The Emerging Covid-19 Pandemic in South Africa. The Pastoral Response of the Roman Catholic Church to its Socio-Economic Impact

Master's Thesis , 2022 , 147 Pages , Grade: 70%

Theology - Practical Theology

This study is an appraisal of the pastoral response of the Roman Catholic Church to the socio-economic impact of the emerging pandemic in South Africa. Central to this study is the contribution that African liberation theology offers, with particular emphasis on the philosophy of Ujamaa and the theology of Ubuntu, in strengthening the pastoral response of the Roman Catholic Church to the socio-economic impact of the emerging Covid-19 pandemic in the country.

The Covid-19 pandemic has created unprecedented socio-economic hardships globally. The austerities brought about by Covid-19 has affected all sectors of society. Religious, economic, and political sectors have felt the ordeal of the humanitarian crisis. The emergence of the pandemic in South Africa in March 2020 has had a huge socio-economic impact, mostly on the poor and the less privileged in society. The pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated pre-existing socio-economic inequalities in South Africa. These aggravated inequalities include corruption, unemployment, gender-based violence, and access to public healthcare.

The methodology of See-Judge-Act is used in the study. The ‘see’ corresponds to the critical analysis of the socio-economic context of the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa. Conceptually, ‘judge’ uses the guiding categories of the philosophy of Ujamaa and the theology of Ubuntu to thematically analyse various pastoral documents published by the Roman Catholic Church in South Africa in its response to the emerging pandemic during the period March 2020 – March 2021. The ‘act’ elaborates the potential socially transformative actions from the principles of Ujamaa and Ubuntu that would render more effective the pastoral response of the Roman Catholic Church to the socio-economic impact of the continuing Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

CHAPTER ONE
Introducing the Study
1.1. Background to the Study
1.2. Rationale of the Study
1.3. Theoretical Framework of the Study
1.4. Key Research Questions and Objectives of the Study
1.5. Research Methodology
1.6. Anticipated Problems, Limitations and Scope of Study
1.7. Structure of the Study

CHAPTER TWO
Emergence of the Covid-19 Pandemic and the Socio-economic Impact in South Africa
2.1. Introduction
2.2. The Global Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic
2.3. The Socio-economic Impact of the Emerging Covid-19 Pandemic in South Africa
2.4. Conclusion

CHAPTER THREE
An African Liberation Theological Reflection on Covid-19
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Contextual Background to African Liberation Theology
3.3. Biographies of Julius Nyerere and Desmond Tutu
3.4. Defining Ujamaa and Ubuntu
3.5. Ujamaa and Ubuntu as African Liberation Theologies
3.6. Conclusion

CHAPTER FOUR
The Response of the Roman Catholic Church in South Africa to the Emergence of Covid-19 and its Socio-economic Impact
4.1. Introduction
4.2. Roman Catholic Social Teaching on Responding to Human Need
4.3 The Establishment of Caritas Internationalis as the Catholic Development Agency
4.4. The Southern African Catholic Bishop’s Conference Response to the Emergence of Covid-19
4.5. Pastoral letters of Bishop Victor Phalana, Klerksdorp
4.6. Pastoral letter of Archbishop Buti Tlhagale, Johannesburg
4.7. Statements by the KwaZulu-Natal Christian Council - Cardinal Wilfred Napier
4.8. Pope Francis’ Encyclical Letter
4.9. Analysis of the Socio-economic Impact in the Pastoral Letters and Statements
4.10. Practical Response through Caritas South Africa
4.11. Conclusion

CHAPTER FIVE
An Analysis of the Response of the Roman Catholic Church to Covid-19 in Light of the Philosophy of Ujamaa and the Theology of Ubuntu
5.1. Introduction
5.2. The Response of the Roman Catholic Church to Covid-19 in Light of Ujamaa and Ubuntu
5.3. Socially Transformative Actions for a More Effective Pastoral Response of the Roman Catholic Church to the Covid-19 Pandemic
5.4. Conclusion

CHAPTER SIX
Concluding the Study
6.1. Summary of the Study
6.2. Recommendations

BIBLIOGRAPHY

APPENDICES
Appendix A: Exemption from Ethics Review
Appendix B: Pastoral Letter of Victor H. Phalana, 18 Mars 2020.
Appendix C: Pastoral Letter of Victor H. Phalana, 8 May 2020.
Appendix D: Pastoral Letter of Archbishop Buti Tlhagale, 10 May 2020.
Appendix E: Statement from the KwaZulu-Natal Christian Council, 16 April 2020.
Appendix F: Statement from the KwaZulu-Natal Christian Council, 16 February 2021.

ABSTRACT

The Covid-19 pandemic has created unprecedented socio-economic hardships globally. The austerities brought about by Covid-19 has affected all sectors of society. Religious, economic, and political sectors have felt the ordeal of the humanitarian crisis. The emergence of the pandemic in South Africa in March 2020 has had a huge socio-economic impact, mostly on the poor and the less privileged in society. The pandemic has highlighted and exacerbated pre-existing socio-economic inequalities in South Africa. These aggravated inequalities include corruption, unemployment, gender-based violence, and access to public healthcare. This study is an appraisal of the pastoral response of the Roman Catholic Church to the socio-economic impact of the emerging pandemic in South Africa. Central to this study is the contribution that African liberation theology offers, with particular emphasis on the philosophy of Ujamaa and the theology of Ubuntu, in strengthening the pastoral response of the Roman Catholic Church to the socio-economic impact of the emerging Covid-19 pandemic in the country. The methodology of See-Judge-Act is used in the study. The ‘see’ corresponds to the critical analysis of the socio-economic context of the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa. Conceptually, ‘judge’ uses the guiding categories of the philosophy of Ujamaa and the theology of Ubuntu to thematically analyse various pastoral documents published by the Roman Catholic Church in South Africa in its response to the emerging pandemic during the period March 2020 – March 2021. The ‘act’ elaborates the potential socially transformative actions from the principles of Ujamaa and Ubuntu that would render a more effective the pastoral response of the Roman Catholic Church to the socio-economic impact of the continuing Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My acknowledgement and heartfelt thanks for the completion of this study firstly go to Almighty God who, from the beginning, has always been my strength through constant love, provision of health, sustainability and support. I started this project in the heart of the challenges and uncertainties posed by the emerging Covid-19 pandemic. God has given me the grace to finish it. To God be glory and praise forever.

Secondly, I sincerely thank my supervisor, Prof Beverley Haddad who has given me constant support and motivation through her following encouraging words: “Gilbert, you are working hard; carry on …”. Thank you, Professor, for the trust and confidence you have shown in me even when sometimes I was feeling discouraged and tempted to give up. Your caring motivation, supervision, and constructive critique has driven me to work harder for the best. I have appreciated your insights, inspiration, and diligent academic guidance. You are my scholar mentor.

Thirdly, my sincere gratitude goes to all the members of Dehon International Formation House (Scholasticate) in Scottsville, South Africa, for their love, patience, encouragement and understanding especially when, occasionally, I could not attend some of the community activities due to the strain of the study. I thank the German Province of the Priests of the Scared of Jesus that granted sponsorship for this study through Rev. Father Horst Steppkes.

Fourthly, my profound gratitude goes to Solange, my junior sister, who never ceased to encourage me from the beginning of the journey in 2020 when I registered for the Honours Programme. I honour her by bringing this project to completion.

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

ATOR African Theology of Reconstruction

AUC-WGDD African Union Commission - Women, Gender and Development Directorate

CANs Community Action Networks

CCC Catholic Caritas Confederation

CDWS Colonial Development and Welfare Scheme

CI Caritas International

CoGTA Co-operative Government and Traditional Affairs

COVID-19 Corona Virus Disease – 2019

CTT Covid-19 Task Team

CTT Cape Town Together

CSA Caritas South Africa

DNSD Declaration of National State of Disaster

ECDC European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

GAA Group Areas Act

GBVF-NSP Gender-based Violence and Femicide National Strategic Plan

IA International Amnesty

ILO International Labour Organization

IMF International Monetary Fund

ITU International Telecommunication Union

KZNCC KwaZulu-Natal Christian Council

NACS National Anti-Corruption Strategy

NCCC National Covid-19 Command Council

NCCTT National Covid-19 Communication Task Team

NCDs Non-Communicable Diseases

NDP National Development Plan

NFSD National Framework for Sustainable Development

NICD National Institute for Communicable Diseases

OECD Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development

OHCHR Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

OXFAM Oxford Committee for Famine Relief

PCC President’s Coordinating Council

PCJP Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace

PPE Personal Protective Equipment

PTSD Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

RT-PCR Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction

SACBC Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference

SACBC-JPC Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference Justice and Peace Commission

SACC South African Council of Churches

SARS Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

SCIS Southern Centre for Inequality Studies

Stats SA Statistics South Africa

TAA Tanganyika African Association

TRC Truth and Reconciliation Commission

UN United Nations

UNCTD United Nations Conference on Trade Development

UNDP United Nations Development Programme

UNFPA United Nations Population Fund

UNODC United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

WCC World Council of Churches

WHO World Health Organization.

