#FixOurDemocracy- 67 Quotes

Below is a set of 67 quotations drawn from submissions of members of the public from the #FixOurDemocracy initiative.

The initiative was started on July 14 by the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, supported by several other organisations. It made a call for South Africans to submit suggestions, via an online survey, on how to #FixOurDemocracy in relation to the state.

Please note that this is not the final list of 67 action points to #FixOurDemocracy in relation to the state. The final document will be made available later in #MandelaMonth.

Criminal Justice System

1. “Our criminal justice systems should run independently without any kind of political interference. No fear or favour.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
2. “Could we start with the police force in being more active in the arrest and investigation of the corruption that happens at local stations, then the courts where documents go missing. (We need to be) investing in well protected electronic systems where records and evidence can’t go missing or be tampered with.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
3. “Employ capable people, especially in the police force.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
4. “…Weed out the hired thugs in the police system.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
5. “…trial and sentencing within a shorter time frame…. By prolonging cases, it creates an atmosphere of tolerance and laxity in committing crimes. The victim then has to suffer through a protracted trial and… it causes criminal elements to gain hope by believing that they can break the law without fear of retribution.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
6. Break down the superficial silos that exist in the (criminal justice) cluster – speak with one voice. (Set up a) joint commitment to become victim-centered.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay

Government procurement processes:

1. “All tenders to be advertised widely and contracts entered into published on the government website with no confidentiality.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
2. “Make all bid evaluation and adjudication committee meetings open to the public to make it transparent.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
3. “Government appointments and tenders should be made on merit.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
4. “Government procurement processes should be streamlined to ensure delivery of impact on the social economy in particular, with emphasis on quick turn-around times and the timely requisitioning of productive work upon a successful due diligence and appointment process….the benefit to final beneficiaries should remain the chief concern. Procurement and use of public funds should not be (directed) toward cronyism and nepotism.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
5. “There appears to be many checks and balances with regard to this system but as long as this only involves internal staff, corruption exists as “one hand washes the other”. There should be credible external parties involved with approval processes where large sums of money are involved.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay

Revenue and taxes

1. “Citizen should have greater line of sight as to how their taxes are spent…”  #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay

Active citizenry

1. “Get the public to care through campaigns and evidence for change.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay

1. “It means holding government at all levels accountable by reading annual reports of the council and provincial and national departments; participating in governance forums like ward committees; and reporting corruption. Government is composed of people, and is tarnished by the unscrupulous behaviour of people. A clean government can only be achieved if we create a clean society.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
2. “We need to educate more people about the rights contained in our Constitution on a practical level, so that they are truly free to exercise them as a result of knowing their content and consequences.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
3. “You and I, and everyone else, are the custodians of our democracy. A democracy can’t exist without us, voters, and our role in our democratic processes goes beyond casting our votes and paying taxes… South Africa has the biggest ARV programme in the world, saving thousands of lives per year, because the people and civil society raised hell and forced the government to change. The nuclear power deal came to a screeching halt because of people – and so the list continues. What I am trying to say is that in order to improve our democracy, people need to re-evaluate their role and position and ditch the prevailing sense of apathy.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
4. “Greater protection for citizens that are active in holding their political party and government accountable for their actions.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
5. “A much more focused and well-resourced initiative by government to educate its citizenry on their rights, roles and responsibilities in government planning and decision making.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
6. “We ought to change the system to have a manifesto that is designed by the people and not political by parties.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
7. “More dialogues between government and communities will assist communities understand government better. We need to make communities understand that government is not doing the community a favour when delivering on service delivery. Whilst the past is important to remember, it’s important to move forward and get the youth to lead us with their views of a clean, committed and a non-arrogant government.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
8. “Monitoring budgets at provincial and municipal level in order to ensure that money is being spent where it has been allocated. Making submissions on various budget documents and advocating for funding for specific programmes.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay

Consequence management of public officials for patronage, corruption and state capture

1. “There is a need to deal with the issue on consequences for those found guilty as it’s the inability to deal with corruption that leads to it having become a norm in almost every sector of government and entities, not excluding many private companies who are often party to these incidents.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
2. “…Many dockets go missing and crime goes unpunished. The crooks in government stealing all our hard earned money should be prosecuted speedily, not suspended with pay, and they should return all funds stolen in addition to being imprisoned. This looting of our coffers is continuing as they know they can get away with it.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay

1. “Blacklist corrupt officials.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
2. “Corrupt officials should be exposed and face the full might of the law.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay

• “Officials that are suspected should be placed on unpaid leave until they are cleared. They can be back paid if found not guilty. We need to see that the guilty are imprisoned for their crimes and not rewarded for their involvement.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay

1. “Full disclosure of personal assets should be compulsory before taking office, with regular audits to identify if personal wealth is increasing unfairly.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
2. “If all the funds are recouped, then the lives of the poor would be enhanced.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
3. “…There is no continuity after each project showing how the public benefitted. There should be a transparent system in place that indicates the outcomes and the physical proof thereof. External parties should be involved in this process. A system that indicates the number days a public worker is at work during the month has to be implemented. A country cannot be run by absent workers.”

