discussion that, by its nature, can have no end.

Dr Miriam Altman was appointed the Head of Strategy for the Telkom Group from 1 June 2013. She coordinates Telkom’s strategic repositioning and turnaround, as well as Regulatory Affairs and Government Relations. She was previously Executive Director at the Human Sciences Research Council in South Africa. She is recognized as a leading economist, strategist and thought leader. She is a former Commissioner on the National Planning Commission in the Office of the Presidency. This body was established in 2010 to guide long-term planning for South Africa. She has holds a BA in economics from McGill University, an M.Phil. from the University of Cambridge and a Ph.D. in economics from the University of Manchester. Dr Altman has produced more than 100 publications. She was commissioning editor of approximately 400 policy papers and publications in her division at the HSRC, and was guest editor of four special edition journals. Before joining MISTRA as Faculty Head Humanity,Dr Hester du Plessis held research positions at various research institutions including as associate researcher at the Sustainable Energy Technology and Research (SeTAR) Centre, University of Johannesburg, and senior research specialist at the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in Pretoria. Frene Noshir Ginwala was born in 1932 and studied law at the University of London in the United Kingdom (UK), where she completed her LLB degree. She returned to South Africa to complete her legal training, prior to the banning of the African National Congress (ANC). Ginwala worked in Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique and the UK as an ANC official and as journalist and broadcaster in East Africa and Europe. She obtained a doctorate in history from Oxford University. Prior to her return from exile in 1990, Ginwala was head of the Political Research Unit in the Office of ANC President Oliver Tambo, where she conducted research focusing on the transfer of military and nuclear technology. She also served as ANC spokesperson in the UK on sanctions, the nuclear program and the arms and oil embargoes relating to South Africa. Ginwala helped to set up the Women’s National Coalition, which comprised organizations from across the political spectrum with the aim of drawing up a women’s charter. She was elected national convener of the Coalition. She has held various influential positions in the ANC and other non-political organizations. Ginwala has been widely published on issues of democracy, good governance, human rights, human security, anti-apartheid and women’s issues locally and abroad. As Speaker of the National Assembly from 1994 until 2004, she was instrumental in arranging many significant changes in Parliament, including opening up a previously austere, racially exclusive, male-dominated and remote institution to the people at large. She commanded high respect amongst members of Parliament and the public in her tenure which spanned the first critical decade of our democracy. Ginwala served as a member of the Preparatory Committee for the First World Conference of Presiding Officers. She was previously a board member of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance as well as the former Chairperson of the Southern African Development Community Parliamentary Forum. She is a former member of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Advisory Panel of High-level Personalities on African Development and recently served as Commissioner of the International Commission on Human Security. Ginwala maintains her interest in promoting democracy, good governance, development and human rights, and human security. Pregaluxmi Govender is Deputy Chairperson of South Africa’s Human Rights Commission. An activist against apartheid since 1974, she taught English in Durban, at schools and at university, before joining the trade union movement in the 1980s. She was National Educator of the Garment and Allied Workers’ Union (GAWU) (now The Southern African Clothing and Textile Work).