OPINION: So where’s the freedom today?

“As long as many of our people still live in utter poverty, as long as children still live under plastic covers, as long as many of our people are still without jobs, no South African should rest and wallow in the joy of freedom.” – Nelson Mandela

Freedom Day is an annual celebration of South Africa’s first non-racial democratic elections of 1994. On 27 April, millions of South Africans stood in line to cast their vote, marking the end of the gruesome Apartheid regime – stamping out a white minority rule.

Millions of men and women put their lives on the line in the fight against Apartheid – a system that saw segregation and victimisation based on the colour of one’s skin. It would see many struggle and die for freedom on a social and economic front.

Yes, everybody is free, but it has more to do with equality and equal opportunities for all. Let us look at English philosopher Thomas Hobbes’ account of human nature to prove why we cannot trust our current government in power.

The principle of his philosophy is that ‘human beings are, at their core, selfish creatures.’ He said that life outside society would be ‘solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.’ He believed that society could not function without a powerful individual or parliament – that it could not function without laws. The ANC government has proved Hobbes’ account ironic because even with laws put in place people within the government still behave as if it does not apply to them. According to the Daily Maverick, the ANC has experienced 32 major scandals since 2011. Their selfish actions made our citizens’ desire for a liberal and more equal society far-fetched – this is what makes the memoir of the day less meaningful.

It’s survival of the fittest because our government does not value its people. According to the World Bank’s global poverty database, there is an alarming disparity between South Africa’s haves and have-nots.As per the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity group (PMBEJD) 30.4 million people living in South Africa exit below the poverty line. That is almost 56 percent of the country’s population. It’s important to understand that for us to experience true freedom, we need to make a better choice the next time we cast our votes.