Black Sash Report On Activities For The Period January To June 2004

Summary

The run up to the elections and the elections themselves, to some extent, framed the work of the office. The strength of the ANC’s electoral victory can be seen as a complete affirmation of its legitimate role as governing party in this country. This could have a number of effects. Firstly, it will be regarded by government as an affirmation that it has the support of the people, and by extension, that people support its policies. This could either support or weaken chances for advocacy. It could support advocacy if the ANC sees the depth of the support as a confidence booster − this confidence may create an environment in which government is more willing to listen to social partners. The worst-case scenario would be that the electoral victory could lead to arrogance on the basis of it being the sole voice of the majority of the population, and that interaction with civil society is not important. This potentially shifting environment will need to be monitored in the next few months, beyond the ‘honeymoon period’.

The BIG campaign continues to be an important part of our national and regional advocacy work. A substantial amount of work has been put into the process of writing a manual for BIG. A huge feather in the BIG cap, and boost for the coalition, is that Professor George Ellis, this year’s winner of the Templeton Prize for Science and Religion, donated R1 million of his prize money to the coalition.

As we grapple with the challenges and strengths of PAJA we have devised two strategies to access administrative justice. We have written a Sash Alert to assist the staff in our Advice Offices in this regard.

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