As South Africans united in commemorating 32 years of freedom in April, Member of Parliament in the National Assembly were divided on how and why the country should celebrate freedom.
During a Freedom Day debate on the topic “Social and economic fruits of freedom: Celebrating thirty-two years of democratic citizenship”, African National Congress MP Mr Mondli Gungubele, who also serves as the Deputy Minister of Telecommunications in the Government of National Unity, said the achievements of the government since 1994 were not mere statistics but real fruits of freedom that must be celebrated.
The expansion of electricity connection to more than 80 % of households; broad access to water and sanitation; over four million housing opportunities delivered; education access, including no-fee schooling; and a social protection system reaching over 18 million citizens were evidence of real transformation, Mr Gungubele said, and gave practical meaning to the objectives of the Freedom Charter.
“These are not mere statistics. They are a complete expression of liberation in practice. Each house built represents a rupture with apartheid spatial planning, each grant issued placation and peace-making, each school opened represents an investment against generational poverty,” he said.
Adding to the list of key instruments deployed by government to advance inclusive development, such as the BBBEE Act, the Employment Equity Act, a progressive tax and social protection system, Mr Gungubele argued that these were tools of structural transformation aimed at correcting historical dispossession.
However, the ANC’s boasting about its achievements as reason for South Africans to celebrate freedom received harsh criticism from opposition parties in the National Assembly.
Umkhonto weSizwe Party (MKP) Member of Parliament Ms Noma Buthelezi poured cold water over the ANC’s list of achievements and presented instead a story of this millions of citizens, whom she claimed are yet to experience the freedom spoken about in Parliament.
“What exactly are we celebrating, because for millions of South Africans, especially the youth, freedom has become a story we are told and not a life we live, you are told you are free but a young person sitting at home with a qualification, but no job does not feel free. A mother who cannot feed her children does not feel free, a community that lives in fear of crime does not feel free. Again, I ask, what exactly are we celebrating,” she said.
Ms Buthelezi accused the government of cruelty and dishonesty by asking citizens to celebrate a freedom they have not experienced. “It is cruel to ask people to celebrate something they have not experienced. There is something dishonest about telling a generation they are free while they remain locked out of opportunities. Because what we have in South Africa today is not the fullness of freedom. It is the shadow of it, a shadow that looks good in speeches, a shadow that sounds powerful on podiums but a shadow that disappears immediately you step into the reality of our people,” she argued.
Democratic Alliance representative and Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Mr Ian Cameron, stated that government’s failure to protect citizens from acts of criminality was one of the factors preventing many South Africans from experiencing full freedom in their country.
“I want to ask a question: whether freedom is real for every South African? What are the fruits of freedom in the poorest amongst us? Citizens vote for a democratic state but live under the daily authority of criminal networks. The state is present on paper, but gangs are present on the street. Freedom is not the right to vote, freedom is the right to walk home, sell food, open a shop without any intimidation. Freedom is not real when small traders are murdered for not paying gangs. Freedom is not real while families are extorted into silence,” said Mr Cameron.
Another party sharing the view that South Africa’s freedom is marred by poor service delivery, unemployment and inequality, was the Economic Freedom Fighters.
“Political freedom without economic freedom is useless. Real freedom must confront unemployment, confront the ownership patterns of land in South Africa, confront and unlock the mineral wealth to benefit all,” said party MP Mr Sihle Lonzi.
These sentiments were also shared by Inkatha Freedom Party leader and Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Mr Velenkosini Hlabisa, who said not all South Africans are fully experiencing freedom. “Unemployment, inequality and failing service delivery continue to deny many South Africans the full benefit of democratic citizenship. True freedom is the presence of opportunity for a mother to feed her children, for a graduate to find a job, for every citizen to live in safety. We need to move with speed for the fruits of freedom to be enjoyed fully,” said Mr Hlabisa.
Ms Lerato Ngobeni (ActionSA) also believes that many South Africans cannot fully experience freedom because of government’s failure to translate political freedom into economic inclusion and prosperity. “As we mark 32 years of democracy, we must ask where are the social and economic fruits of this freedom for the majority of South Africans. Today, over 12 million South Africans are unemployed, and over 23 million are living in poverty, abject poverty, surviving on less than R1 300 per month. We do not want to just celebrate freedom; we want to experience it,” she said.
Wayne Thring (African Christian Democratic Party) had this to say: “Freedom Day is more than a celebration of political liberation, rather it is a reminder of the promise of shared prosperity, justice and opportunity for all. Yet 32 years later, we must confront the harsh reality: while political freedom has been secured, social and economic freedom remain incomplete. Weak leadership has delayed the realisation of economic and social freedom.”
Sakhile Mokoena
7 May 2026
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