CHAPTER ONE Introducing the Study

1.1. Background to the Study

The Covid-19 pandemic has created unprecedented socio-economic hardship globally. This study is an appraisal of the pastoral response of the Roman Catholic Church in South Africa to the socio-economic impact of the emerging pandemic. The study is limited to the time period between March 2020 and February 2021, which focuses on the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic and its socio-economic impact. This is also a period during which the pastoral letters and statements of the Roman Catholic bishops in South Africa were issued. In order to analyse this response, the methodology of the Pastoral Circle of See-Judge-Act (Holland and Henriot 1981; Brackley 2006) will be used. Brackley (2006:241-242) proposes the See-Judge-Act methodology as an efficient pastoral approach to analyse a given social reality leading to an effective response. According to Brackley (2006:241-244), See-Judge-Act corresponds to different analytical steps that overlap and complement each other. To ‘see’ means to do social analysis through studying a concrete social reality including their causes; to ‘judge’ refers to an integrated social and theological of a given social reality and; to ‘act’ results in liberating and transformative actions that are aligned to an appropriate pastoral response.

In addition, central to this study is the contribution that African liberation theology offers, with particular emphasis on the philosophy of Ujamaa and the theology of Ubuntu, in strengthening the pastoral response of the Roman Catholic Church to the socio-economic impact of the emerging Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa. In this study, the ‘see’ will correspond to the critical analysis of the socio-economic context of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa. The ‘judge’ will be the using of the guiding categories of the philosophy of Ujamaa and the theology of Ubuntu to thematically analyse pastoral documents published by the Roman Catholic Church in South Africa in its response to the emergence of the pandemic. The ‘act’ will elaborate the potential socially transformative actions from the principles of Ujamaa and Ubuntu that would render more effective the pastoral response of the Roman Catholic Church to socio-economic impact of the emerging Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa.

This study is important because the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted corruption and socio-economic inequalities in South Africa (Paganini et al 2020:6-8; Strauss et al 2020:2). Too often, only a few people have benefited from the current health crisis to the detriment of poorer households. Allegations of corruption over the R500 billion Covid-19 relief package have been levied on some government officials (Medical Brief 2020:1-7). Prices of basic commodities have risen and weighed heavily on disadvantaged communities. Furthermore, the pandemic greatly limited relationships between people as a result of lockdown restrictions. In its early stage, the pandemic took a toll on the educational system with the closing down of schools at various levels (SACC 2020:3-4). Gender based violence and oppression against women and children has been on the rise partly due to early lockdown restrictions (Mittal & Singh 2020:3-5). At the time, President Cyril Ramaphosa (2020:6) suggested that gender-based violence was “another pandemic that is raging in our country – the killing of women and children by the men of our country”. Millions of women who work in the informal sector such as hairdressers and street vendors saw their businesses closed down. This consequently put them and their families in a destitute situation. Moreover, the fear of being infected by the virus and of dying as well as the extent of mortality from the virus left families and communities disheartened. It is also worth mentioning that access to healthcare system during the harsh lockdown became an ordeal for poor communities and people living with comorbidities (Mbunge 2020:1809-1814).

At the religious level, the Roman Catholic Church was not able to meet for the Eucharist and other liturgical celebrations due to the public health protocols put in place to curb the spread of the virus. This consequently limited regular contact between parishioners and the opportunity to provide pastoral care, even during bereavement and funerals. As in other sectors of society, the church’s preparedness and adaptation to the restricted situation of the pandemic was inadequate. The shift to digital space did not totally solved the problem because the aspect of human physical contact and interaction has been lacking. The aforementioned situation posed serious pastoral challenges to the Roman Catholic Church in South Africa.

From the time that President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the first lockdown to the time Pope Francis published the encyclical letter, Fratelli Tutti (on universal fraternity) (2020), there was a clear sign that the Roman Catholic Church was getting involved in addressing the Covid-19 pandemic. Pope Francis (2020: n.1) urged humanity in general and the Roman Catholic Church in particular to come together in a borderless fraternity and in solidarity in order to address the Covid-19 crisis. Pope Francis’s argument is a motivation for the Roman Catholic Church in South Africa to do a thorough social analysis in order to respond pastorally to the emergence of the socio-economic impact of the pandemic. In 2021, the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) (2021) issued a document in which it detailed the pastoral actions undertaken thus far. This response included relief services to people affected by the socio-economic impact of Covid-19 in various parishes and other church’s organisations. However, this study will argue that the Roman Catholic Church’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa requires a greater recognition communitarian and family approaches to pastoral care. It needs to find ways of encouraging solidarity with the poor as a way of overcoming the isolation and despair that people have continued to feel.

1.2. Rationale of the Study

A number of facts motivated this study at the early stage of the pandemic. When the first positive case of coronavirus was declared in South Africa on 5 March 2020, there was general anxiety. Knowing the impact of virus globally, people were generally gripped with fear and started asking what will happen to them as individuals and to the nation if the outbreak reach the level of other countries around the world such as Spain, Italy, France, United States of America, Brazil, just to mention a few. From 26 March to the end May 2020 (during the most severe lockdown in South Africa), I moved around the Pietermaritzburg City Business Centre and observed that most shops were shutdown, including hairdressing salons. I also noticed desperation in people who were self-employed such as street vendors and other shop owners who were not only unable to earn a living but were harassed by their landlords to pay their rent. Individuals and families, I knew were experiencing difficult times by not having food to eat and “stay-at-home fatigue”. As churches were completely shut and pastoral visits to people prohibited, there was no way one could offer pastoral assistance to distressed and bereaved families through counselling. My reading at the time confirmed what I was seeing and hearing. It was from there that I started thinking and exploring the response of the church to the socio-economic hardships of the emerging pandemic, especially in the South African context where the poor communities were the most affected. I realized that there was little obvious evidence concerning how the church was responding. This was the major reason I decided to explore the issue further.

1.3. Theoretical Framework of the Study

This study will draw on aspects of African liberation theology that chooses the preferential option for the poor and the oppressed (Kairos Document 1985; Frostin 1988). African liberation theology considers people’s experience of poverty and oppression as the source of theological reflection (Frostin 1988:6). Frostin (1988:89-94), a key theorist in this study, argues for the African philosophy of Julius Nyerere’s Ujamaa as liberation theology together with South African theologian, Desmond Tutu. While some scholars debate whether Tutu could be considered a “liberation theologian”, Tutu (1983 & 1999) is a pivotal African theologian who has emphasised that the African philosophy of Ubuntu is a useful theological category because it stresses solidarity with the poor through practising values such as caring, sharing, reciprocity, co-operation, compassion and empathy. Both these African philosophies imbed themes such as faith in God and human liberation from oppression, poverty, marginalisation and economic justice, which are crucial to Latin American liberation theology (Gutiérrez 1974: 34-36, 168-175).

For Frostin, Nyerere’s (1968) Ujamaa and Tutu’s (1983) Ubuntu contribute to an African liberation theology through four identified categories (Frostin 1988:49-50, 137-138). These four categories include first, life in community; second, conversion from mammon to God; third, wholeness of life; and fourth, economic self-reliance. In the first instance, the African liberation theological category of “life in community” is emphasised both in Nyerere’s Ujamaa and in Tutu’s Ubuntu. While Ujamaa is discussed as a community-oriented theology, which implies the participation of all in the life of the church and of the nation, Ubuntu is articulated by Tutu as the fundamental vocation of human beings to live together in hospitality and in caring for one another as family of God (Tutu 1999:264-265).

