How the South African Shack Dwellers Movement Got a Political Voice

Posted by Josie Baum in Advocacy, Africa, Collaborate, Plan and Strategize, Location Based, Mobilize

The Challenge

In the eThekwini municipality in South Africa, which includes the city of Durban, one third of the population are shack dwellers. The living conditions in shack settlements are those of abject poverty; high unemployment rates, poor housing infrastructure prone to flooding and collapse, no electricity, no water delivery or sewage systems, and overcrowding. The incidence of AIDS is far above average, and the spread of disease is rife due to the high concentration of people and poor sanitation infrastructure. The situation faced by the thousands of families living in this situation is well described in an article written by the Shack Dweller’s Movement’s Chairperson, S’bu Zikode. Despite these unacceptable conditions, government intervention to relieve the poverty in these areas is effectively non-existent, ignoring the needs of the poorest granting them no political or economic legitimacy.

When the ‘left-wing’ ruling power, the African National Congress (ANC), entered office in 2004, shack dwellers were hopeful that they would finally have a political voice on their side. Although they played a prominent, positive role in ending the Apartheid in South Africa, the ANC have served the country’s poorest badly since, failing to prioritise this large section of South African society’s needs in favour of the requests of the wealthier voices. The result is a growing number of shack dweller settlements, with the conditions of each worsening.

These deteriorating conditions and the lack of national assistance came to a head in February of 2005 when local ANC representatives in Durban went against a promise of land to a local shack settlement and started to develop this land for formal, market rate housing. In outrage of this blatant betrayal, thousands of shack dwellers who had finally lost faith in being helped by external forces took to the streets and created a physical blockade to this site, preventing development. They had finally grown tired of people trying to speak for them, often tarnished by political contradictions, and decided to use their social solidarity to gain a local voice driven by local knowledge. They wanted recognition as human beings, rather than recognition as a stain on the South African landscape. This conviction to force change governed by local knowledge and devoid of politics led to the eventual mobilisation of the shack dwellers, in the form of the Shack Dweller’s Movement.

The Players

The original blockade was made up of local shack dwellers outraged by the government’s actions. But with continued examples of such betrayal by the government and ignorance to the needs and requests of the marginalised shack dwelling community the network of settlements in the movement has grown to approximately 40 communities comprised of tens of thousands of inhabitants. Isolated incidences of human rights violations, corruption, and ignorance of agreements to protect the regions have increased the number of settlements joining the movement. There has also been a growing recognition of the successes of the SDM, which has led to more and more communities rejecting formal political platforms in favour of taking to the streets and connecting with the other members of the movement to force change towards the delivery of the services and recognition that they need. This has allowed the emergence of the SDM as a growing dual power in South Africa, pushing for a dominant political voice for shack dwellers across the country.

The Tools and Tactics

First and foremost, the SDM is about following a philosophy of avoiding established political systems and forcing change governed by local knowledge through physical blockades and interventions. By using online and mobile tools such as cell phones, a Facebook page and a comprehensive Abahlali baseMjondolo website to spread the word of the movement’s successes as well as upcoming events and ongoing efforts, the movement has created a network of communities affected by similar issues, demanding similar services and changes to the current system. Communication between these settlements is done by cell phone as this is more accessible than the internet based platforms, but nevertheless the web site and Facebook page prove extremely useful in garnering support and provide a space for depositing media recognition for the movement. The flow of information in the online realm is one way, promoting external knowledge building and support for their efforts, whereas offline it is active across the involved groups. Both are extremely important facets to the movement’s campaigning. These networks allow for large turnouts at any blockades, protests or sit-ins and they also allow for a greater dissemination of knowledge in terms of what the rights of the shack dwellers are, and what can be done to realise these rights.

By emphasising local knowledge in all of their campaigning, members of the SDM operate at a very local level, strengthening the social network of those involved, and knowledge of how best to achieve the end that they set out to. This networking is a ‘social tool’, not a political game, leveraging strong organisation and local knowledge. This form of prefigurative politics is creating an alternative institution in the form of Abahlali baseMjondolo that is showing success in earning the services and social changes that they are striving for.

The SDM strongly emphasises physical actions, organised and delivered by online action but ultimately realised in the offline space. The movement stresses internal solidarity, shunning external aid or knowledge in the form of NGOs of government interventions. This is to protect it from potential vulnerability to political flip-flopping or corruption, and provides it with a robust philosophy and following.

The Stumbling Blocks

One key issue with the SDM is the fact that those involved in the movement fall on the wrong side of the digital divide. Few members of the movement have access to the internet, which makes them reliant on few individuals to maintain any online presence. Given the protective and intrinsic nature of the SDM, this is not ideal for the network. This lack of access to technology, along with the nature of the movements pushes it to merely use social media and cell phone technology to aid in the organisation of the movement, rather than becoming the crux of the movement itself. The majority of change promoted by the group is offline, which makes those involved vulnerable to arrest, death threats and in some extreme cases assassination. The physical emphasis of the movement removes anonymity, often the strongest weapon for online activists.

The Outcomes

Despite these stumbling blocks, the movement has had extraordinary successes. Through physical occupation of space and legal action they have moved towards their ideal social state effectively. In 2006, the launched a campaign entitled, ‘No Land, No House, No Vote’, where shack dwellers managed to boycott the local elections by refusing to vote in them. This was the first example of the established political system being overpowered by the SDM. The SDM also overruled the KwaZulu-Natal Slums Act, a controversial Act which was passed in 2007 to legalise the eviction of shack dwellers and eradicate slums. Abahlali baseMjondolo argued that this Act was anti-poor legislation and unconstitutional, and in October of 2009 the group won their case in the South African Constitutional Court, removing this Act from the South African legal system.

Along with these succinct achievements, the movement has had many ongoing successes at the local level. It has democratised governance of many communities, increased the access to education to shack dwellers both in terms of primary education and job training and petitioned for the abolition of rent. It has also increased the provision of basic services and the quality of housing in many areas. One key service is electricity, which the movement has provided to many shack dwellers removing the use of candles for light. This is a hugely important addition to these settlements as there are ten shack fires a day in South Africa, with someone dying in such a fire every other day.


 

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