Mashatile, Steenhuisen and Nyhontso reflect on what human rights means now, sixty five years after Sharpeville massacre

21 Mar 2025

More than six decades after 69 people were killed and 180 people wounded in the Sharpeville massacre in pursuit of their human rights, Deputy President Paul Mashatile says the lack of economic and employment opportunities has a direct correlation to poverty, exacerbating inequality.

Unemployment, poor infrastructure, service delivery and poverty have all exacerbated the wide gap between rich and poor in South Africa, Deputy President Paul Mashatile admitted at a commemoration of Human Rights Day, 21 March 2025, in Kariega, Eastern Cape.

“The pursuit of a just and equitable society is a complex endeavour. While South Africa has experienced notable economic growth through expanding economic participation, the harsh reality of a 31.9% unemployment rate starkly reveals our ongoing struggle against poverty and inequality. This is not merely an economic issue. It represents a fundamental matter of human rights and fairness, demanding concerted and sustained effort from all of us,” he told those gathered at the Derrick Ferreira Stadium to commemorate the day.

He said many communities still do not enjoy the rights to a healthy environment, housing, health care, food, water and social security.

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Mashatile emphasised the importance of adequate infrastructure connecting communities and empowering citizens, referring to the 12 March budget speech delivered by the Minister of Finance, Enoch Godongwana.

“The R900-billion allocated to infrastructure over the next three years, along with the R102-billion invested in current projects in the infrastructure fund portfolio will be crucial in addressing shortcomings. The Minister of Finance said he will spend this money […] supporting infrastructure, so people get jobs,” Mashatile said.

Read more: Gwarube says 93% of pit toilets have been eradicated in race to beat 31 March deadline

Importance of Human Rights Day

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In a commemorative message posted on YouTube, Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen spoke on the importance of remembering what happened in Sharpeville on 21 March 1960, reminding South Africans that work must be done to protect the rights of all citizens.

“Those who lost their lives on that day, fought for the right to dignity, the right to freedom and the right to a better life. Yet today, so many South Africans are still waiting for these rights to become a reality. What does dignity really mean when millions go without clean and safe drinking water? What does freedom mean when crime is so rampant that people live in fear in their own homes?

“Because nearly 30 years into our democracy, too many South Africans are still waiting to see their basic human rights realised. While we have made progress in expanding access to basic education, the quality of outcomes remains deeply concerning,” Steenhuisen said.

‘For the benefit of all’

Speaking at the Sharpeville memorial site in Vereeniging, Gauteng, Pan African Congress (PAC) leader and Minister of Land Reform and Rural Development, Mzwanele Nyhontso, recalled the massacre of Sharpeville after the PAC, led by Robert Sobukwe, peacefully marched towards their nearest police station and voluntarily handed in their passbooks. At the time Black South Africans did not have freedom of movement and had to carry passbooks wherever they travelled. Nyhontso said Sobukwe was instrumental in driving the anti-pass campaign.

“I have said this before and will say it again. We are in this Government of National Unity to govern our people, to set policies, to implement them, to directly restore the land to our people, to support those that got land and now to increase the pace of the equitable redistribution of land […]. Together we can defend, advance and grow for the benefit of all,” Nyhontso said.

PAC national chair Sibusiso Xaba told Daily Maverick that 21 March symbolises African people’s freedom. “The fight for freedom, the fight for liberation that is embodied by the March 21st action by the African people. It is symbolic of what people had to do to free themselves. March 21st was able to free us as African people from the fear of jail. The system from there on understood that it could not limit us to the jails. Also it showed the determination of the African people to free themselves.” DM

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South Africa

Importance of Human Rights Day

‘For the benefit of all’