South Africa is sitting on a ticking time bomb and what happened in Marikana is nothing compared to what could happen unless people work hard towards change, according to Ms Sibongile Masangwane, a community leader and activist from Alexandra Township in Gauteng.
 
Speaking at the Southern African Civil Society Organisation (CSO) Consultation workshop on the Post-2015 Development Agenda hosted by African Monitor in collaboration with UNDP on 15 October 2012, she pointed to the contradictions that were rife in South Africa. There wassomething "terribly wrong" in a country where one could buy an identity document on the street, but women, babies on their backs, still had to carry buckets of dirty water for a long distance to their homes for everyday use.
 
“How can you be free or be considered developed without fresh water, electricity or proper schooling for children?” she asked.
 
“We are not free. We need to wake up. Some of us are still sleeping, dreaming about freedom. Let us wake up and challenge our governments. I’m so tired of all the talking everyone does. It’s time for some action to be taken. Let us dirty our hands and work hard to change things, not only post-2015, but now”.
 
The workshop, hosted by African Monitor in collaboration with UNDP, is centred on involving CSOs and citizens in the discussions around the post-2015 Development Agenda and ensuring that they are active participants in shaping the agenda that will be presented to the UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon in March 2013.
 
Other speakers at the conference echoed her call to action, saying that it is not enough to concentrate solely on what will happen post-2015; proactive steps need to be taken to meet the currenteight Millennium Development Goals (MDG).
 
“With the little time that’s left, responsibility needs to be placed on the political leadership of the world, on leadership in civil society and leadership in the private sector to see to what extent the Millennium Development Goals can be met,” said Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, Director of the Democratic Governance Group of the Bureau for Development Policy, United Nations Development Programme.
In his address to the workshop, Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, President of African Monitor, expressed his concern at the levels of development and progress:  “In South Africa alone, we have performed badly with regard to the first MDG goal (eradicating extreme poverty and hunger) and that of achieving universal primary education.
 
“The current MDGs have largely excluded the poor by failing to ask them what they really need and what their aspirations and dreams are. It is therefore essential that proper and meaningful engagement needs to be done and this consultation process is thestepping stone toward this,” the Archbishop added.
 
According to African Monitor, African civil society has an obligation to ensure that the grassroots voices are reflected in shaping the agenda and that there is a fair representation from citizensfrom all levels of society. Grassroots voices must be calibrated into a continent-wide citizen’s perspective.
 
The workshop is the first of a series of consultations with CSOs and those wishing to have their voices heard leading up to March 2013. Organisations from South Africa, Botswana, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Angola, DRC, Lesotho, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Swaziland, Tanzania and Zambia are actively debating issues around the current MDG framework, processes, gaps and challenges and the opportunity for CSOs to influence and inform the post 2015 consultations and outcomes.
 
For more information on future workshops, contact African Monitor on 021 713 2802.
 
A press conference will be held on 17 October at the Park Inn Sandton Hotel, 118 Katherine Street at 11h00 to relate the findings of the workshop. Contact Chantal Meugens on 011 487 0026 or email Chantal@quo-vadis.co.za for accreditation.