In the second instance, the conversion from “mammon to God” is highlighted in Ujamaa philosophy and in Ubuntu theology through a critique of capitalism. While Nyerere (1968:2) addresses capitalism as a doctrine of making money as an idol because it is valued over God and the dignity of human beings, Tutu (1999:264) assesses the apartheid system in South Africa as exploitive and against human dignity. A major concern of African liberation theology is to put God at the centre of the struggle for human dignity and human salvation. This is the metanoia (spiritual conversion / repentance), which is necessary for forgiveness and reconciliation (Frostin 1988:170). African liberation theologically critiques Western capitalism because of its exploitative and money centred nature.

The theology of the wholeness of life is highlighted in Ujamaa and in Ubuntu as “the source and purpose of human life” as created by God (Frostin 1988:137; Buthelezi 1968:29). This theological emphasis shows the fundamental difference between African theology and Western dualistic theology (Frostin1988: 49-50). As pointed out by Nyamiti (1978:58), Western theology is mostly drawn from the Aristotelean, Thomist and Cartesian dualistic conceptions of body-soul, individual-society, earthly-heavenly. However, for African theology the whole of the created order, including humanity, are bound together before God, their Creator (Frostin1988:138-139). In this perspective, Ela (2003:75-77) argues that God came to save the whole human person and that it is necessary to put an end to the theology of the salvation of souls which wants to lead souls to heaven as if the earth did not exist. Related to the wholeness of life is self-reliance.

Mukhungulu et al (2017:178) define self-reliance in the category of Ujamaa and Ubuntu as a person’s capacity to realise themselves, not only physically, materially and mentally but also morally, socially and emotionally. Self-reliance is achieved through change of attitude in order to be in tandem with the society’s motion of development. Nyerere (1968:104-105) maintains that Ujamaa was ujamaa na Kujitegemea (Ujamaa and Self-Reliance). As Pali (2019:279) argues, Tutu believed in the prophetic impulse of Ubuntu, which consists in transforming people socio-economic lives through helping them confront “the evil structures, the powers and principalities that oppress, exploit and wound all who are created in God’s image. This is further framed in Gutierrez’s (1974:109-111) conception of development and liberation that which he considers as expressions of people’s deepest aspiration for freedom from a situation of dependence and “neo-colonial capitalism”. An accomplished self-reliance is “the sine-qua-non condition [for] freedom from economic and cultural dependencies on other people [as well as] equal cooperation with other nations” (Mukhungulu et al 2017:180).

An African theology of liberation is useful in responding pastorally to the socio-economic impact of the emerging Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa because it is not only siding with the poor and the oppressed, but also working towards eliminating poverty, inequalities and marginalisation. It is also about involving the poor and the oppressed in the fight against injustices of which they are victims.

1.4. Key Research Questions and Objectives of the Study

This study is anchored on the key research question: How can the African philosophy of Ujamaa and the theology of Ubuntu guide the Roman Catholic Church in South Africa to pastorally respond more effectively to the emergence of the socio-economic impact of Covid-19?

In order to answer this key question, the following research sub-questions are considered to guide the study:

-What are the structural factors that have exacerbated the emergence of the socio- economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa?
-What are the guiding principles from the philosophy of Ujamaa and the theology of Ubuntu that could be used to strengthen the pastoral response of the Roman Catholic Church in South Africa to the emergence of the socio-economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic?
-In light of these principles, what socially transformative actions could be developed by the Roman Catholic Church in order to offer a more effective pastoral response to the emergence of the socio-economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa?

From these research questions, the following objectives of the study have been formulated:

-To analyse the structural factors that have exacerbated the emergence of the socio-economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa.
-To understand the guiding principles found in the philosophy of Ujamaa and the theology of Ubuntu that can strengthen the pastoral response of the Roman Catholic Church to the emergence of the socio-economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa.
-To develop socially transformative actions from these principles that would enable a more effective pastoral response by the Roman Catholic Church to the emergence of the socio-economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa.

1.5. Research Methodology

This study is a qualitative non-empirical study. According to Hancock et al (2009:6), a qualitative study seeks to systematically answer research questions by focusing on description and interpretation of concepts or theories that have already been theorised. Non-empirical research, is defined by Viorela (2017:4) as that which is based on “reflection, personal observation, and authority/experience [that] are just as valuable for knowledge acquisition as empirical data”.

To achieve the study objectives, a research methodology of document analysis will be employed. According to Gross (2018:546), “Document analysis is a form of qualitative research that uses a systematic procedure to analyse documentary evidence and answer specific research questions”. Bryman (2012:542) considers documents as sources of data or “sources that have been or can be used in qualitative research”. The choice of the document analysis research methodology is motivated by the range of advantages it displays for this study. As Bowen (2009:31-32) points out, these advantages include the availability of documents that are easily found in the public domain on the worldwide web.

In assessing the pastoral response of the Roman Catholic Church to the emergence of the socio-economic impact of Covid-19 in South Africa, a number of pastoral documents will be analysed. First, the pastoral letters from two bishops of SACBC, Bishop Victor Hlolo Phalana of the diocese of Klerksdorp and Archbishop Tlhagale of the Archdiocese of Johannesburg. These two bishops were some of the first to respond to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa. Second, the KwaZulu-Natal Council of Churches (KZNCC) statement signed by Cardinal Wilfred Napier in his capacity as chairperson of this ecumenical network. Third, Pope Francis’ encyclical letter, Fratelli Tutti that was disseminated in South Africa in the context of Covid-19.

In undertaking this document analysis, each of these four categories of documents will be dealt with in turn, using the method of thematic analysis. Bryman (2012:579) describes the process of thematic analysis as the search for themes through “an activity that can be discerned in most approaches to qualitative data analysis”. In undertaking the document analysis in this study, I have “closely examine[d] the data to identify common themes –topics, ideas and patterns of meaning that come up repeatedly” (Caulfield 2020:3). I began by first familiarising myself with the text of each document; second, I proceeded to code the documents thematically using different coloured highlighters; third, I wrote up my analysis while cross-referencing the themes in the different sets of documents so as to be able to discuss each of their strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, while carrying out the thematic analysis, I used the inductive approach, which “involves allowing the data to determine (my) themes” (Caulfield 2020:6). It should be noted that the inductive approach is different from the deductive approach, which implies coming to data with already preconceived themes that are expected to be found, grounded on theory, or on existing knowledge.

In addition to this document analysis, this study used additional secondary data. Bryan (2012:312) defines secondary data as that which is analysed “by researchers who will probably not have been involved in the collection of those data, for purposes that in all likelihood were not envisaged by those responsible for the data collection”. Gross (2018:547) relays Bryan’s definition by considering secondary data as academic material that is published for the purpose of sharing interpretation with a wider audience. In order words, the secondary data are those that have been gathered and even analysed for a purpose somehow different from that of the second researcher. The collection of data will be guided by the key research question and sub-questions. These secondary data include sources such as books, journal articles, academic theses and dissertations that are available in libraries and on electronic databases.

1.6. Anticipated Problems, Limitations and Scope of Study

The scope of the study is limited to the time-frame of March 2020 to February 2021. This one year period deals explicitly with the emergence of the socio-economic impact of Covid-19 in South Africa.

The focus of the study is on the emergence of the socio-economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic due to the constraints of the dissertation. It does not deal with the issue of vaccines as these were not available during the time period of the study.

The Pastoral response to the Covid-19 pandemic also has individual dimensions such as dealing with distress, loss and bereavement. This study is however, specifically limited to the structural inequality that the pandemic has highlighted.

Furthermore, the scope of this study is limited to five documents that South African Catholic bishops made publicly and were available online. Any form of field work or visits to diocesan offices were not possible given that the research was carried out in the first year of the pandemic during which there were substantial lockdowns. There may well have been other statements issued by Roman Catholic leadership but they were not readily available. This means that the study cannot purport to assess the full extent of the pastoral response of the Roman Catholic Church in South Africa to the emergence of Covid-19.

Furthermore, the study is not addressing the impact of the statements, as important as this is, but rather is only focusing on an analysis of the engagement with the socio-economic impact of the pandemic due to the constraints of this study.

In addition, the study does not investigate the pastoral actions of the Roman Catholic Church in countries such as Botswana and eSwatini, which are part of the SACBC.

