Thuli Madonsela to lead discussions at first Social Justice M-Plan Expert Roundtable

Professor Thuli Madonsela, Law Trust chair of social justice in the Faculty of Law at Stellenbosch University (SU)

The ultimate outcome of the roundtable is to work towards “breaking the back of poverty and inequality" in South Africa, Madonsela commented on the event. “The best role that academia can play is to help the state to plan its policies better and to assist in the process to design South Africa's social fabric."

The event is part of consultative processes aimed at the design and implementation of a comprehensive national plan similar to the post World War Europe Recovery Marshall Plan.

“The Social Justice M-Plan, or Mosa-Plan, is a social justice accelerator programme that aims to catalyse the process of ending poverty and equalising life opportunities by 2030 as envisaged in the National Development Plan (NDP) read with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs),” says Madonsela.

Speakers

Justice Dunstan Mlambo, judge president of the North Gauteng High Court, will deliver the keynote address while Dr Pali Lehohla, former statistician general, will speak about social justice planning, monitoring, measuring and funding tools. Prof Ben Turok, former anti-apartheid activist, economics professor and former South African member of parliament, will address the roundtable on the state of social justice in South Africa and its implications for democracy.

SU speakers include Madonsela; Prof Nicola Smit, SU dean of law; Prof Geo Quinot, African Public Procurement Research Unit, Law Faculty; Prof Sope Williams-Elegbe, Law Faculty; Prof Nuraan Davids, education policy studies; Prof James Volmink, dean of the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences; Dr Njeri Mwagiru, Institute for Future's Research; and Prof Josephine Musango, complex systems in transition.

The roundtable will be conducted in a workshop style with plenary sessions and parallel commissions on various social justice priorities such as education, health, wellness and nutrition, poverty, ICT, land, property and agriculture, and the economy.

“The workshop will be a first step in seeing who's doing what and to work from there – amongst others to establish a social justice think tank to help government accelerate progress towards socio-economic inclusion and related shared prosperity as part of anchoring democracy and the rule of law,” Madonsela said.

Key result areas of the Social Justice M-Plan:

• Enhance state capacity to pass laws that reduce poverty and inequality through leveraging data analytics.
  
• Mobilise societal and corporate resources to contribute meaningfully to funding accelerated reduction of poverty and inequality.
  
• Foster social accountability in government fiscal planning and expenditure by technology and leveraging people as eyes and ears of government.
  
• Leverage international relations to promote support for the Social Justice M-Plan.
  
• Sponsor a national drive to healing the divisions of the past regarding inherited social relations.