By Faith Hlongwane
In the wake of the recent formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU) in South Africa, civil society groups Democracy Development Program (DDP) and the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) held a community dialogue recently at K Hall in KwaMashu, in Durban, that was aimed at educating people about the new form of government.
Sphamandla Mhlongo, a senior programmes officer at the DDP, said they have identified a need to educate the community about how the GNU works.
South Africa has not seen the GNU since 1994, which ushered in the first democratically-elected government, which was led by President Nelson Mandela and his deputies, the ANC’s Thabo Mbeki and the National Party’s FW de Klerk.
“This topic is important for locals to understand, so that they can know the public participation mechanisms that come with this new government system, especially because in the past years we saw that local communities didn’t have means to collaborate with the government,” he said.
The YMCA the programme facilitator of the dialogue, Basil Brim, said they will continue doing similar civic educational drives.
He said: “People (generally) had limited knowledge about the GNU, so we took it upon ourselves to educate them. They co-operated well.”
KwaMashu youngster Zweli Matobeni said that he has learnt things from the dialogue that were useful.
“As the youth, we have gained knowledge about what the government has planned for us as voters. We have learnt ways in which we can participate in the political space,” he said.
Another young person, Mthokozisi Mthethwa, said he had been sceptical about the new government dispensation.
“I was a first-time voter. I needed this dialogue to enlighten me about how this process of GNU will have an impact on me as a citizen. When opposition parties are working together, you cannot help but be scared that they will ruin everything trying to spite one another, but I (now) have hope,” he said.
Zakhele Ndlovu, a University of KwaZulu-Natal lecturer and political analyst, said he cannot emphasise enough the importance of educating the communities about the GNU.
“It is important that communities are educated and informed on matters of good governance, and to hold elected representatives accountable. How do voters hold the GNU accountable, which political party gets rewards or punishment in the next elections?”
The organisers of the dialogue said they will keep doing similar civic educational programmes because they were impressed with the turnout.