1.7. Structure of the Study

Chapter Two

The second chapter discusses the global emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic. It particularly focuses on the context and emergence of the pandemic in South Africa and explores the socio-economic impact. It also discusses how the pandemic has exacerbated socio-economic inequalities in South Africa.

Chapter Three

The third chapter offers a critical theological reflection on African liberation theology. Special emphasis is placed on Julius Nyerere’s philosophy of Ujamaa and Desmond Tutu’s theology of Ubuntu. It also seeks to show how these two aspects of African liberation theology intersect and offer a theoretical framework for the study.

Chapter Four

The fourth chapter focuses on a critical thematic analysis of some pastoral statements of the Roman Catholic Church to the socio-economic impact in the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa. The Ujamaa and Ubuntu categories of “community life”, of “conversion from mammon to God”, of “fullness of life”, and of “self-reliance” are used as a theoretical lens to critically analyse salient themes in the pastoral documents under discussion.

Chapter Five

The fifth chapter deals with socially transformative actions from the guiding principles of the philosophy of Ujamaa and the theology of Ubuntu that would enable a more effective pastoral response by the Roman Catholic Church to the socio-economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa.

Chapter Six

The sixth chapter concludes the study and makes recommendations for future research.

CHAPTER TWO Emergence of the Covid-19 Pandemic and the Socio-economic Impact in South Africa

2.1. Introduction

The previous chapter introduced the study outlining the background, theoretical framework, key research question, objectives, and the research methodology. This chapter focuses on the context of the Covid-19 pandemic globally and particularly in South Africa. It further explores the socio-economic dimensions of the emergence of the pandemic and the exacerbation of the existing inequalities in the country.

Covid-19 is a disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus (Shereen et al 2020:91). It is a compilation of the following acronyms ‘Co’, which stands for corona, ‘Vi’ for virus, ‘D’ for disease and ‘19’ which are the last two digits stands for the year in which the virus or the disease appeared. Chhikara et al (2020:64) and Buhle Mpofu (2021:1) thus hold that this new virus can also be called “coronavirus disease 2019” or Covid-19. This virus, as documented, first appeared in the city of Wuhan in China on 17 November 2019 (WHO 2020:2; Kumar et al 2020:8, 10). At this time, there was not yet any scientific definition of the virus. Over the course of time, epidemiologists referred to the virus using keywords such as “2019-nCoV”, COVID-19, and the “novel coronavirus-infected pneumonia” (Tsang et al 2020:290). In the early stage of the pandemic, scientists in the medical field attempted to give a specific name to the virus. They first gave it the name “corona virus (CoV)” to mean one of the viruses of the Orthocoronavirinae subfamily or simply “corona (crown) virus” due to the appearance of series of crown-like spikes on its surface under an electronic microscope (Chhikara et al 2020:64). These crown-like spikes “are responsible for the attachment and entry of the virus into human cells” (Shereen et al 2020:93). On 7 January 2020 it was given the temporary scientific name of “corona virus 19” (2019-nCoV) (Chhikara et al (2020:63-64)).

Most Covid-19 patients “met clinical criteria and had radiological evidence of pneumonia with or without a certain epidemiological links but did not need to have a virological confirmation of infection” (Tsang et al 2020:292-293). This implies that in the first phase of the appearance of the virus, there was no distinction between suspected and confirmed cases and it was considered and treated as simple pneumonia. This may be one of the reasons for the rapid spread of the virus, first in Asia, and then to the rest of the world (Chhikara et al 2020:63). The incubation period of Covid-19 was evidenced by scientists to be 4 to 5 days. The diagnostic of Covid-19 is now demonstrated to be more reliable with real time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) which is a technique for rapidly producing copies of a fragment of DNA for diagnostic or research purposes (Velavan et al 2021:279).

When the virus that is known today as Covid-19 first appeared in November 2019, specialists in respiratory diseases classified it in the category of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). From December 2019, epidemiologists then established it as “a highly transmittable and pathogenic viral infection caused by SARS type 2 (SARS-CoV-2)” (Shereen et al 2020:91; Velavan et al 2021:279). It is worth noting that SARS-CoV-2 is the name of the virus while the disease itself is called Covid-19. This classification was informed by history that identified SARS Type 1 (SARS-Cov-1) from 2002-2004 that was transmitted from bats to humans who in turn infected other humans (WHO 2020:3).

Coronavirus is known to be an airborne infectious disease. Current research indicates that the primary mode of transmission of COVID-19 is through direct contact with respiratory droplets that are projected at distances of between 1-2 metres (Delikhoon et al 2021:2-3). Research further demonstrates that many infections occur within households in circumstances where physical distancing is not possible, and that secondary infection rate is 10 times higher in households than in situations of occasional contact. In a nutshell, Covid-19 transmission occurs through three main trajectories (Delikhoon et al 2021:10-11 and WHO 2021:9): (1) contaminated material where the virus is transmitted through objects contaminated by microorganisms that become vectors; (2) airborne transmission through the inhaling aerosols that remain suspended for a long period of time or carried by air currents over long but undetermined distances; (3) enclosed interior spaces that are crowded or insufficiently ventilated spaces in which infected people (symptomatic or asymptomatic) stay in the presence of other people for a certain period of time. These indoor spaces include restaurants, choir sessions, fitness classes, nightclubs, offices and venues of worship. In the early stage of the pandemic, the incubation time of Covid-19 was thought to be anytime from 2 to 14 days. Later scientific research has shown that this incubation period is probably between 2 to 10 days. Within this period, infected persons who are not displaying symptoms and are unaware of their infection are nevertheless active carriers for transmission to others (Delikhoon et al 2021:2-4). Clinical symptoms of Covid-19 include acute or mild respiratory distress, loss of taste and smell, cough, runny nose, sore throat, dizziness, and fever with an increase in body temperature mostly in the night among others (WHO 2021:36-41).

Covid-19 health protocols provided by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC 2020: 4, 8-9) in collaboration with the World Health Organisation (WHO) set guidelines for protection of oneself and others include the following: (1) frequent washing of hands with water and soap or using alcohol based hand-sanitizer; (2) social distancing of at least 1.5 metres between oneself and other people; (3) avoiding touching eyes, nose and mouth; (4) wearing a face mask that covers one’s mouth and nose, especially when in the public place; (5) keeping places of gathering well ventilated; (6) following respiratory hygiene (covering your mouth and nose with your folded elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze, then disposing of the used tissue immediately); (7) seeking medical care early if one has a fever, cough and breathing difficulty; and (8) to stay informed and follow advice given by one’s health care provider, national and local public health authorities or employer on how to protect oneself and others from Covid-19.

While the world was dominated in 2020 by the scientific and medical communities as well as national governments trying to understand the Covid-19 pandemic and find a vaccine, in 2021 the year was characterised by the ongoing crisis of severe illness and deaths as well as the beginning of the global vaccine roll-out. The global scientific efforts to study the virus and to develop various vaccines that offer protection against severe illness and death deserve to be lauded. However, the concern related to the fair and equitable distribution of vaccines in the global community has been a concern, where developing nations struggled to access supply. From the early development of Covid-19 vaccine trials, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC 2020:3-7) worried about risks of corruption in vaccines procurement and policy, weak or non-existent distribution systems of vaccines, falsified vaccines, as well as nepotism / favouritism in terms of access to vaccines. It goes further to set short and long-term watchdog measures aim at mitigating the abovementioned risks. Short term measures include, the creation of specialized committee to oversee emergency funds and vaccine deployment; transparent and accountable vaccine procurement; transparent criteria for priority vaccine recipients and public information about vaccine programmes; secure storage and distribution systems to mitigate corruption risks; encouragement and strengthening of civil society participation; and protection of journalists and whistle-blowers (UNDOC 2020:7-11). Long term measures include, the strengthening of anti-corruption laws and policies; comprehensive auditing, oversight, accountability and reporting mechanisms to monitor the disbursement process and verify appropriate receipt; the identification and protection of vulnerable individuals and communities (UNDOC 2020:11-12).