Parliament

•  “Salaries for MPs should also be drastically reduced. The motivation to serve should be paramount, not greed….” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
• “More respect and accountability must be displayed in Parliament. It often feels as though members disregard the seriousness of the positions they have been placed in. We need a stricter code of conduct in Parliament and perhaps a better criteria for how to interact with one another in Parliament.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
• “Working with Parliament by providing research and asking pointed questions during national assembly and portfolio committee meetings.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
• “Those in government should be committed to the role of serving the country, not the country serving them. Governance processes and accountability should be increased and swift action taken for underperformance or unethical behaviour, as opposed to lengthy enquiries and hearings that seem to never end in retribution.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay

• “Politicians’ disclosure of interests must be full and compulsory, with real penalties for omissions/falsities.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay

Mechanisms of oversight

• “I think that government/provincial/municipal officials should not be appointed by politicians. They should be appointed by a panel of professional individuals in the relevant field who are not party affiliated and their appointment should be transparent and based upon nothing more than ability to perform the function. No one with a criminal record should be considered and ultimate responsibility and oversight of the appointee’s performance should rest with the panel.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
• “There needs to be a clear separation of power between political party and state.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
• “There is a dire need for assessments and evidence of poor/under/non-performance…red flags (raised) by honest and professional public officials (should) be taken up without the interference, intimidation and cover up of politicians or mismanagement by senior officials.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
• “We need oversight before government has spent the money, before government has made a choice.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay

Accountability

• “Stop the “cadre deployment” nonsense and appoint the most suited and competent people. Stop the “suspension with full pay” nonsense…the country cannot afford to support wrongdoers Accountability mechanisms must have teeth, fire the corrupt – stop the “tell us why we shouldn’t fire you” nonsense.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
• “The Government must be seen to be actively making a serious effort to stop all patronage and factionalism immediately.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay

Municipal government

• “Corruption in every level of government must be eradicated by having oversight committees who are qualified in forensic auditing.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
• “There should be consequences for non-service delivery and for corruption not only for the lower level of employees but right from the top. If departments don’t spend their allocated budgets there should be consequences for the non-spending, maybe not allowing roll overs.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
• “Local-level representatives should be restrained from behaviours, such as influencing beneficiary lists for example, in the implementation of socio-economic support programmes, in order to gain political leverage or votes.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
• “Employ capable people, before the municipalities collapse.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
• “For accountability there should be a regular reporting system in community newspapers (or on any public platform) on a weekly basis as it reaches each household. This must include a report on each of the service delivery areas that a municipality is responsible for.”  #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
• “There is a need to set up monitoring and reporting departments in municipalities so as to ensure that services and work done through tax payers money is quality standard.”  #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay

SOEs

1. “Ensure SOEs are run professionally.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
2. “Stop golden handshakes.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
3. “The establishment of an office of Engineer-General, as a Chapter 9 institution, to provide better governance and accountability for the successful implementation of service delivery and public infrastructure projects… Engineering should be at the forefront and not on the backburner of infrastructure development, which is currently the situation.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay

Energy

• “Channelling money that is used to fix Medupi and Kusile and work towards more renewable solar energy.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
• “Energy shift away from fossil fuels to renewables.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay

Political party funding

1. “Party funding must be transparent.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
2. “The funding of political parties and individual funding need to be regulated so that we are able to avoid state capture or individual capture which lead to state capture.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay

Electoral reform

• “Now is a good moment to revisit the 2003 Van Zyl Slabbert Commission report and reconsider the value of a constituency plus proportional system at all levels.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
• Elected officials need to be held accountable by their constituents. If they do not do what they promised or lose public trust, the constituents should be able to “un-elect” them and elect a different official.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay

Covid-19 funding

• “On COVID19 funding, a complete audit needs to be carried out in every province to determine whether collusion on pricing was present and which service providers were given contracts for procurement of goods and services despite not meeting criteria. Immediate recovery of funds must be actioned to allow monies to be spent on the deserving people.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
• “With Covid-19 funding, there has been a lot of corruption allegations levelled against local government officials. There has to be some kind of accountability that goes with that. We just can’t let corrupt officials do as they please.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay

Appointments and dismissals

• “All directors general, deputy directors general and chief directors at both national and provincial spheres as well as municipal managers and directors must be appointed and dismissed by an independent Public Service Commission. No politician, including the President, Premier and Mayor, should have a say in this process.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
• “Ministers are rotated in positions with no public evidence that they hold any experience or qualification in that portfolio. The employing of people to the position need their CVs to be made public so tax paying citizens know the capabilities of the person applying for the post.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
• “No reappointment of officials already known for corruption. More qualified personnel appointed to the justice system so that cases can be dealt with more speedily and closing of loopholes allowing procrastination of cases. Appointment of suitably qualified and knowledgeable officials to run municipalities.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
• “New people must selected on merit and meticulous background examination before being asked to appear for an interview.”
• “No party should be able to appoint a candidate with any type of criminal record and people appointed to Parliament should have a minimum education qualification (a degree) or a record of at least ten years altruistic service and achievement in their communities which is attested to by independent people of some standing, not associated with a political party.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
• “DGs to be selected on merit to run their departments, but also be protected from political heads who cannot see beyond their term of office.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay

The economy

• “Poverty, inequality and unemployment remain persistent challenges and more action is required through programmes which support the integration of the formal and informal economies. This activity should be centred around strengthening livelihoods of poor, vulnerable and marginalised people, through funding for work opportunities and enterprise development particularly in the informal trading sector and in the rural economy. We need programmes for cultivating private sector buy-in and democratising supply chains toward fostering an open, just and equitable economic dispensation. For example more work is needed in supporting small-scale farmers to access local food supply chains, which would support local agriculture, livelihoods and long-term food security.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
• “A people centred economic recovery plan which includes a basic income grant.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay

Private sector:

1. “Prosecute individuals, don’t just fine the companies. The laws have to change to protect the poor and vulnerable, not just the rich who cannot afford litigation and legal costs.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay
2. “More accountability (is needed) from the private sector.” #FixOurDemocracy #MandelaDay