This pandemic must teach us that every one of us needs the other to survive

Covid-19 has shown us true political leadership but now we need real solidarity among ourselves as envisaged in the Freedom Charter to help us achieve true equality in SA

The Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic is not only altering the world order as we know it, it is also exposing a host of issues about society, governance and leadership in general.

Watching the press conferences of US President Donald Trump tells more about what the world community is about and what the American vote has done to the world.

Italy, the home of the Catholic Church, and for a while the epicentre of the pandemic, presents the clearest example of what it takes to turn a blind eye on poor leadership.

At some point, Italy spent a considerable amount of time fighting off a prime minister who had become the centre of everything good leadership and governance entailed.

In the process, public services took a back seat as the Covid-19 pandemic exploded in the country.

On the home front, it took us a while to realise the nature and extent of our vulnerability to this global health crisis.

Government was clearly short of imposing a state of emergency when it decreed a national health disaster last month.

True to form, it would take the army to enforce minimum compliance with government measures.

With a society that has stopped taking its government seriously for many years now, dubbed the wasted decade, no announcement not backed by state might would be taken seriously.

The levels of ill-discipline across society and the culture of entitlement had become institutionalised.

Even the warning of our imminent demise to this pandemic would not jolt us into being scared.

On the contrary, our youngsters went on a rampage in clear defiance, ignoring the presidential warning of imminent death if we did not stay at home.

This is but a reflection of the society we have become.

Our hard-fought freedom has become the opposite of what our forebears desired: responsible and disciplined young people ready, willing and able to harvest the fruit of freedom.

Then entered the inevitable, the collapse of the economy in the middle of grinding poverty and unemployment.

Our economy has always been vulnerable. It was just a matter of time before we were downgraded to “junk” status, regardless of the efforts made to reinvigorate the economy.

The reality, like in the case of Italy, is that the leadership of our past would determine our fortunes and future.

What took years to destroy, will take even longer to rebuild. The Covid-19 monster has aggravated our situation.

But it has also shown that our world remains backward.

We have had to close schools, universities and other public facilities.

Our capacity to teach and learn is now compromised because we have remained stuck in our manual ways of doing things even as opportunities for change presented themselves.

In the face of an imminent human tragedy, the class divide will be more pronounced than it was if we cannot contain the spread of the virus.

The poor, whose access to basic services such as water is limited, are even more vulnerable than before.

The overcrowded classrooms in public schools, the lack of proper sanitation and decent housing have now become an aggravated albatross around our necks.

Social distancing is simply defied by the reality of the material conditions of the poor and vulnerable.

There is, however, something highly commendable and inspiring even amid this crisis.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has shown the bold leadership we have not seen in a long time, and ministers are truly earning their salaries.

The level of compassion showed by government leaders has almost tripled. If there is a moment when this country cannot doubt that it has leadership, it is right now.

Even if government does not succeed to the extent it wishes, it will not be because of lack of trying.

Society has tasted true leadership and must insist that it remains the standard.

The danger, however, remains that the political will shown by our leaders is not matched by society’s own positive response.

In the middle of a national health emergency, some have decided that it must be business as usual.

The threats of strikes and protests have not abated. In fact, for some, this appears to be the perfect opportunity to exert pressure on a system already under tremendous pressure.

It has also become a perfect opportunity for others to place more demands on a government already under siege by a novel virus.

The idea that the real preoccupation of government is to save as many lives as possible seems lost on them.

There is another silver lining to this crisis; this crisis will come to pass. The greater opportunity after we conquer this monster is to review how we do things.

We cannot continue to hesitate and procrastinate while inequality persists.

We must appreciate that to give meaning to our constitutional values, we must reduce the number of those still disenfranchised despite our freedom.

We must now properly interpret the concept of social distancing within its proper context of giving effect and meaning to our constitutional obligations set out in the Bill of Rights, in particular the right to human dignity and access to basic services.

Social distancing must never again be about infection control and prevention. It must be about equality and freedom from even the stigma of vulnerability.

We have the opportunity to appreciate that a decent and functional public transport system is not a luxury, but a necessity.

We must appreciate the realities of those who have been on the receiving end of a poor public transport system.

Those who have died on our roads, and those who leave their homes at ungodly hours to go work to earn a meagre living.

We must appreciate that we live in a world with modern technology.

Access to technology must not be dependent on the outbreak of a virus but must be a standard item on our menu of things to do.

Our children could easily continue with their education even in the current adverse conditions and the message government seeks to communicate can easily reach everyone if we invested in technology, particularly for our children.

The word ‘solidarity’ had, until the emergence of this health crisis, gone into oblivion. I cannot remember the last time anyone spoke about solidarity.

Even in the current context, the solidarity spoken about is class-based – of the poor expressing their sympathy with the poor and vulnerable.

We need to reinstate the true meaning of solidarity, which is inclusive and not the flexing of financial muscle during a crisis initiated by a virus.

We need a permanent form of solidarity which will not result in street vendors being unable to ply their trade.

We need the type of solidarity that reduces homelessness so that people are not rounded up and detained during the outbreak of a pandemic, to protect them.

We need a national solidarity which agitates for societal and public accountability, and respect for the law and each other.

This pandemic must teach us that every one of us needs the other to survive.

We need a solidarity that speaks of the desires set out in the Freedom Charter, which, among other things, advocate sharing in the economy and land.

We need a true solidarity that we are all equal and that our political and economic systems must benefit all of us.

Mannya is an advocate, writer and executive director of legal services at Unisa

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