Most residents of Wentworth, a historically ‘coloured’ suburb 10 kilometres south of the Durban Central Business District, believe there is little or nothing to celebrate 30 years into democracy. This emerged from research conducted as part of the HSRC’s Democracy@30 Project. By Gregory Houston, Darian Smith, Theresa Saber and Maree Harold

Shops in the Clinic Road shopping centre, Wentworth. Photo: HSRC

Many Wentworth residents believe their lives have worsened since the advent of democracy in 1994 and that much still needs to be done to achieve the promised ‘better life for all’. Wentworth is located in the southern part of Durban in KwaZulu-Natal.

Between November 2023 and February 2024, an HSRC research team engaged with 99 residents of Wentworth as part of the organisation’s Democracy@30 Project. Other research teams conducted similar research at several other sites across South Africa, including Makhanda, Nelson Mandela Bay and Cwebe in the Eastern Cape; Sweetwaters in KwaZulu-Natal; QwaQwa in the Free State; Langa in the Western Cape; and Vuwani in Limpopo. During the fieldwork, researchers collected stories of people’s experiences of democracy over the past three decades and gathered opinions on what the next 30 years needed to look like to achieve the promised “better life for all” in South Africa.

During key informant interviews, focus group discussions and workshops in Wentworth, participants indicated that very few achievements of democratic rule had improved their lives.

There was progress in achieving gender equality, improving race relations and obtaining rights such as voting, residence without racial restrictions and access to study at any educational institution. However, most residents of this predominantly working-class suburb – where many upwardly mobile members of the community have relocated elsewhere – drew attention to areas of decline, nationally and in the suburb. A small minority still living in Wentworth believed their lives had improved since 1994.

Residents identified poor governance and corruption as the most significant negative developments since 1994. They unanimously believed that failures in public administration in all three spheres of government, coupled with widespread theft and misuse of public funds, were the root causes of many other problems. These failures, they argued, contributed to the dramatic rise in crime and a pervasive sense of insecurity in Wentworth and across the country. Participants cited several factors behind the rise in crime and violence in the community, including increasing poverty and high unemployment, particularly among young people, who have become involved in the sale of drugs and consequent drug-related gang wars. However, they attributed the general sense of insecurity to corrupt and incompetent police officers and a disinterested government.

Wentworth residents saw no improvement in their lives resulting from the efforts to promote inclusive economic growth since 1994. This was evident in pervasive unemployment and poverty, with limited business opportunities. The economic challenges were seen to be a major factor behind the consequent social ills, including general and drug-related crime, as well as widespread gender-based violence. Many of the residents felt that policies such as black economic empowerment had marginalised the coloured community. They pointed to the lack of housing developments in Wentworth, noting that no RDP houses had been built there since 1994, while many residents continued to live in overcrowded and dilapidated flats or as backyard tenants.

A Wentworth community clean-up near a flat complex. Photo: HSRC

Failing healthcare

Although most of the residents acknowledged the significantly improved access to healthcare, they raised concerns about the decline in service quality. Wentworth has a provincial hospital on one of its borders and a clinic in its centre, but both facilities were seen as failing the community. This was largely due to inadequate staffing, overcrowding, excessive waiting times, persistent medication shortages, the lack of staff and equipment to deal with the health issues affecting members of the community due to their proximity to polluting industries, and, in particular, the disdain they experienced from the staff at both facilities.

Overcrowded schools

Wentworth residents acknowledged that democracy had brought about increased access to education. While they had the right to study at any educational institution in the country and had increased access to funding for tertiary education, a host of challenges remained. They were concerned about the influx of schoolchildren from neighbouring black African communities to Wentworth schools. In addition, they mentioned overcrowded classrooms, rising violence in the schools, the declining quality of teachers at these schools, the decline in the quality of basic education due to the 30% pass mark and the policy of promoting failing learners.

Many also felt that Wentworth schools were underfunded because they were considered high-quintile institutions. In addition, they believed they had limited access to higher education institutions due to a perceived racial bias in university quotas and the allocation of NSFAS funding.

These factors, residents argued, significantly affected opportunities for the youth of Wentworth. Despite major improvements in education and employment opportunities for the youth nationally since 1994, Wentworth had seen a dramatic increase in youth unemployment, substance abuse and involvement in illicit activities. Many participants expressed disillusionment among grandparents, parents and young people about the future of the youth in the community.

The community providing entertainment to children living in flats in Wentworth. Photo: HSRC

Lack of recreation

Participants perceived a lack of support for sports, arts, culture and heritage in their community. They described a dramatic decline in these activities since 1994 and an absence of meaningful government support. Wentworth lacked adequate facilities for sports and the arts, leaving parents and community members to support young people who are interested in sports, arts and culture. School sports programmes in the area had virtually collapsed.

Grants

The participants acknowledged the significant increase in access to social protection since 1994, such as child support, social relief of distress grants and the provision of free water, electricity, healthcare and housing for indigent families. However, they were unanimous in their belief that these grants were inadequate and that the processes to access them were onerous. They drew attention to the lack of free housing and the difficulty many indigent families faced in accessing free water and electricity.

Better relations

Two areas where Wentworth residents saw substantial improvement since 1994 were gender equality and the relations between the different population groups. Opportunities for women had improved dramatically, though many believed the rise in gender-based violence was a consequence of gender equality in a community where many men were unemployed. Residents also noted increased mixing of the population groups through interracial marriages, settlement patterns, and social activities, such as sports. However, they pointed to an older generation that found it difficult to lose the racial prejudices fostered by apartheid and the impact of a deep sense of marginalisation as a coloured community during the democratic era on the persistence of such racial prejudices.

Conclusion

The Wentworth research for the Democracy@30 Project illustrates that much remains to be done in historically marginalised communities to achieve the promised ‘better life for all’. Participants suggested a range of solutions, including community-led initiatives in collaboration with religious, youth and women’s organisations, as well as measures that require action from government and local industries. The study illustrates that dealing with the many challenges in communities like Wentworth requires collaboration between the residents, the three spheres of government and the private sector. The starting point is to promote dialogue within these communities, followed by a dialogue with the other stakeholders.

Research contacts:

Dr Gregory Houston, a former HSRC chief research specialist and currently a research fellow at the University of the Free State (gregory61houston@gmail.com); Darian Smith, a PhD research intern at the HSRC (dsmith@hsrc.ac.za); and Theresa Saber (proudlysa@msn.com) and Maree Harold(mrs.mharold@gmail.com ), research assistants from the Wentworth community commissioned for the Democracy@30 Project