Democracy is in crisis. Globally democracies have been backsliding, threatened by a rise in authoritarian leaders. From the US and France to Slovenia and Brazil, many countries are grappling with what it takes to make and keep democracies working. In Africa the crisis of democracy has been understood through the lens of rigged elections and coups d’état.

While these are clear threats to democracy, perhaps the greatest threats are countries like SA where we tick so many of the correct boxes for what makes a functional democracy but continue to have disastrous outcomes of poverty, unemployment, corruption and crime.

SA is lauded internationally for its constitution, admired on the Africa continent for our strong institutions, like an independent judiciary, and celebrated for credible elections and constitutional changes of government. This image has earned SA the lofty nickname of being “Africa’s democracy”.

As I travel the African continent and the world, I am often faced with questions about why South Africans are so angry. Why we protest and what more we want. In many parts of the continent, South Africans seem like spoilt children; ungrateful for the democracy we have, when so many activists and democracy defenders suffer under tyranny as they fight for the things we take for granted. I have been at pains to remind onlookers that not all that glitters is gold.

That while SA has a veneer of democratic excellence, the reality is that our democracy is not delivering on its promises. The substance, for the majority of people living in SA, is an experience of marginalisation, indignity, pain and powerlessness.

For millions of young people below the age of 30, the only SA they know is a democratic one. Yet, 70% of young people are unemployed, millions living in poverty and millions more without basic services. Most devastatingly, they have experienced up close inequality rising. If democracy only serves an elite few, is it even worthy of being called democracy at all?

A common refrain has become, “…maybe it was better under apartheid”. While I disagree with this sentiment, I am increasingly sympathetic to people who hold it. During apartheid, there is an explanation for the lack of dignity and development experienced by the majority. In a democracy that at face value ticks the boxes, what explains the poor quality of life so many suffer in SA?

It used to be enough to say that it is simply poor governance by the ruling party, but as democracy keeps rewarding parties that fail to govern with more power and even opposition parties that ascend to power do not deliver for all, the disillusionment is no longer with parties or politicians but with the tools of democracy they use to get power while not delivering development.

SA’s development and governance declines discredit democracy. Democracy without development and good governance is hollow at best and at worst is an advert for authoritarianism. It is thus unsurprising that an Afrobarometer study in 2020 found that “Six in 10 (62%) South Africans were willing to give up elections for a non-elected government that is able to provide jobs, housing, and security. Young people )67% of those aged 18-35 years) were the most willing to forego elections.”

Perhaps it is time to move beyond defending the appearance of democracy and hold ourselves and these democratic practices to a higher standard of delivering on its promises. To quote scripture, “to whom much is given, much is expected”.

SA has the resources, institutions, freedoms and international goodwill for democracy to work. If we continue to merely play “democracy, democracy” while failing to ensure that it delivers for all people, what hope will we leave behind for those, particularly in other parts of Africa, risking their very lives to attain the democracy we have?

Any of us who have benefited in any way from democracy have a responsibility not only to the millions of people in SA who the democratic era has failed, but also to the millions more looking forward to experiencing functional democracy, to make democracy work. To make democracy work better and to ensure that democracy works for all people.