Dinokeng Scenarios

THE DINOKENG MESSAGE
VOICES OF DINOKENG
Perspectives from members of
the Dinokeng Scenario Team.
South Africa faces critical social and economic challenges especially related to
unemployment and poverty, safety and security, education, and health. These challenges
are exacerbated by the global economic crisis. If we fail to recognise the severity
of our challenges, and if we fail to address them, we will experience rapid disintegration
and decline.
Our state is too weak to address the challenges by itself. State-led development will not
succeed in a country where state capacity is lacking. In addition, pervasive state intervention
– where the state is everything and all else is subordinate – breeds complacency and
dependency among the citizenry and leads to the withdrawal of investment and disengage -
ment by the business sector.
We can address our critical challenges only if citizens and leaders from all sectors actively
engage with the state to improve delivery and enforce an accountable government.
Key ingredients for a sustainable future are:
• An effective and accountable state.
• Ethical, accountable and responsive leaders across all sectors.
• An engaged citizenry that holds government and sectoral leaders accountable.
• Interventions in the development of state capacity, education, safety and security, and
health. These interventions are urgently required. They are a vital but by no means a
sufficient condition for country success.
• A strong, sustainable economy. This is critical to unlocking development.
• Job creation through a vibrant private sector including small and big business.
• An appreciation that our future is intricately linked to what happens on the continent
and globally.
The seeds of the future are contained in the present. Thus our scenarios begin with a diagnosis
of the present.
The issue is how to transform
a grossly incompetent state at
national, local and provincial
level. If we say we want “more
state”, how do we transform it
and convince ourselves that it
can deliver with any degree
of competence
Citizens need to take ownership
and ask of themselves: What are
we doing as citizens to become
agents of change What are we
doing to build the future that
was envisioned at the dawn of
our democracy
We need to think of it like this:
I spend R100. R30 of that is spent
on my house, which is an
investment that I jealously guard.
I paint it, clean it and look after it.
And then I spend R40 on direct
and indirect taxes and I take no
care over it. Why do we as citizens
disengage from this investment
We know the problems. How do
we hold the people who have
to deliver accountable
Corporates, government, unions
and civil society need to see that
the way to go is to act in
enlightened self interest; this
would be a good seed to plant.
South Africans have fallen into
a mode of: “Your side of the boat
is leaking.” What’s emerging in
our discussions is a theme of
collective ownership of the state;
collective custodianship of
the Constitution. We need to
challenge ourselves. We should
be society-centred; not so
state-centred.
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