“Power concedes nothing without a demand; speaking truth to power is a necessary demand for justice and equality.” Frederick Douglass
Who holds trust into the future? Have we drifted too close to development ‘orthodoxy’ and too far from the communities we claim to represent? Is it too late to reclaim civil society’s essential role as watchdog and accountability monitor?
In any well-established democracy, civil society’s fundamental purpose isn’t to blindly support the State, but rather to hold it accountable for its shortcomings, to push it toward improvement, and to amplify the voices of those who live and work in the country the State serves.
A broad social compact that includes civil society cannot come at the expense of civil society’s independence or its watchdog function. To engage effectively with the State, civil society organizations must enter such agreements with a clear, shared position on accountability and distinct understanding of their role. Without this differentiation, it risks being co-opted under the banner of patriotic action or merely substituting for services the State or private sector is unwilling to provide.
Civil society, apart from social formations like sport, art, and religious groups perhaps, has a singular function – creating conditions under which power holders can be held accountable.
Current Challenges
As South Africa approaches a proposed National Dialogue, we must acknowledge some uncomfortable truths: formal civil society institutions have weakened, are increasingly co-opted as service delivery partners, and often display a remarkable lack of internal democracy. Despite the rhetoric of “movement building,” collective organizing has diminished. Consequently, the gap between civil society organizations and their source of power – the broader population, what some might call ‘a mass base’ – continues to widen, potentially reaching a point where reconciliation becomes impossible.
Organizing practices have deteriorated. Instead of listening and actively engaging with people, practitioners – convinced of their superior intellect, access, or learning – increasingly impose their worldview on others. Many refuse to engage in genuine debate or collaborative solution-building unless those solutions align with their predetermined agendas. Participatory practice has devolved into box-ticking exercises with little more integrity than corporate “consultations.”
Trapped in notions of expertise and ill-fitting ideas imported from the private sector – like “unique selling propositions” and obsessions with “scale” – civil society inadvertently perpetuates the status quo. We remain comfortable in this familiar world where we can maintain our relevance and power.
Trust from ordinary citizens is essential for civil society to fulfil its mission. Without an investment into building and maintaining this trust, the mandate of civil society becomes impossible to fulfil.
Time for Reflection
This moment demands deep reflection on our practices to address the growing dissonance we all experience in our change-making work: Are we fit for the future that is already upon us? Are we sufficiently accountable to our constituencies? Are we agile, responsive, and connected enough?
The answer to these questions may determine whether civil society can reclaim its vital role as an antagonist to the State – not in opposition for opposition’s sake, but as a necessary counterbalance ensuring power remains accountable to the people it serves.
By building new models of engagement that prioritize genuine participation, independence, and accountability, civil society can make obsolete the existing models that have allowed power to go unchecked. This isn’t merely about criticizing what exists, but about demonstrating through action what could and should be.
The threat of a good example remains our most powerful tool. When we model the accountability we demand from others, we create ripples that can transform entire systems. This is civil society’s highest calling – not as service provider or silent partner, but as the conscience of democracy itself.
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.” – R. Buckminster Fuller
Allan Moolman is a Director at dala! Consulting and works extensively with ACT Ubumbano
