Maverick Citizen’s tip for 2023 – get involved in 18 months of activism for democracy and service delivery

They are right. As the social crisis in South Africa deepens, many eyes are already on the general election in 2024. But to get to 2024 we are going to have to get through 2023, a year that has started not with a bang but an indefinite Stage 6 Eskom blackout. 

Fortunately, the jolt of missing electricity and the 18.5% price hike has quickly galvanised civil society, who are instrumental in the process of initiating urgent constitutional litigation about the right to electricity, a case that will have been strengthened by a December 2022 Constitutional Court judgment on the issue which deplored what Justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga called the “abject misery and horrendous violation of fundamental rights” that cutting off electricity subjected residents to. 

Read in Daily Maverick: “With a thoroughly broken Eskom and impoverished SA citizens, Constitutional Court delivers palliative care”

Because of the precariousness of poverty in South Africa, load shedding leads to lives and livelihood shedding and is also a reminder of why 2023 needs to be a watershed year for social mobilisation. It needs to see civil society unite to launch a sustained community mobilisation campaign that runs throughout 2023 and 2024. The aim should be 18 months of activism that reaches as many communities as possible.

In a Daily Maverick article this month, Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba (read it here) called for a “New Struggle” led by civil society, but said: “A plethora of independent movements is not enough. Whether under the umbrella of the New Struggle – or some other vehicle that embraces all voices, from the poor, to the spiritual leaders of our country, to the leaders of business and labour – we need an alliance of leaders and forces to say: ‘Enough is enough!’”

He is right: unity and common purpose now need to override silos, sectors and self-interest. The campaign that is needed should be about building and broadening community power. It should identify, connect, include and affirm existing community organisations and the activists already at work in many communities, but who are not seen and not acknowledged; it should aim to join them into a national, community-based movement. 

Unfortunately, organisations and campaigns rarely get built on rhetoric and wishful thinking. They develop around concrete objectives and the activities required to achieve them. So, below we offer several ideas for activists to consider.

The power of an ID

Long queues form outside the Soweto Regional Home Affairs Office on 15 October 2021. It is believed that people start queuing from as early as 4am. (Photo: Gallo Images / Fani Mahuntsi)

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End invisibility: Let people be seen, heard and counted

Upping our ambitions

1. Mapping the organisations willing to be part of such a campaign and building a critical mass that inspires (or shames) others to join;


2. Coordination and monitoring that is devolved to provincial and even district level;


3. Experienced activists making themselves available to troubleshoot and advise community organisations and campaigns;


4. Publicising best practices in target districts or communities to empower and inspire others with what can be achieved when activists work together;


5. Communication and sharing of successes and obstacles encountered;


6. Appealing to the most well-resourced civil society organisations and networks and the major donors to turn their human and financial resources towards empowering communities; and


7. Ignoring the naysayers and getting on with the job.