Opinion | Push for greater access

Every week that passes in the South African news cycle, civil society is somehow part of the story. If they are not commenting from the outside, then they are actively driving the story, or, as spin-doctors like to say, the narrative, in a way that suits their agenda. In the South African context, most civil society organisations exist as a mechanism to first interact with power and then hold it to account.

The third, less spoken-about pillar, is fundraising. They have, for the most part, been extremely successful in exposing government failures, whether in constitutional compliance, foreign policy, mining or blatant environmental abuses. And it is without doubt because of civil society that key documents and information we now take for granted, are in the public domain.

But what exactly is the legal standing of such organisations? Do they have more power than ordinary citizens? Resident and ratepayer associations are clearly mandated, formally or informally, to question municipal officials on tariffs and service delivery.

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Professional bodies fight for regulatory and legal changes that, in their view, will improve standards and make their members’ work easier, and yes, probably wealthier. In almost every case, and it becomes more acute the bigger the organisation becomes, there is a drive to increase revenue because activism is not free. Something, somewhere, needs to be paid for.

The great myth about civil society is that it is stacked with an army of dogood volunteers in tie-dye shirts willing to go to extraordinary lengths to improve South Africa. Like any myth, there is some truth to it. But the hard, cold fact is that mobilising, campaigning and fighting for whatever your cause may be costs money.

Sandals are replaced with power suits, ties and judicial gowns. I was recently interviewed by a doctorate student on civil society’s perspective on transparency, citizen oversight and accountability mechanisms. And it was while working through those questions that I realised few people understand how civil society organisations operate in the public square, and even fewer understand their influence, power and perceived place in society. Large organisations such as the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), AfriForum, Greenpeace, the Ahmed Kathrada Foundation, the Socio-Economic Rights Institute of South Africa, and many others may be exceptionally vocal in public debate.

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