Thirty years into democracy, South Africa shows measurable progress, but to what extent have people’s daily lives improved? The HSRC engaged residents in Sweetwaters, KwaZulu-Natal, to find out how they perceived the improvements and persistent challenges in their communities. By Zaynab Essack, Ayanda Tshazi, Jessie-Lee Smith and Nompumelelo Zungu.
Education, safe infrastructure and technology: a ticket to a better future
According to participants, notable progress was evident in educational infrastructure and access. One participant noted, “Education opens doors that once were closed…The education system has improved because we used to learn outside and did not have classes [sic], but now we do, and we also have chalkboards now.”
However, these significant shifts had been tempered by persistent challenges. Overcrowded classrooms, limited digital resources, and poor infrastructure undermine education quality, particularly in rural areas like Sweetwaters. One participant said, “Some learners do not have places to sit in classrooms, and they cannot learn properly because they are squashed.” Another highlighted resource scarcity in the community, “We don’t have access to libraries. We can’t even access books online because we don’t have Wi-Fi or some textbooks.”
Another participant, while highlighting a lack of access to technology, explained how Covid-19 lockdowns forced many students to fall behind as they could not attend school.
Using photovoice, one participant highlighted continuing issues with infrastructure in the school within the community. Using a photo of a broken chair, accompanied by a hand-written sentence stating, “Democracy must intervene in education” and a drawing of a sad face, as seen in Figure 1, the participant offered a powerful plea for the progress yet to be made in educational infrastructure.
A better healthcare for the people
Improved access to healthcare was also a significant theme that emerged in the project. One participant said, “Now, we can get the medicine we need without paying. This change has saved many lives.” Another noted, “The mobile truck brings our treatment to us, rain or shine, and we don’t have to face long queues.” These improvements were punctuated by a participant’s drawing of a clinic and patients (Figure 2), who expressed that “Previously, sick patients were brought into the clinic in wheelbarrows, but now there are wheelchairs.”
The drawing in Figure 2 also highlighted persistent issues with healthcare access for residents of Sweetwaters. The artist wrote that “shortage of staff, shortage of medication, shortage of resources” continue to be a problem. Clinics face high demand with limited staff, leading to burnout and long waiting times. Participants also raised safety concerns. One healthcare worker noted, “Lately, clinics are being robbed. This was not happening before; it started recently, and we are worried about our safety, as you cannot go to work with money as you are scared that you might be robbed.” Barriers to accessing clinics also remained a problem. For example, costs for transportation and stigma around certain treatments (e.g. HIV treatment) continued to affect healthcare access and adherence.
Housing that elevates people’s dignity
In 1994, Nelson Mandela introduced the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP), which aimed to provide subsidised housing to low-income households. One participant said, “The houses that were built while we were growing up were mud houses and did not elevate people’s dignity. With the RDPs, we saw change in the community; a lot of poor people benefited from this.”
The improvements made to housing can be seen in a participant’s drawing (Figure 3), which compares past and current housing and infrastructure in the community. In the first image, a student walks to school on a grass path from their mud house with their school books. In the second image, a school bus is driving on a dirt road after picking students up from an RDP house.
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Picture: HSRC