Despite these measures, it increasingly became clear that vaccines reached nations of the world, far quicker than in the developing world. The first shots in the United Kingdom were on 4 January 2021 of the AstraZeneca vaccine. The first shots of the Pfizer and BioNTech vaccines were administered in the United States of America on 8 January, 2021 as reported by American Journal of Managed Care (AJMC 2021:1). By 8 April 2021, it was established that less than 2% of the world’s 690 million COVID-19 vaccines had been administered in Africa (WHO-Africa 2021:1). This clearly indicates that Africa remained one of the world’s most disadvantaged continents when it comes to the distribution of vaccines against the Covid-19 pandemic (WHO-Africa 2021:1). This is why, addressing the World Health Assembly on 24 May 2021, President Cyril Ramaphosa called on world leaders to urgently address the huge divide in the provision of vaccines (SA News 2021).

Having described the Covid-19 pandemic, its origins, its mode of transmission, and the health protocols needed to curtail the global pandemic, the global impact of the pandemic will be discussed in the next section.

2.2. The Global Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Covid-19 has caused acute humanitarian distress globally. The Director-General of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, declared Covid-19 a global pandemic on 11 March 2020 (WHO 2020b:1). The outbreak of the novel coronavirus infected seventy thousand individuals and killed more than eighteen hundred within the first fifty days of the pandemic in China and other countries in Asia. Towards the end of 2020, the WHO established that the most vulnerable to Covid-19 infection are people of advanced age (over 60years old), cigarette smokers, and people living with underlying non-communicable diseases (NCDs) such as diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, chronic lung disease and cancer. Those with these underlying comorbidities are described as being at high risk for severe disease and death (WHO 2020b:2-4). When the declaration of Covid-19 as a pandemic by the WHO occurred, a considerable number of countries were already being affected by the disease. This included 20 in Asia, 11 in Africa, 15 in the Americas, 11 in the Eastern Mediterranean region, and almost all European countries with Italy, Spain and Iran being the most affected in terms of human fatalities (WHO 2020b:3-6). The mutation of the virus into different variants involving genetic changes in the spike protein has added to the complications in managing this global pandemic. Initially the mutating variants also impacted the development of vaccines. By the end of 2020, three SARS-CoV-2 new variants were detected in three different countries: Denmark (September), United Kingdom and South Africa (December), Brazil, Japan and Nigeria (December) (WHO 2020b:9). The variants presented changes in transmissibility and clinical severity.

In some countries at this time, there was considerable distress in the health infrastructure such as hospitals with a shortage of beds, oxygen, and even spaces in mortuaries, cemeteries and crematoria. As the Oxford Committee for Famine Relief (Oxfam) indicated, health and other essential workers (overwhelmingly women and people of colour) in most of developing countries experienced the distress of overworking, being underpaid and undervalued, and often not sufficiently protected in the midst of the deadly pandemic (Oxfam 2021:3).

The psychological trauma as a result of the pandemic has been considerable. Maughan-Brown et al (2021:6, 9) argue that it has been more than two years since the global community have had a “normal” day in which there is no mask wearing, social distancing, and hand-sanitising as well as checking the media for reports about the number of infections, the number of recoveries, and of deaths. The first twelve months of the pandemic were the most trying, but the pandemic is ubiquitous and continues to take its toll on the mental and psychological health of communities. Daily life was severely hampered by endless lockdowns, infection with Covid-19 and subsequent quarantine periods, deaths in the family, anxiety and depression, and many have developed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Alshehri et al 2020:2-3).

Adding to this psychological distress is the socio-economic impact, which has been the concern of many humanitarian organisations around the globe. Global unemployment rates have skyrocketed (Alshehri et al 2020:2). The Covid-19 pandemic has exposed inequalities and injustices at different levels highlighted in the extent of socio-economic distress experienced unequally within nations and across nations. As the United Nations Conference on Trade Development (UNCTD 2020:8) emphasised,

Millions of jobs have already been lost, millions of livelihoods are at risk, and an estimated additional 130 million people will be living in extreme poverty if the crisis persists. These grim ­figures reflect the immense challenges and human suffering caused by this pandemic.

The Covid-19’s social and economic upheavals have been of concern to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as indicated in a study by Oxfam (2021:8). Many countries across the globe, particularly small island nations that are heavily dependent on tourism, have faced empty hotels and deserted beaches. Global trade has been severely affected by the isolation measures adopted by most countries of the world, causing the prices of several export products such as petroleum, minerals and some agricultural products to fall sharply (UNCTD 2020:12-17). The World Bank projected a drop of $ 110 billion in remittances in 2021, which would mean that 800 million people would not be able to meet their basic needs (UNDP 2020:3-5). Millions of people were pushed to the brink of poverty and destitution (Oxfam 2021:7). The paradox, however, is that the pandemic has created new billionaires on the sweat of the poor. It took only nine months for 1000 billionaires to recover their fortunes formerly hit by the early days of Covid-19 while “the world’s poorest people recovery could take 14 times longer, more than a decade” (Oxfam 2021:6-8). This situation has widened the already existing gap between the rich and the poor (Mbandiwa 2020:9). As the Oxfam report points out, the “inequalities and injustices are obviously not new, they are based on the patriarchal racism that is the foundation of world capitalism, which for decades exploited, expropriated, and claimed lives (Oxfam 2021:4). Mbandiwa (2020:8) argues that more than 1.6 billion workers around the globe are in vulnerable state while living in the fear of the unknown. According to him,

The mitigation plans to save the global economy have not assisted the vulnerable and poor people. Lack of proper infrastructure for poor people makes it difficult to stop the spread of the pandemic. More than 1 billion slum dwellers globally are at risk from the effects of the pandemic because of the lack of adequate housing, running water, shared toilets, and overcrowding (Mbandiwa 2020:9).

Another social distress of Covid-19 has been felt at the educational level. As reported by the United Nations (UN) (2020:5-6), the pandemic crisis has exacerbated the existing educational disparities. A large number of children including the most vulnerable young people and adults (inhabitants of poor or rural communities, girls, refugees, people with disabilities and the displaced) were placed at risk of not returning to school. The same report further points out that lost learning time experienced by the current generation could wipe out decades of progress made in the education sector, especially with regard to the access of girls and young women to education (UN 2020:8-9). Another report by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (2021:23) suggests that some 23.8 million children and young people from preschool to tertiary could also drop out of school or be deprived of access to education between 2021 and 2022 due to the economic impact of the pandemic. UNESCO further reports that 72.9% of 1.25 billion learners enrolled worldwide in various educational institutions have been seriously affected by the Covid-19 pandemic with lockdowns and school closures (UNESCO 2021:24). The concern is mostly directed towards schools in developing countries. These schools are overcrowded, the need to practice social distancing is unrealistic, and both government and private bodies were unable to provide online teaching and learning with the additional costs that this entailed (Mbamdiwa 2020:9-10).

A further social impact of the pandemic has been on churches and other religious organisations around the world. Mpofu (2021:1-2) argues that religious believers around the world have been deprived of religious activities since the declaration of Covid-19 as a pandemic. The measures to contain the spread of the virus and the various levels of lockdowns have meant that religious communities did not meet physically on a regular basis. Yet, for most religious communities, meeting to worship and pray together is fundamental to their belief and spiritual well-being. As Pillay (2020:267) contends that in the early stage of the pandemic, All religious gatherings were banned. Holy Week, Easter and Pentecost could not be celebrated in the churches. Initially there was huge resistance, since for congregating to pray, to worship and celebrate is an integral part of the Christian faith.

Faced with this situation, communities had to adapt their religious practices by migrating mainly to the online space (Gauxachs et al 2021:3). These communities had to adapt and reflect on new ways of “being a missional church and to continue with pastoral ministry without exposing members to infections through face-to-face meetings” (Mpofu 2021:2-3). As a result, both leaders and members of religious communities have initiated new and creative social media networks to generate content applicable to their congregants. Pillay (2020:268) advocates that electronic platforms have the advantage of providing “an opportunity for Christians to be exposed to other forms of worship, liturgical practices and preaching than they are usually accustomed to”. Videos, podcasts, WhatsApp groups, Facebook, YouTube and other online electronic platforms had to become the preferred channels for developing a sense of “community” and for communication (Afolaranmi 2020:17-18; Pillay 2020:268). This alternative virtual platform has been a means of connecting with one another in order to provide ministerial services such as sermons, psychological and pastoral counselling, Eucharistic celebrations and other forms of prayer (Gauxachs et al 2021:2-4). Social media platforms have helped believers to continue to have the sense of community by communing with each other in order to withstand the predicaments of the pandemic. As Notebaart (2021:302) asserts, The virtual community arises from a fundamental understanding of community itself. Church leadership nurtures it beyond merely supplying information or religious programing: they use its tools to involve the whole person and give people a way to understand their dilemma in the context of faith.

