Fisher women play a vital role in sustaining household food security, yet remain under‑recognised, excluded from permits, and denied equal income opportunities in the fishing sector.Photo Credit: The Green Connection.

By Witness Radio team.

South Africa produces enough food to feed its population, yet millions go to bed hungry every night.

According to Statistics South Africa’s General Household Survey 2024, released in 2025, about 14 million people experienced hunger, representing 22.2% of households reporting inadequate or severely inadequate access to food. The Northern Cape (34.3%), Eastern Cape (31.3%), and Mpumalanga (30.4%) recorded the highest levels of food insecurity.

One in four children in South Africa is stunted due to chronic malnutrition. In the Eastern Cape alone, 70 children under the age of five reportedly died from malnutrition-related complications between January and July 2025.

In response to the growing problem, the South African Human Rights Commission, a national institution established to support constitutional democracy, declared last year that it would hold a National Public Inquiry into the Constitutional Right to Food. This inquiry will examine how communities, corporations, laws, and policies shape food systems and seek to address the structural causes of hunger.

As a result, the investigation will try to describe a future in which food is once again understood as sustenance, dignity, and justice.

Thousands of small-scale fishers along South Africa’s 3,000 km coastline depend on marine resources for their livelihoods, highlighting their vital role in the nation’s food security and cultural fabric.

Many fishing families struggle to make ends meet, even though they harvest food from the ocean. The livelihoods and food security of about 28,000 small-scale fishermen are directly reliant on marine resources. Yet, existing policies-such as restrictive permits and limited market access-exclude them from full participation, perpetuating food insecurity.

For these communities, food systems are not abstract policy concepts. They shape daily survival, dignity, livelihoods, and cultural identity.

“As part of our submission, we emphasize that concrete policy changes-such as recognizing customary fishing rights and improving market access-will directly enhance the livelihoods and food security of small-scale fishers and coastal communities, making the case for urgent reform.” Says Buthelezi

The Green Connection, a registered non-profit organisation, works with coastal communities to promote environmental justice, human rights, and accountable governance.

In the submission, the Green Connection states that the inquiry is timely as it will examine the structural and economic dynamics that perpetuate hunger. “It will assess the concentration of power in the food value chain, affordability and access, land and tenure security, policy coordination, and the realization of the constitutional right to food. This includes its links to dignity, health, water, culture, and a healthy environment.” The submission reads.

The Green Connection further argues that the Commission’s examination of governance, participation, and accountability must include scrutiny of marine and ocean policy.

“Poor implementation of the Small-Scale Fisheries Policy, limited market access, inadequate infrastructure, and weak consultation processes continue to undermine the sector. Women – who make up less than 30% of participants – remain under-recognised. At the same time, young people leave coastal communities due to declining economic prospects,” says Khetha Buthelezi, Economics Officer at The Green Connection, adding that, “Food and the systems we put in place to produce it cannot be separated from human dignity, livelihoods, and cultural rights. These issues are not abstract policy debates. For small-scale fishing communities, food from the ocean is not merely a commodity – it is a foundation of identity, survival, and social cohesion.”

The organisation also raises concerns about the potential impacts of offshore oil and gas expansion under Operation Phakisa. It further adds that Seismic surveys, drilling, and increased shipping activity can threaten fish stocks and restrict access to traditional fishing grounds, thereby directly affecting food security and livelihoods.

“For small-scale fishers, these are not abstract environmental issues. It is about income stability, cultural survival, and the constitutional rights to food, livelihoods, and participation in decision-making, and protecting these rights and resources for future generations,” says Buthelezi

Several fishing communities consulted shared testimonies describing worsening conditions.

“While small‑scale fishers support around 28000 people in South Africa, many of us can no longer catch or sell enough fish to feed our own families. Walter Steenkamp says on behalf of Aukotowa Small‑Scale Fishers Co‑operative in Port Nolloth, Northern Cape.

Steenkamp adds that Decisions are often made without consulting them, which reflects an intended exclusion from decision-making. “We hope this inquiry will result in the recognition of our customary rights, the return of our fishing grounds, and for the government to listen to those of us who live from the sea, so that we can feed our families with dignity.”

According to Kristie Links from the Sal-Diaz Small-Scale Fisher Co-operative in Saldanha Bay, Western Cape, farmers are forced to use larger boats that they cannot afford. “We have no money for the bigger boats they want us to use, and the areas we are given have little or no fish.

Industrial boats continue to overfish, especially at night, while our communities struggle to put food on the table. This situation is destroying our livelihoods, our food security, and our right to be recognised as small-scale fishers,” Kristie adds.

The organisation argues that poor implementation of the Small-Scale Fisheries Policy, weak consultation processes, and inadequate infrastructure continue to undermine the sector.

“Our message to the SAHRC is clear. If South Africa is serious about tackling hunger and inequality, it must ensure food systems governance is transparent, inclusive, and accountable. Coastal communities are not asking for charity – they are demanding justice.” Buthelezi concludes

The deadline for written submissions has been extended to 27 February 2026, with public hearings scheduled for March during Human Rights Month.

