SACBC Expresses Alarm at State of SA and Condemns Govt Self-Enrichment

The bishops of Southern Africa have issued a statement strongly condemning “the continued preoccupation of our leaders with self-enrichment, party politics and factional battles” and expressing alarm about unemployment and the rising cost of living which will increase poverty and debt.

The statement, signed by Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference president Bishop Sithembele Sipuka, was issued following the bishops’ plenary session in Mariannhill this month.

The bishops said that the high unemployment rate and rising cost of living “disproportionately impact the lives of those at the margins of the economy” and is pushing “more people into higher levels of household debt and deep poverty”.

The bishops called on “government, business and those with influence and power” to act on the issues raised in their statement.

The bishops denounced in the strongest possible terms “the continued preoccupation of our leaders with self-enrichment, party politics and factional battles at a time when the majority in this country are struggling to make ends meet”.

“Amid this national crisis, it is sad that the focus of our political leaders remains fixed on narrow vested interests and not on issues important to ordinary citizens, particularly the homeless, the unemployed, and the hungry,” the bishops said.

They called on the government to “initiate more, robust measures to address the fuel and food price hike” and to regularly review the adverse impact of structural reforms on the poor.

Unfair austerity measures

The bishops noted that austerity measures impact disproportionately on the economically vulnerable.

“While acknowledging the country’s need to urgently tackle the structural barriers to growth, we appeal to the government to introduce stronger social review mechanism so as to ensure that the austerity measures and other structural reforms are regularly reviewed not solely in terms of economic efficiency, but also in terms of their adverse impact on the poor,” the bishops said.

They singled out basic education and public health as two areas where budget cuts are harming the vulnerable. Budget cuts in such sectors, they said, reinforce the two-tiered system of education and health services, “with the poor condemned to sub-standard services while the rich continue to access a high standard of education and health services”.

Pay hikes slammed

The bishops said they are “scandalised by the government’s decision to increase the salaries of ministers, premiers, MECs and Members of Parliament by 3%”. This raise shows an insensitivity “to the plight of the poor and the financial hardships that many ordinary citizens are going through during this time”.

Generally, the bishops are concerned about “the persistent gap between the rich and the poor in our country”. They warned that this gap poses a risk to South Africa’s economic growth and national security, “creating conditions that could fuel violent unrest and social instability”.

The bishops urged that there is a “need for economic transformation, particularly concerning land inequalities, mining, and agriculture”.

They also addressed the “vast disparities” between the rural and urban economies, “which have resulted in the exclusion of the rural poor from equal and significant participation in the country’s economy”.

“Our rural economies continue to suffer from severe neglect regarding educational opportunities, viable municipalities, and public and private investments. Our rural youth find it hard to find jobs when the building of rural economies is grounded solely on mining, manufacturing, and agricultural sectors, which are characterised by increased automation and an exploitative labour system,” the bishops said.

They called on the government to invest more “in building thriving and self-sustaining rural economies, including self-sustaining village economies, that generate massive job creation for the rural youth, including those classified as skilled labour”.

Loadshedding hurts the poor

The bishops noted that loadshedding and Transnet’s failing rail infrastructure “negatively impacts the lives of the poor and the prospects of economic recovery”.

“In the interest of inclusion, the much talked about decentralisation of energy production into private business must include viable models of community-private partnerships that ensure significant economic benefits to the people in the rural areas, particularly with respect to large-scale solar and wind projects,” they urged.

The bishops called for greater cooperation to fix failed municipalities.

“Considering that municipalities provide most of the services important for lifting people out of poverty, we make a strong call on all political parties in our country — particularly those deeply involved in unhealthy coalition politics — to set aside their political differences and work together to fix failed municipalities,” they said.

“The fixing of financial and capacity issues in municipalities should include finding ways of building self-sustaining township economies and village-based economies grounded on small-scale producers and small business development.”

The bishops also condemned criminal acts, such as cable theft, vandalism and non-payment of municipal rates.

“We remind all South Africans that each of us is responsible for rebuilding our country’s economy, including the municipalities and state-owned enterprises. This includes working together as communities to stop the culture of cable theft, non-payment of municipal rates, vandalism, and damage to infrastructure,” they said.

The bishops urged citizens to use “whatever opportunity and means available to grow their own food and earn some income instead of expecting everything from the government”.

Hold corrupt to account

The bishops reserved strong words for corruption and the government’s apparent lack of action to hold those implicated in it to account.

“All implicated in state capture and other forms of corruption must be held to account,” the bishops said.

“It is clear to us that the benefits of growth are not adequately reaching the poor, mainly because of corruption, wasteful expenditure, incompetence, and mismanagement of government funds. We find this to be morally unacceptable. At a time when many people are struggling to make ends meet, we firmly denounce the failure of the government to address accountability issues and consequence management in such matters,” the bishops said.

The fight against corruption, they said, should be guided by the good of the nation — “and not by blind loyalty to political parties and factional interests”.

“We ask the government to ensure that those implicated in state capture and other forms of corruption are held to account irrespective of their affiliation to a particular political party and faction,” the bishops said.

Download for full text of statement SACBC Statement on Econony, High Level of Unemployment and Cost of Living