However, it should be decried that little attention has been paid to the fact that the poor and marginalised have been left out in the new forms of digital pastoral ministry. Mehra et al (2004:795) posit that there is a need for greater integration of the internet into everyday life and practice of marginalised members of society (the low and/or no income) in Africa to empower these communities spiritually as well as materially. While advocating that mobile broadband coverage to rural and remote areas must play a key role in poverty reduction, the World Bank (2020:5-7) is working for policies that address inequalities in access to internet connectivity by gender, age disparity, education and people with or without disabilities. Given the above, it is clear that the virtual mode of operation has disadvantaged a portion of religious communities in less technologically advanced countries or areas that do not have access to a smart phone, computer or internet connection due to socio-economic circumstances. Elderly and unemployed people and some rural dwellers have not been able to access the spiritual services offered by their pastors through social media.

Having explored the humanitarian impact of Covid-19 with special focus on its socio-economic and religious effects globally, the next section will evaluate the management and impact of the pandemic in South Africa.

2.3. The Socio-economic Impact of the Emerging Covid-19 Pandemic in South Africa

The South African Government has been grappling with the reality of Covid-19 since the first case was announced in the country. On 5 March 2020, the National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) confirmed to the nation that a person tested positive for COVID-19 in South Africa (NICD 2020:1). From then on, a series of measures to curtail the pandemic were implemented. On 14 March 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the Declaration of National State of Disaster (DNSD), which was gazetted by Department of Co-operative Government and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) on 15 March 2020. On 17 March 2020, the National Coronavirus Command Council (NCCC) was established with its main objective “to lead the nation’s plan to contain the spread and mitigate the negative impact of the coronavirus” (Blecher 2020:2). President Cyril Ramaphosa also set up the President’s Coordinating Council (PCC). On 26 March 2020, the government initiated a national Level 5 lockdown which was relaxed to level 4 on 1 May and to level 3 on 1 June 2020 (Pillai et al 2020:1; Schröder et al 2021:2-5). During Levels 5, 4 and 3 lockdowns, the prohibition of alcohol and cigarette sales was introduced as well as other non-pharmaceutical health protocols such as the wearing of a facemask in public, social distancing, hand sanitizing or washing with water and soap. These measures aimed not only at minimizing intoxication and trauma cases in hospitals to prevent the health system from collapsing, but also to curb the spread of the deadly virus (Mbandiwa 2020:11-12). The restrictions were lowered to alert level 2 on 17 August 2020 and to alert level 1 from 21 September 2020. During this period, the National Covid-19 Communication Task Team (NCCTT) worked relentlessly “to ensure that accurate and timely information is passed to the population” (Blecher 2020:2). Various levels of lockdowns continued to be re-introduced through the different waves of infection in 2021.

Despite these efforts, criticism has been levelled against the government with political opposition parties and others denouncing the lack of proper preparedness for the pandemic. As Mbandiwa (2020:6-7) argues, the pandemic has exposed the country’s lack of readiness to equip workers with digital gadgets and good internet connection which could enable them to work efficiently from home. This has resulted in unnecessarily backlogs and delay in service delivery, particularly in the early stages of the pandemic. The country’s deficiency in Information Communication Technology (ICT) has also impacted the educational sector whereby not all learners were able to access online classes. Mbandiwa (2020:9-10) further states that, “Only private schools were able to offer online teaching and sometimes used different social media networks. The main aim of most private schools to teach online was to save the academic year”.

During Level 5 lockdown,

Strict regulations included restriction of population mobility and interaction, international and domestic travel restrictions, restriction of commercial and business activity, cancellation of events and gatherings, and closure of schools and universities. Essential services such as security, health and food distribution were permitted (Pillai et al 2020:2).

Pillai et al (2020:2) further assert that “by 1 July 2020, 159 333 cases of COVID-19 had been reported in South Africa”.

The government and nationwide efforts to respond to Covid-19 and thus mitigate its spread have been considerable. The healthcare system in South Africa has generally enabled the country to respond to the pandemic. As Schröder et al (2021:2) points out,

South Africa offers a comparatively high capacity of intensive care units (ICUs) to respond to outbreaks, with estimates ranging from maximally 7195 ICU beds theoretically in existence to 2926 practically available nationwide across both public and private sectors.

However, it is important to note that the country’s health system was overwhelmed during the second and the third waves of the pandemic when more than 16 000 daily cases were reported (NICD 2021:1).

South Africa made progress in its efforts to acquire and administer vaccines against Covid-19. The first doses of vaccines arrived in the country on 1 February 2021 and the national Covid-19 vaccination programme was rolled out on 17 February 2021.

The impact of Covid-19 in South Africa has been asymmetric at various levels (Nwosu & Oyenubi 2021:4-5). The apartheid history laid the ground for much socio-economic distress in the country and Mphambukeli (2019:3-4) argues that a partheid is an abstract term which implies “racial separation,” “segregation,” or “discrimination” with a “more rigorous system of segregation which accelerated the racial polarization of the country”. As Mphambukeli (2019:2-3) points out, apartheid “was a system of oppression that predominantly produced race and class inequalities in South Africa, mainly from 1948 to 1993”. Significantly,

In its classic form, apartheid excluded the vast majority of the black population from the benefits of capitalist growth. Traditionally, this majority could not benefit from the ‘normal’ social, educational and health services available only to the white minority. The reminiscence of apartheid shows that even today, poverty remains with the vast majority of the black population. The white minority, for instance, owns eighty-seven percent of the country’s land (Beaudet 1991:8-9).

One of the effects of inequality is the unfair distribution of wealth. Crook (2013:271) describes such distribution as a complex problem in the sense that it does not only concern inequality in income (where many people are rarely remunerated based on what they deserve). The unfair distribution of wealth goes beyond the matter of wages; it also entails the accumulation of immense wealth by a relatively small number of South Africans and legal entities. Therefore, wealthy people ipso facto are inclined to control the lives of others, especially the poor and the marginalised (Crook 2013:271). This situation can lead to the oppression and exploitation of the masses and the impoverishment of many.

Socio-economic inequalities are observable while touring shantytowns in South Africa. The growing economic gap between various social groups in South Africa is phenomenal. From the perspective of the economy, poverty can be understood as a situation of material deprivation or lack of money/means to lead a decent life. As Swanepoel and De Beer (2007:1) and Odekon (2006:260) observe, in South Africa not all people are economically poor to the same degree. The level of poverty varies between individuals, communities, social and cultural groups. In this regard, poverty can be classified as absolute or relative (Swanepoel and De Beer 2007:2-3). The former describes poverty in terms of basic needs such as food, clothing, and housing (Odekon 2006:261), while the later refers to people whose basic needs are met, but they are still experiencing disadvantages as compared to other people or groups of people (Swanepoel and De Beer 2007:3). The former (no food, clothing, or housing) does exist in South Africa but sporadically, the latter is becoming the most common every day. In his inaugural speech in May 25, 2019, Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa (the newly elected South African President) gave an overview of the socio-economic landscape of the country:

Many South Africans still go to bed hungry; many succumb to diseases that can be treated, many live in an intolerable deprivation. Too many of our people do not work, especially the youth. In recent times, our people have watched as some of those in whom they had invested their trust have surrendered to the temptation of power and riches. They have seen some of the very institutions of our democracy eroded and resources squandered (Ramaphosa 2019).

From this excerpt of President Ramaphosa’s speech, it follows that the country cannot be free as long as so many of its citizens are still living in abject poverty, do not have enough food to eat, have no roof worthy of that name, do not have access to quality health services and education, and cannot afford to earn a living.

