Former Public Protector, Prof Thuli Madonsela who currently holds the position of the Law Trust Chair in Social Justice at the in the Faculty of Law at Stellenbosch University has launched an “action-oriented digital platform” for social justice. The first online conversation last week and was attended by 76 people and is expected to resume during the week of April 20.
The digital event assessed the impact of COVID-19 and policy responses to it from a social justice perspective, focusing on poverty, inequality and mental health. “The aim of the digital platform is to create a permanent think-tank that will deal with all social justice-related issues in the advancement of substantive equality and in combatting poverty in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the constitutional duty to anchor our democracy in social justice and Agenda 2063,” said Martin Viljoen, Stellebosch University Spokesperson.
Speakers included Sandra Fredman, Law Professor from the University of Oxford and Dr Pali Lehohla, SA’s former statistician-general. Viljoen said speakers agreed that in combating the rapid spread of COVID-19, the government could not avoid restrictive regulations with adverse consequences or sacrifices. “We must thank President Ramaphosa and everyone in government for putting us back on the pedestal of hope. A crisis has a way of tearing people apart, but it also has a way of uniting people and whether you get united or torn apart depends on leadership,” said Madonsela.
Madonsela notes that “As we try to respond to this virus, we should anchor everything that we do in the constitutional right to equality, read with section 7(2), which subjects this country to the establishment of a society based on democratic values and social justice.”
