By: Olusola Bodede
Social compact encompasses an elaborate but dynamic cooperation between the society and the government. It involves collective reasoning on how to foster unity through issues such as power and resources. Due to the socioeconomic crisis that has resulted in incessant increase in the unemployment rate, poverty and criminal activities, it is expedient that fruitful partnership exists between stakeholders to ensure all citizens are carried along in the scheme of things. Social compact involves collaboration between the government, civil society organizations, communities, business and labour. There is usually a driving force towards the actualization of social compact in every society which is to promote and ensure a very viable society that ensures job creation, sustainability of businesses, accountability and welfarism of workers among others. This was well emphasized by the South African President when he was delivering the State of the Nation Address in parliament few years ago. President Ramaphosa said, as documented by GoLegal Industry News and Insights, that “government must create an enabling environment and use public resources wisely. Business stakeholders need to keep the country’s national strategic objectives in mind when taking decisions, labour has to advance the interests of workers while promoting business sustainability and job creation, and civil society is tasked with holding government to account while participating to achieve common goals”. The onset of COVID-19 caused a lot of setbacks to the economy of South Africa. There was increment in job losses, criminality, underemployment, fraud and gender inequality during the pandemic. Most of South Africa’s goods worth 15.22 Billion dollars are always imported from china. A halt in the economy of china due to COVID-19 pandemic had a ripple effect on the economy of South Africa. The already ailing South Africa’s economy was aggravated with the total lockdown declared by the South African President on 27th March 2020. The recovery stage of COVID-19 is expected to be enhanced by social compact, geared towards enhancing rapid growth in the economy. Social compact in the areas of agriculture, health and SMEs is expected to yield positive results that can sustain the socioeconomic status of the citizens. For quick recovery during the era of COVID-19, the President called for a new social compact among all stakeholders in the society (labour, business, government and community) to help in the restructuring of the economy to achieve inclusive growth.
The workability of social compact
For social compact to be effective in a society, there are strategies that must be put in place to ensure its workability. Some of the strategies include but not limited to:
In conclusion, due to the resent COVID-19 pandemic which has grossly affected the socioeconomic wellbeing of most South Africa’s citizens, it is expedient to call for social compact to reduce the rate of corruption, unemployment, underemployment, gender inequality, etc. For an effective social compact, all hands must be on deck, relevant stakeholders must stand up to their responsibilities and government must also create an enabling environment for it to work.
Dr Olusola Bodede is a Postdoctoral researcher. He writes in his personal capacity.