Across Africa, forced evictions continue to generate controversy as governments pursue urban renewal, environmental protection, and infrastructure expansion. From informal waterfront settlements in Lagos to forest communities in Kenya, the challenge remains the same: how to balance development priorities with the rights, safety, and livelihoods of vulnerable populations.

Findings by THE WHISTLER show that recent experiences in Kenya, Morocco, and Uganda offer policy lessons that Lagos State could study as it continues clearance exercises in several informal settlements.

Amnesty International defines a forced eviction as the removal of individuals or communities from the homes or land they occupy against their will, carried out without adequate legal protection or necessary safeguards.

“A forced eviction is the removal of people against their will from the homes or land they occupy without legal protections and other safeguards,” the rights group said in a 2011 report on Ghana.

Under international human rights law, according to Amnesty International, evictions should occur only as a measure of last resort, after all viable alternatives have been carefully considered. Even when eviction becomes unavoidable, it must follow strict legal and procedural standards. These include meaningful consultation with affected residents, sufficient prior notice, provision of adequate alternative housing, and compensation for losses incurred.

It added that authorities must also ensure proper oversight of how evictions are conducted and guarantee access to legal remedies, including legal aid where required. Importantly, governments have an obligation to prevent evictions from leaving individuals homeless or exposed to further human rights violations.

Lagos Demolitions And Growing Debate

In Lagos State, thousands of residents in communities such as Makoko, Oworonshoki, Ilaje-Otumara, Owode Onirin, and Baba Ijora have been displaced under urban renewal and safety enforcement programmes. Authorities insist the actions are necessary to prevent disasters associated with unsafe settlements, particularly structures located under high-tension power lines and other hazardous infrastructure corridors.

Speaking at a press briefing, the Special Adviser to the Governor on eGIS and Urban Development, Dr. Olajide Babatunde, said the Makoko demolitions were part of a broader statewide safety initiative designed to prevent fire outbreaks, infrastructure failures, and related emergencies.

He added that the state government had set aside about $2m since 2021 for the redevelopment of the Makoko waterfront and was working with international partners to mobilise additional funding.

“Clearing high-tension corridors is a safety requirement across Lagos State. The action taken in Makoko is consistent with what has been done in other communities,” Babatunde said.

“We need to do what we have to do. If we don’t, then we are endangering the lives of the people. However, we need to do it in a systematic way. We have to do it according to international conventions.”

Additional $8m is expected from the United Nations. He, however, noted that with shrinking funding to donor agencies and multilateral organisations, the state government is looking inward for a solution.

“Mr. Governor committed $2m for the redevelopment of the community, and we are expecting $8m in counterpart funding from the United Nations, but I am sure we all know what is happening today. There are funds that are no longer available to most of those donor agencies and multilateral organisations.

“And what we need to do is to look inwards, and this is why the Lagos State Government, together with our international partners, are calling on different donor agencies, the international community and various business organisations within and outside Nigeria to support us,” Babatunde said.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu also defended the exercise, stating that evacuation notices had been issued more than two years before the demolition of structures built within the 150–250 metre safety corridor of high-tension power lines. According to the governor, the intervention was carried out in the collective interest of residents and did not target the entire Makoko community.

“People need to understand that it is a big city we are dealing with, and the emergency and safety of lives and properties are paramount that we need to prioritise. Of what interest would it be for the government to want to unduly demolish anybody’s property? What interest if it is not for the overall safety of the citizens we are talking about?

“A lot of the people have built shanties under the high-tension wire, and the regulation is that you need to clear between 150 and 250 metres away from the high-tension wire. We are not demolishing the whole of Makoko; we are clearing the shanties so they do not get to the Third Mainland Bridge and stay behind the high tension,” Sanwo-Olu said.

Despite these assurances, civil society organisations and community advocates have criticised the demolitions, arguing that they often occur without comprehensive resettlement plans or clearly defined compensation mechanisms.

Rights activist, Hassan Soweto, alleged that at least 53 people died during demolition-related incidents in Oworonshoki, Makoko, and Owode Onirin, while advocacy groups warn that repeated evictions are worsening urban poverty by pushing displaced residents into even more precarious settlements.

“This wasn’t a normal arrest, in the sense that you arrested someone because they have cases or charges they need to answer to. I was abducted in order for the Commissioner of Police and his men, in their own words, to teach me a lesson for exposing the brutality of the police in different communities where demolitions have been taking place — brutality in the form of the killing of at least 53 people in Oworoshoki, Makoko, and Owode Onirin,” Soweto told THE WHISTLER.

He was recently arrested following his protests against demolition exercises in communities including Makoko, Owode Onirin, and Oworoshoki.

Justice & Empowerment Initiatives (JEI) co-founder, Megan Chapman, said years of engagement with the Lagos State Government on alternatives to forced eviction had produced limited results, alleging that communities that participated in collaborative planning efforts were later demolished.

“We have spent the last few years trying to build engagement with the Lagos State Government around alternatives to forced eviction. The last two years, the same Government has systematically destroyed nearly every community that put its hopes and efforts into participatory planning toward a win-win partnership, defaulting instead to mass land grab in service of powerful private interests,” she told THE WHISTLER.

Kenya Conservation Policies And Indigenous Land Rights.

Source: The Whistler