Civil society at G20 gathering: ‘No democratic society with huge unemployed population’

With just over 23 weeks left before South Africa gets to host the G20 Summit in November this year, more than 14 working groups from diverse civil society organisations  gathered at The Capital on the Park in Sandton as part of the C20 South Africa Launch on Sunday.

Chairperson Thulani Tshefuta highlighted the group’s role not as adversaries of the government but as crucial partners who advocate for those most vulnerable in society and emphasised the need for advocacy work to align with South Africa’s medium term development plan and the United Nations’ agenda for 2030.

His call for a mass-based, people-centred approach resonated throughout the launch, pointing to the urgent need for comprehensive consultations that address the issues faced by communities across the country.

“We are not anti-government as we have been labeled as friends of government. When we have to respond to the plight of the poor, we are told this is expensive we can’t afford that, but ours is to press on.

“‘m not about to pretend when we do our advocacy at community level. our work must align with the medium development plan and the agenda 2030. Our strategic approach should be truly mass-based, people centred and imbued with awareness of our advocacy issues. The challenge is that we must rise above our immediate challenge and look at strategic development instruments, we must be big and wide in our consultation,” he said.

The 14 working groups include Women and Gender Equity, People to people interaction and Solidarity, Poverty Alleviation and Food Sustainability, Democratic governance, Civic Space, Anti-Corruption and Access to Justice, Cultural Diversity Recognition and Embracement, Trade and Sustainable Development, Digital and Inclusive Economies, Sustainable and Resilient Communities and Disaster Risk Reduction.

These working groups also include four themes that include youth empowerment, addressing issues affecting women, meaningful inclusion of persons with disabilities and ensuring that LGBTQI+ people are not left behind.

Tshefuta said intentional actions are needed to reverse the tide of poverty and unemployment, adding that this cannot be done without active market policies.

“There will be no democratic society with such a huge population which is unemployed and idle. Poverty is real. Poverty is alive. There are people we refer to as being vulnerable, but we say nothing anything about those who are fully marginalised. It is a struggle to keep them surviving in the marginst,” he said.

Speaking on the sidelines of the first day of the three-day summit, chairperson of the working groups, Nombasa Gxuluwe from WACI Health: Facilitator indicated that the work of the groups is to ensure that there is engagement and dialogue between government and civil society.

“As we have indicated, C20 South Africa has 14 working groups who are engaged in various policy proposals and are formulating their inputs as part of the policy brief. It is about putting forward our policy challenges and changes we need to see coming out the G20 declaration, while making sure that the voice of civil society and affected communities are reflected in government policy.

“There are various working groups which reflect diverse issues that affect our communities,” Gxuluwe said.

siyabonga.sithole@inl.co.za