Freedom Day is meaningless

When South Africa marks 29 years of democracy on Thursday, one wonders what there is to celebrate.

For starters, there’s no joy for the thousands of pupils who are hungry because the National School Nutrition Programme failed to deliver food to schools in parts of KwaZulu-Natal.

There’s also hopelessness for thousands of students denied the opportunity to study due to corruption and fraud at the National Student Financial Aid Scheme.

What will those who are losing their jobs, livelihoods and businesses, due persistent load shedding, be celebrating on Freedom Day?

This is a historical day in South Africa, which in 1994 marked the end of the brutal apartheid regime. Sadly, many are still yearning for those dark days as everything was working in this country then.

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This day was a watershed moment that carried promises of a better life. For the first time in history, black people were enfranchised. But to everyone’s disappointment, decades later, the lives of ordinary people are still not at the level we had hoped for.

Poverty, unemployment and inequality still trap many.

Instead of people’s lives transforming, people are humiliated by their economic challenges. Rather than the power of voting bringing opportunities, it has brought continued suffering.

We live in a country that is held to ransom by crime and the police are losing the fight daily. Gender-based violence is a scourge and safety is a luxury instead of a right.

The youths who were supposed to be hopeful today are drowning themselves in alcohol and drugs, while access to education continues to be a persistent problem.

Gender pay gaps are still the norm. The gap between the rich and the poor is widening.

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Is this the freedom that struggle heroes were imprisoned and shed blood for?

Therefore, President Cyril Ramaphosa is called on to stop the rhetoric when he addresses the nation at Manzilpark Stadium in Matlosana, North West, on Thursday. It is high time he starts concretising everything he talks about.

Societal and socio-economic issues are at the centre of tracking the progress of this freedom. Hence, if they are not addressed, the country is still under bondage.

Once these issues are solved, then we can fully celebrate Freedom Day.

• Mthembu is an independent commentator