Nersan Govender: Changing SA, one step at a time

After having spent 22 years at the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA), Nersan Govender finally hung up his hat in 2018 and joined the Legal Resources Centre (LRC) as its national director. The idea, the 58-year-old father of two sons said, had been for him to start winding down his career. But that quickly changed.

“I believe that labour is the cornerstone of everything in life, it holds everything together. Working at the CCMA gave me a sense, especially in the South African context, of the haves and the have-nots and I was fortunate to be in a position where I could influence people’s lives. But coming to the LRC made me realise how much work there is still to be done.”

Established in 1979 by some of South Africa’s greatest legal minds – the likes of former chief justice Arthur Chaskalson and celebrated anti-apartheid lawyer Felicia Kentridge – the LRC is one of the country’s leading public interest law firms. Govender described the LRC as “a wonderful organisation” and its people, as “extraordinary” individuals “who work selflessly to ensure justice prevails”.

“And today, the idea of working selflessly is so few and far between,” he added. Much of the LRC’s early work centred on the fight against apartheid but now, Govender said, it was to “address the unfinished business of the 1994 constitutional promise”.

“It’s now 26 years later and while we have the vote – and that’s wonderful – what else do we have as a society?” Under Govender’s leadership, the LRC has over the past two years honed its immediate focus on two areas: land and education. This, he explained, was part of a “reimagining” of the organisation.

“We asked ourselves: What does the country need right now?” he said. “Land gives you space, it gives you ownership and dignity. But we’re also looking at land rights and gender.”

Nersan Govender poses for a picture at his home in Killarney, 2 November 2020. Picture: Tracy Lee Stark

Recently, the LRC scored a big win in this particular space when it got KwaZulu-Natal Deputy Judge President Isaac Madondo to throw out sections of the Matrimonial Property Act. The Act perpetuated now repealed apartheid-era laws under which black couples were automatically married out of community of property – largely to the detriment of black women – up until 1988.

“But the other thing the country needs right now is quality education for everyone,” Govender continued. “And in this regard, our idea is to look at the model of education in the country. There’s a huge divide between private schools and public schools and it becomes even worse when you go down the line to poorer communities.”

Education has a special place in Govender’s heart. He was a teacher for 11 years before he joined the CCMA. “Quality education empowers people. It encourages children to choose to complete school and to choose to continue their studies,” he said.

“And the policies are there, the problem now is implementing them.”

The LRC has its work cut out. Its goal is a mammoth one – to break the cycle of poverty in South Africa. But Govender’s confidence in the organisation and its small but dedicated team is unyielding, and his faith in SA and her people, unwavering.

When he did feel overwhelmed, he said, he thought about the oft-quoted starfish story of a boy standing on the shore among a galaxy of washed up starfish and throwing them back into the sea, one by one. When a passerby questions what difference it makes, he picks up another starfish and tosses it into the water.

“It makes a difference to that one,” he says. “But hey, I’m a dreamer,” Govender adds.

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