I want to examine the significance of coalitions in relation to a fundamental aspect of being human, namely, nourishment, so I purposefully titled my opinion piece "Of Coalitions, GNUs and Malnutrition."
South Africa’s democracy is lauded the world over as being the most progressive. The 2024 election is over. In the 2023/24 financial year, the Electoral Commission was allocated R2.232 billion. The 16 million-strong electorate of 27 million registered voters, the people whose vote is sought after in a feeding frenzy by those seeking to be their representatives in parliament, have voted. There is no outright victory.
The horse-trading has begun to decide which of the parties are amenable to govern in some form of power-sharing structure on behalf of the people. The main horse traders are the ANC, led by black economic empowerment billionaire Cyril Ramaphosa, the free-market-oriented DA, led by John Steenhuizen; the Zulu-oriented IFP, the radical economic transformation/white monopoly capital MK party led by Jacob Zuma and the “Marxist-Leninist-Sankarist” EFF who seek a state-oriented capitalism rather than an overthrow of capitalism. These are the main operatives deciding on a possible coalition of sorts.
While all this is going unobtrusively, an enduring phenomenon is quietly playing out: the rate of malnutrition in South Africa. This egregious fact of South African life has been with us since the dawn of democracy. It would be a stretch to speculate that this perennial problem that affects 27% of children under the age of five was uppermost in the minds of Steenhuizen, Ramaphosa, Malema, and Zuma in their power-seeking games.
Some statistics concerning malnutrition will illustrate the gravity of the problem. In a paper titled, “Why does malnutrition persist in South Africa despite social grants?” Stephen Devereux and Jennifer Waidler (2017) give insight into the gravity of malnutrition in South Africa. Pietermaritzburg Agency for Community Social Action (PACSA) estimates that the cost of a nutritionally adequate diet for a young child (aged three to nine years) in May 2016 was R557.
For an older child (10 to 13 years), it was R604. This means that even if all the Child Support Grant (CSG) cash is spent only on nutritious food (no non-food spending) and even if all this food is given to the designated beneficiary (not shared with other household members), the CSG of R350 can cover less than two-thirds of the minimum food needs of a young child (63%) or an older child (58%). However, we know that only a proportion of the CSG will be spent on food for the child because this cash is also needed for other household expenses.
PACSA estimates that the cost of purchasing enough food to meet minimum nutritional requirements was R3,115 in May 2016 for a household of five comprising two children, two active adults and one older person. Assuming that the two active adults are unemployed and the household survives entirely on two Child Support Grants (R350) and one State Old Age Grant (R1,505), total monthly income is R2,205.
Based on what poor households in Pietermaritzburg actually buy, this household spends R1,351 on food each month (61% of income), leaving R854 for all non-food basic needs (clothing, transport, education, housing, airtime, electricity, water, etc.) – which actually cost an estimated R3,427. So, this household needs R6,542 to cover its basic needs, but it has only one-third of this. With an R1,764 deficit in its food budget alone, the household’s diet is nutritionally inadequate – it is spending only 57% of what it needs for a minimum nutritional food basket.
Obsessively concerned with the machinations of power, the control of the state, where 400 parliamentarians will secure over a five-year period, the right to enjoy, according to Khuthala Noah, parliamentary media relations manager, the following perks for the upcoming term:
To further illustrate the chasm between MPs and those exposed to malnutrition. In the 2018/19 financial year, MPs earned R92,245 monthly salary, placing them in the top 1% of earners in the country. Chairs of parliamentary committees earned higher salaries of R1.45 million a year.
The leader of the opposition earned R1.6 million a year, the deputy speaker R1.97 million, and the speaker R2.8 million. In total, the national assembly spends close to R600 million on MP salaries annually (de Villiers 2019). This was the state of affairs in 2018/2019, and we are now in 2024, five years later.
The central question that is never considered is whether democracy works for all South Africans. Who really benefits from democracy? After the coalitions and GNUs have been decided, will it be in the interests of all South Africans or a particular class of people? Whether we like it or not, this is a decidedly class question.
Democracy ultimately is a question of power, class power. And the classes that wield this power in the name of the “people” are the 400 MPs that cost the South African fiscus 600 million per annum, which definitely does not include the indigent social grant holders struggling to make ends meet constantly on the cusp of malnutrition. This questions the very ideals of our progressive constitutional democracy which seeks to improve the quality of life of all citizens.
About Author
Dr Hoskins is a lecturer in the Department of Political Studies, Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) Faculty. He teaches Political Philosophy and South African Politics. He obtained his PhD thesis which critically analyses black economic empowerment in South Africa. His research interests include the socio-economic construction of race, black economic empowerment and theories of the developmental state.
Dr Hoskins obtained his BA, B Proc, LLB and LLM degrees from the University of the Western Cape (UWC). His LLM thesis focused on a historical materialist critique of disability law
Click here to listen to Dr JM Hoskins being interviewed by Lester Kiewit on Good Morning Cape Town
South Africa’s democracy is lauded the world over as being the most progressive. The 2024 election is over. In the 2023/24 financial year, the Electoral Commission was allocated R2.232 billion. The 16 million-strong electorate of 27 million registered voters, the people whose vote is sought after in a feeding frenzy by those seeking to be their representatives in parliament, have voted. There is no outright victory.