The pandemic has created another “socio-economic apartheid” (Mphambukeli 2019:5), which needs to be carefully and constantly addressed. Structural inequalities have been accentuated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Despite relief measures announced by the government, many businesses were financially stranded during the strict lockdown and confinement from 26 March to 1 June 2020. On 21 April 2020, R500 billion was announced by the President of the Republic as stimulus packet in response to Covid-19 (Lameez & Magubane 2020:6). Near the beginning of the pandemic, the Solidarity Fund was established by the government with contributions from the public and private sector that eased some financial burden faced by the government (Blecher 2020:3). When the lockdowns were eased and downgraded to Levels 4 and 3, many businesses were allowed to resume their operations with well-defined health protocols. As highlighted by Francis et al (2020: 342-343, 345-346), social and economic restrictions implemented in the country by the Covid-19 National Command Council (CNCC) in an attempt to mitigate the spread of the virus have exacerbated the already existing socio-economic inequalities. These inequalities mainly affect certain key sectors of society with greater impact on the poor: children, elderly people, women, and people living with disabilities, migrants, and refugees (Mbandiwa 2020:8-9).

Covid-19 has had a major impact on the employment sector in South Africa. This sector was already suffering following the global financial recession of 2019. Studies show that 1.6 million jobs were lost in the country in 2020 and, like in other countries of the world, it would still take many years for the nation to recover and set itself on a good footing in terms of employment (Mbandiwa 2020:5). According to 2020 government statistics highlighted by Caritas, a department of the South African Bishops Conference (SACBC), “more than 3 million people in South Africa have lost their jobs” (SACBC 2020:12). While this pandemic has affected all South Africans, the poor are disproportionately affected and the aftermath is even going to be more worrying with rising unemployment rate from 27.6% in 2019 to 35.3% in 2021 (Stats SA 2021:3), and many businesses have closed. The early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic took a heavy toll on individuals, families, and communities. Some companies had to close their businesses completely or had to reduce the number of employees that placed thousands of people and households out of work. People who were self-employed have also been affected because lockdowns reduced their number of hours to be spent at work physically as a result of only certain businesses allowed to operate in during levels 5 and 4 (Maluleke 2020:14-15). According to the research conducted by the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies (SCIS) and quoted by Francis et al (2020:346-347), nearly 18 million South Africans live in the poorest 20 per cent of households, almost half of these poorest households are found in rural and remote areas. This situation has been exacerbated during the current pandemic. Paganini et al (2020:6-18) point further to the fact that the severe national lockdowns had a significant effect on food systems and the flow of commodities, “Hunger and unemployment has become the daily lot during the Covid-19 pandemic and that in May 2020, 34 percent of South Africans went to bed hungry”.

Financial corruption remains one of the social scourges plaguing the socio-economic fabric of South Africa and was also exacerbated during the Covid-19 pandemic. Corruption can be defined as “any form of unethical behaviour linked to a particular motivation, namely that of private gain at public expense” (Ganahl 2013:58). Corrupt behaviour entails violating the established rules for personal gain. Corruption is practised in different forms such as fraud, illegal payments, money laundering, or tax evasion and amongst others (Murray 2016:104). It is true to say that the democratic government in South Africa has established laws and regulations to curb corrupt activities as stipulated and promoted in the National Anti-Corruption Strategy (NACS) 2020-2030 published in 2021. Corruption has always been labelled as one of the socio-economic plagues of South Africa, especially in the post- apartheid era.

[This is reflected in the way] successive governments post-1994 have spent R187bn bailing out and recapitalising state-owned enterprises plagued by governance issues and corruption while service delivery has become more and more fragmented. […] in the 2018- 19 financial year, municipalities lost R32bn to corruption and irregular expenditure (Mlambo 2020:549-550).

The acts of corruption have worsened during the stress caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and its severe lockdown. Mlambo & Masuku (2020:550) contend that the health pressure of the emergence of the pandemic prompted the government to relax the control measures on the procurement of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and that this relaxation has exacerbated corruption from the highest sphere of the state.

The increase of corruption in South Africa in recent years can be an indication that people have failed at various levels. As citizens, they failed to follow the laws implemented by the governing body that regulate people’s private gains and assets (NACS 2020:44). This is triggered either by some people’s ignorance (unawareness of the laws) or by a deliberate rejection of moral and social norms. Humans can influence their fellow human beings to practice corruption or people can deceive themselves to fall into such a procedure (Erickson 2013:517). An alarming majority of South Africans are materially impoverished by the greed of the minority who uses government institutions to build their personal wealth, forgetting the people whom they are called to serve. Corruption practitioners thus trample on the noble notion of the common good. “A government package of relief measures, amounting to over R500 billion was announced on 21 April 2020 by President Ramaphosa” (Burger and Mchenga 2021:5). However, allegations of corruption over the R500 billion Covid-19 relief package have been levied on some government officials (Medical Brief 2020:1-7). That is why this fund has not benefit South African poorer households for whom it has been initially allocated. This has obviously further exacerbated the socio-economic inequalities in the country.

The rise in prices of necessities due to declining demand and supply disruptions linked to the pandemic has been significant. As Francis et al (2020:345-346) and Paganini et al (2020:6-7) argue, the government allocated billions of Rand to the Covid-19 relief fund. However, the management of these funds was inadequate. Due to rampant mismanagement and inequalities, the budget apportioned to the pandemic did not always benefit poorer South African households.

Much of the aforementioned data has been collected in 2020, but the socio-economic situation of the majority of the poor population of South Africa did not change much in 2021. Nwosu et al (2021:2) analysed the Coronavirus Rapid Mobile Survey conducted under the supervision of the National Income Dynamics Study (N.I.D.S). They argue that there is clear indication that,

Workers who were able to work from home [during lockdowns] significantly earned more than those who could not work from home, [and that the] ability to work from home was pro-rich. In other words, it was concentrated more on those in higher socioeconomic categories irrespective of the measure of socioeconomic measure used to rank workers (years of education, monthly wages, or per capita household income) (Nwosu et al 2021:3)

This is clear evidence that adversity of the coronavirus pandemic in South Africa has affected the poor and vulnerable more than the well off. As further posited by Nwosu et al (2021:5), the possibility of retrenchment during lockdowns is eight times higher for workers who earned below R3,000 as compared to top earners (who earned more than R24,001 per month.

The Covid-19 also led to greater levels of Sexual and Gender-based Violence (SGBV). This was due to the fact that work had to be done in the home for many families and as a result, women were in ‘lockdown’ at home with their abusers while being cut off from normal support services” (United Nation Development Programme [UNDP] 2020:2). The South African Council of Churches (SACC) lamented over the rise of gruesome domestic violence in South Africa in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic (SACC 2020:3). The ecumenical body equally denounced the patriarchal interpretation of the Bible, which in some cases, leads to the violation of women’s rights and dignity. The SACC thus described SGBV in the following terms,

South Africa has earned the unwelcome notoriety as the home of gender based violence, gruesome rape, and killing of women in what has been dubbed the Republic of Sexual Abuse (RSA). Such domestic abuse has increased frighteningly now with victims trapped in lockdown with abusers. We recognise that often our Scriptures are interpreted in favour of the patriarchal attitude that violates women and children. God in Christ made women the primary channels of his saving incarnation, both at his birth by Mary of Nazareth, and at the proclamation of his resurrection by Mary of Magdala (SACC 2020:4).

Sinko et al. (2021:1-2) assert that GBV has many repercussions on the physical, social and psychological health of the victims, as well as on the children, their loved ones and society as a whole. These repercussions range from emotional suffering to post-traumatic stress, deterioration of the state of physical and mental health and the deterioration of the relationship with the children in the home and in society. The consequences of domestic violence take time to heal. This is why Sinko et al. (2021:4) further insist that GBV victims need continued support and practical help to assist them in regaining power over their lives, until they find safety and peace. A study conducted by the African Union Commission - Women, Gender and Development Directorate and other related agencies (AUC-WGDD et al 2020:5) shows that domestic violence, whether physical or verbal, increased in Africa from 40.6% before the COVID-19 crisis to 52.2% during the pandemic crisis. The same study shows that the first week of level five lockdown in South Africa saw a 37% increase from the weekly average of GBV cases reported for 2019. Mittal & Singh (2020:3-5) also posited that gender-based violence and oppression against women and children was on the rise partly due to lockdowns. President Ramaphosa (2020:6) himself asserted that gender-based violence is “another pandemic that is raging in our country – the killing of women and children by the men of our country”.

