Publications

Chairperson’s Reflections

Lorenzo Wakefield

It is not difficult to find information on how challenging life is for people in South Africa. While it has always been so for people living in poverty – in both urban and rural communities – we increasingly see how this now is also the case for the middle class. Elected public officials seem to have given up on their ability to govern, with no resolve to fix an electricity crisis that began over a decade ago, an unemployment rate that keeps reaching new heights, skyrocketing inflation that primarily affects the cost of food and fuel, and interest rates hikes that affect the pockets of those with debt to service, among other things. Social ills such as gender-based violence and alcohol/ substance abuse thrive when these challenges persist.

All is not lost. I write these reflections after visiting rural communities in the Northern Cape, where SCAT supports local development agencies (LDAs) that punch far above their weight to address the social ills their communities face. These LDAs – with their limited resources – provide justice services through advice offices, social and trauma care, feeding schemes, empowerment activities, and grow their own fruit and vegetables. All for the benefit of their communities. Their stories are often untold in a context where their communities’ stories are often ignored.