Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.Lost your password? Please enter your username or email address. You will receive a link to create a new password via email.e already know that whatever new governments emerge at local, provincial and national levels due to voting after 29 May, they will face overwhelming challenges delivering the promises of the Constitution to all South Africans.
The elections take place at the end of a year in which South Africa experienced four confrontations that were so violent that they registered as “battles” in thedataset, together with 658 riots. These were overwhelmingly tied to frustration and despair over the bread-and-butter issues of human dignity and human security defined as fundamental in the Constitution. In addition, 181 incidents of state violence against civilians were recorded. So, we do know one thing with great certainty.
What we have learned in the intervening decades is that it is not enough to have big businesses, even good ones. We need a viable economic model that accounts for the rural poor, the large number of urban South Africans who work in the informal economy and the micro and small enterprises that have largely been left out of the larger economic growth story.
The cost of this falls most heavily on poor South Africans less able to insulate themselves from the negative impacts, even as the playing field becomes ever more uneven for ethical businesses. No large business can long survive without the support of other businesses. Businesses today can largely end the scourge of big business corruption by setting higher standards for conduct in the partnerships they form.
Some costs will be political, as consequential action for an inclusive economy and a more ethical business ecosystem will irritate some current business and government partners, who might be tempted to take retaliatory action.