- Title
- Citizenship rights : still a long road to travel - Graduation Ceremonies address 2014
- Creator
- Badat, Saleem
- Date Issued
- 2014
- Date
- 2014
- Type
- Text
- Identifier
- vital:7872
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/10962/d1016421
- Description
- The 20th anniversary of our democracy is a good time to reflect on the progress that we have made with respect to citizenship in post-1994 South Africa. 1994 was a revolutionary breakthrough. From being a racially exclusive authoritarian society in which millions were downtrodden subjects, we became a democracy in which for the first time almost all inhabitants became citizens. Critical here was a commendable Constitution, including a Bill of Rights, which held out the promise of an extensive range of human, social and economic rights that did not exist for all or at all prior to 1994. During the past 20 years there have been significant economic and social gains and achievements. At the same time, there continue to be many challenges, and key institutions of our democracy have come under strain as a result of too many in power seeking to use the state as their private piggy bank. Still, a relatively independent judiciary, free media, autonomous universities and the like remain intact. Witness in this regard the magnificent performance of the Public Protector’s office under Thuli Madonsela. However, a number of contemporary realities, compromise the ideal of full and substantive citizenship rights for all that the Constitution promises. Indeed, they condemn large numbers of people to conditions that are associated with subjecthood and being subjects.
- Format
- 3 pages
- Format
- Publisher
- Rhodes University
- Language
- English
- Rights
- Rhodes University
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