The horse-trading has begun to decide which of the parties are amenable to govern in some form of power-sharing structure on behalf of the people. The main horse traders are the ANC, led by black economic empowerment billionaire Cyril Ramaphosa, the free-market-oriented DA, led by John Steenhuizen; the Zulu-oriented IFP, the radical economic transformation/white monopoly capital MK party led by Jacob Zuma and the “Marxist-Leninist-Sankarist” EFF who seek a state-oriented capitalism rather than an overthrow of capitalism. These are the main operatives deciding on a possible coalition of sorts.
While all this is going unobtrusively, an enduring phenomenon is quietly playing out: the rate of malnutrition in South Africa. This egregious fact of South African life has been with us since the dawn of democracy. It would be a stretch to speculate that this perennial problem that affects 27% of children under the age of five was uppermost in the minds of Steenhuizen, Ramaphosa, Malema, and Zuma in their power-seeking games.
Some statistics concerning malnutrition will illustrate the gravity of the problem. In a paper titled, “Why does malnutrition persist in South Africa despite social grants?” Stephen Devereux and Jennifer Waidler (2017) give insight into the gravity of malnutrition in South Africa. Pietermaritzburg Agency for Community Social Action (PACSA) estimates that the cost of a nutritionally adequate diet for a young child (aged three to nine years) in May 2016 was R557.
For an older child (10 to 13 years), it was R604. This means that even if all the Child Support Grant (CSG) cash is spent only on nutritious food (no non-food spending) and even if all this food is given to the designated beneficiary (not shared with other household members), the CSG of R350 can cover less than two-thirds of the minimum food needs of a young child (63%) or an older child (58%). However, we know that only a proportion of the CSG will be spent on food for the child because this cash is also needed for other household expenses.
PACSA estimates that the cost of purchasing enough food to meet minimum nutritional requirements was R3,115 in May 2016 for a household of five comprising two children, two active adults and one older person. Assuming that the two active adults are unemployed and the household survives entirely on two Child Support Grants (R350) and one State Old Age Grant (R1,505), total monthly income is R2,205.
Based on what poor households in Pietermaritzburg actually buy, this household spends R1,351 on food each month (61% of income), leaving R854 for all non-food basic needs (clothing, transport, education, housing, airtime, electricity, water, etc.) – which actually cost an estimated R3,427. So, this household needs R6,542 to cover its basic needs, but it has only one-third of this. With an R1,764 deficit in its food budget alone, the household’s diet is nutritionally inadequate – it is spending only 57% of what it needs for a minimum nutritional food basket.
Obsessively concerned with the machinations of power, the control of the state, where 400 parliamentarians will secure over a five-year period, the right to enjoy, according to Khuthala Noah, parliamentary media relations manager, the following perks for the upcoming term:
- 88 domestic journeys per year can be by air, train, bus, or vehicle.
- Transport to and from South African airports.
- Parking at South African airports.
- Transport of dependents.
- Relocation costs.
- “Tools of trade,” which include mobile phones, tablets and laptops.
- Equipment, furniture, and stationery for MPs’ offices inside the national assembly.
- Personal accident insurance.
- Accommodation is in the parliamentary villages in Cape Town.
- Daily transport to and from the villages to parliament.
To further illustrate the chasm between MPs and those exposed to malnutrition. In the 2018/19 financial year, MPs earned R92,245 monthly salary, placing them in the top 1% of earners in the country. Chairs of parliamentary committees earned higher salaries of R1.45 million a year.
The leader of the opposition earned R1.6 million a year, the deputy speaker R1.97 million, and the speaker R2.8 million. In total, the national assembly spends close to R600 million on MP salaries annually (de Villiers 2019). This was the state of affairs in 2018/2019, and we are now in 2024, five years later.
The central question that is never considered is whether democracy works for all South Africans. Who really benefits from democracy? After the coalitions and GNUs have been decided, will it be in the interests of all South Africans or a particular class of people? Whether we like it or not, this is a decidedly class question.
Democracy ultimately is a question of power, class power. And the classes that wield this power in the name of the “people” are the 400 MPs that cost the South African fiscus 600 million per annum, which definitely does not include the indigent social grant holders struggling to make ends meet constantly on the cusp of malnutrition. This questions the very ideals of our progressive constitutional democracy which seeks to improve the quality of life of all citizens.
About Author
Dr Hoskins is a lecturer in the Department of Political Studies, Economic and Management Sciences (EMS) Faculty. He teaches Political Philosophy and South African Politics. He obtained his PhD thesis which critically analyses black economic empowerment in South Africa. His research interests include the socio-economic construction of race, black economic empowerment and theories of the developmental state.
Dr Hoskins obtained his BA, B Proc, LLB and LLM degrees from the University of the Western Cape (UWC). His LLM thesis focused on a historical materialist critique of disability law
Click here to listen to Dr JM Hoskins being interviewed by Lester Kiewit on Good Morning Cape Town