As International Amnesty (IA) warns,

The COVID-19 pandemic has heightened the risk and exposure of women and girls to sexual and gender-based violence. Confinement due to stay-at-home orders or lockdowns has increased the risk of women and girls to domestic, sexual, economic, psychological and other forms of gender-based violence by abusive partners and family members (IA 2020:4).

The same report ascertains that the South African government’s Department of Social Development received 2,300 complaints related to gender-based violence during the first five days of lockdown that is from March 26 to 30, 2020 (IA 2020:4). IA therefore urges the government to ensure that the prevention and the protection of women and girls from GBV and domestic violence is given a paramount priority during and after the period of Covid-19 lockdown in South Africa. Some of the measures proposed by the IA include: access to sexual and reproductive health services for women, girls, and people at risk of becoming pregnant; re-prioritization of support systems such as protection services, shelter and counselling for GBV survivors (IA 2020:4-5). Gender-based violence has always been high in South Africa. However, the phenomenon gained momentum during this period of the pandemic. It is thus an imperative duty for government, members of civil society and non-governmental organizations to address this scourge in an efficacious manner. The Covid-19 pandemic also affected the access of the vulnerable and the poor to the healthcare system in South Africa.

The challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic in the field of health have been felt globally and in South Africa in particular. As Burger and Mchenga (2021:1, 3) maintain, the polarized health system in South Africa gives “reason to believe that the Covid-19 pandemic [has amplified] existing inequalities” [….] The health system mirrors existing inequalities, which are marked by deep divides and polarization following fractures in the social landscape”. Before the emergence of Covid-19, the visibility of the disparity between public and private hospitals in South Africa was already an evidence. As Burger and Christian (2018:8) observe, unlike private hospitals, in public health services, first health care is free, the price of major interventions is low, there is a long waiting time, rude health staff and there is a shortage of drugs. Only poor and low-income people can access public health facilities. However, during the period between 2020 and 2021, people found it difficult to access the health system for their existing medical conditions. For a period, there were those who live with HIV and tuberculosis that were unable to access their medication, even those who have other health issues and needed medical intervention had to have it postponed because the attention was given to Covid-19 patients (Burger and Mchenga 2021:4-5). Dorward et al. (2021:158) assert that in South Africa “where 1.7 million people are living with HIV”, the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic has had a remarkable impact of the lives of the “low-income and middle-income” people living with HIV. Covid-19 lockdowns have affected HIV “prevention, testing and treatment” (Dorward et al. (2021:158). In the South African province of KwaZulu-Natal, for instance, statistics by Dorward et al. (2021:161) show a decrease of 47.6% in HIV testing “in the first month of lockdown (April 2020)” as compared with 82.7% increase per month in pre-lockdown period and 375 initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) weekly during lockdowns compared with 571 before Covid-19.

2.4. Conclusion

The Covid-19 pandemic emerged in South Africa in March 2020. Its impact was mostly felt during the early stages of the pandemic, but continues to have significant impact, particularly on poorer households. This is as a result of a number of unequal structural factors that existed in society that were exacerbated by the emergence of the pandemic. These structural factors include the division and the widening of the gap between the rich and the poor leading to higher rates of unemployment, greater corruption, and the exacerbation of GBV and difficulty in accessing healthcare.

The growing socio-economic distress as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic in South Africa needs an effective theological and pastoral response. The next chapter attempts to offer a theological reflection employing the perspective of African liberation theology with specific attention to the philosophy of Ujamaa and the theology of Ubuntu.

CHAPTER THREE An African Liberation Theological Reflection on Covid-19

3.1. Introduction

In the previous chapter, I discussed the context of the emerging Covid-19 globally and in South Africa. I argued that the pandemic has caused unprecedented humanitarian distress and that its socio-economic impact on South Africa is evident. The socio-economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic in the context of South Africa is the exacerbation of existing social inequalities, which include issues of unemployment, corruption, gender-based violence, and access to the healthcare system.

This chapter seeks to offer a theological response to the Covid-19 pandemic employing an African liberation perspective with a particular focus on Julius Nyerere’s philosophy of Ujamaa and on Desmond Tutu’s theology of Ubuntu. I have chosen Nyerere’s Ujamaa and Tutu’s Ubuntu in this chapter of the study because of their focus on community and the structural dimensions of societies that need to be addressed in order to reach the most vulnerable and disadvantaged. The chapter will begin by situating the philosophy of Ujamaa and the theology of Ubuntu in the broader context of African liberation theologies with a particular focus on Mugambi (1995) and Bediako (1999). I will proceed to provide brief biographies of Nyerere and Tutu that reveal not only the socio-economic and political context in which they lived and worked, but also the transformative values of society that they stood for. I argue that these values are imperative for an appropriate pastoral response to the socio-impact of the pandemic. Ujamaa and Ubuntu will be defined, followed by an intersectional discussion of the concepts.

3.2. Contextual Background to African Liberation Theology

Liberation Theology was initiated in Latin America in the 1960s and developed further in the 1970s (Kleeb 2015:1). The term was used for the first time by Gustavo Gutierrez in 1973. It continued in the 1980s despite the opposition of the Roman Catholic Church’s hierarchy under Pope John-Paul II who qualified it as “Marxist ideology” that opposes “material liberation” to “spiritual salvation” (Kleeb 2015:2-3). Liberation theology specifically referred to the socio-economic and political oppression of the poor, using Marxist tools in a broad way for a reinterpretation of the Bible and of the Christian message. The “preferential option for the poor and the oppressed” (Kleeb 2015:1) is the main tenet of liberation theology. De Rooij and Burity (2015:2, 4) highlight this precept by defining liberation theology as

A movement in (Roman Catholic) theology that aims to liberate people from unjust economic, political, or social contexts. In doing so, it primarily interprets the teachings of Christianity in relation to suffering. Christian faith is interpreted through the experiences of the poor (especially suffering), and their struggles to attain their strategic goals and aims.

Liberation theology advocates that the evangelical mission of the church is precisely to side with the poor and the oppressed and to fight poverty through “bringing justice to this world” (Rooij and Burity 2015:3). Latin American liberation theologians include, “Gustavo Gutierrez, […], Leonardo Boff and his brother Clodovis Boff, Jon Sobrino, Oscar Romero and Juan Luis Segundo” (Rooij and Burity 2015:2). Latin American liberation theology has emerged and been embraced by other Christian denominations and religions throughout the world. It emerged on the African continent in the 1980s and was articulated as “taking sides with the God of life against the forces of death. The task of Christians was to ‘read the signs of the times,’ discerning where God was already at work bringing life in the midst of death, and then to become co-workers with God” (Hinkelammert quoted in West 2015:3). The context of African liberation theology is the huge economic gap between the rich and the poor, marginalisation and exploitation of the poor, patriarchy and discrimination, oppression and, the incompatibility of the capitalistic economic-profit system with faith in God (West: 2015:9, 11).

There are several forms of African theological liberation discourse. West (2015:2) identifies “four main stands” namely: first, inculturation or contextual liberation theology that stands against the derogation of African cultural and religious identity; second, Black theology that underscores the fight against colonialism, racial discrimination and capitalistic economic oppression; third, African feminist theology whose “emphasis” is on gender; and fourth, post-colonial theologies that focus on God in the post-colonial African context. Siding for and working with the poor, African liberation theology is considered as “a ‘Prophetic Theology’, a theology that ‘speaks to the particular circumstances of [the] crisis, a response that does not give the impression of sitting on the fence but is clearly and unambiguously taking a stand’” (The Kairos Document quoted in West 2010:13). Some of the key African liberation theologians on the continent are Allan Boesak (1984), Albert Nolan (1986), Mercy Amba Oduyoye (1995), Tinyiko Samuel Maluleke (quoted in West: 2010: 9, 11-12), Mugambi (1995) and Bediako (1999).

[...]

• College: University of KwaZulu-Natal (College of Humanities / School of Religion, Philosphy & Classics)
• Course: Theology and Development
• Grade: 70%
• Author: Gilbert Kamta Tatsi (Author)
• Publication Year: 2022
• Pages: 147
• Catalog Number: V1317838
• ISBN (PDF): 9783346803924
• ISBN (Book): 9783346803931
• Language: English
• Tags: African theology pastoral response Roman Catholic Church socio-economic impact Ubuntu Ujamaa south Africa