A critical analysis of the South African government’s management and response to Covid-19 in the context of its constitutional commitments to its citizens based on the Social Contract Theory.

Abstract

Despite the South African Constitution having been promulgated to redress the injustices of the Apartheid regime by entrenching access to socio-economic rights, the government has failed in its responsibility to fulfil such rights. Such failings have been highlighted and heightened since the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 or Covid-19 where large portions of the South African population have been unable to comply with basic non-pharmaceutical measures. This is largely due to the inadequacies in access to water and sanitation, food and nutrition, healthcare and adequate forms of education. A syndemic approach to the fulfilment of socio-economic and other rights, as well as public health emergencies may avoid such shortfalls. This is due to the approach considering more than just the biological factors. A syndemic would also consider socioeconomic concerns, looking at sociobehavioural issues, the physical environment, socio-marginalisation issues and government policies The South African government should take their responsibility of realising socio-economic rights and other human rights as stipulated in the Constitution, seriously, and accordingly adequately respond to ongoing public health concerns such as the human immunodeficiency virus and tuberculosis epidemics and any future public health outbreaks.