The Expropriation Bill was published on 21 December 2018, with a timeframe of 60 days for public comment. Its timing – when virtually the entire country was on holiday – and its compressed timeframe for comments, predictably arouse suspicion.

At face value, the Draft Bill seeks to amend the Expropriation Act of 1975, which is in contradiction of section 25 of the Constitution in respect of two key provisions. First, the Expropriation Act makes reference to “public purpose” only, while the Constitution references “public interest” and “public purpose”. Secondly, the Expropriation Act refers to “market value”, while the Constitution refers to “just and equitable” compensation. Market value is but one consideration in the determination of just and equitable compensation.

Everyone cautioned that Finance Minister Tito Titus Mboweni would not have a lot of leeway in presenting his Budget for the coming year in Parliament. He did not flash big numbers around, but he definitely made an impact. He quoted from the Old Testament no less than three times, almost as if he realised that he would need supernatural powers for the job at hand.

As with the President’s State of the Nation, it is not sufficient to look at the numbers and the allocations and the commitments. There are few surprises. If one, however, reads between the lines, a different picture emerges.

On 15 February 2019, the FW de Klerk Foundation made a written submission on the Prevention and Combatting of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill [B9-2018] (the Bill) to the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services. The Bill essentially provides for the offences of hate speech and hate crimes. A person found guilty on a first offence of hate speech in terms of the Bill might be looking at imprisonment of three years, and five years on a subsequent conviction. 

The Foundation is not opposed to the statutory recognition of hate crimes, as there is a clear need to distinguish hate crimes from ordinary crimes so that proper data collection of these specific crimes can take place and it can be properly prosecuted. We are, however, highly concerned about the proposed statutory criminal offence of hate speech and we submitted that the current version – although an improved version of the 2016 version – is highly flawed and unconstitutional. 

It is enticing to interpret President Cyril Ramaphosa’s SONA as just another election pitch to the electorate a few months before the general election, now to be held on 8 May. A closer look is, however, warranted, as there are some interesting elements that may indicate a different approach and a stronger emphasis on the need to correct what has gone wrong in the last nine years – call it a glimmer of a post-election Ramaphosa.

The FW de Klerk Foundation will dedicate its 2019 Annual Conference on Friday, 1 February, to one of the most critical challenges confronting the nation, inequality. Election years, with their promises and platitudes, have not addressed this grave issue. The Foundation will reflect on this matter but also go further and ask the vital question, “What is to be done?” 

Inequality in South Africa is stubbornly high and has over the last 24 years grown increasingly persistent. A 2018 World Bank report aptly sums up the triple challenge confronting the country including, “high poverty, high inequality and high unemployment”. While there is no quick fix to these challenges, the fact of the matter is that if we as a country do not address this deep-rooted problem effectively, we will not be a peaceful, prosperous and harmonious society. In addition, striving for equality is one of the basic mandates of our Constitution.

The media is replete with reportage on commissions and inquiries currently underway in South Africa, all intent on unearthing the truth – the truth about State capture and corruption (Zondo Commision), the truth about the fitness of two top officials in the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to hold office (Mokgoro Commission), the truth about tax administration and governance at SARS (the Nugent Inquiry) and the truth about the PIC, Africa’s largest asset manager (the Mpati Commission).

President Cyril Ramaphosa did indeed provide relief to a nation fatigued by corruption, capture and abuse of public funds by setting up or boosting these commissions of inquiry within nine months of his assumption of duties. He committed to cleaning up SARS, seeking new leadership at the NPA and at several State-owned enterprises (SOEs) including Eskom, PRASA, the SABC, Denel, and Transnet. He committed to unearthing the truth and setting the country on the right track. 

Twenty-five years have passed since the cold winter’s day in Oslo when Nelson Mandela and I were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.  

In my acceptance speech I observed that peace was a frame of mind:

“It is a frame of mind in which countries, communities, parties and individuals seek to resolve their differences through agreements, through negotiation and compromise, instead of threats, compulsion and violence.”

I said that peace was also a framework.

“It is a framework consisting of rules, laws, agreements and conventions – a framework providing mechanisms for the peaceful resolution of the inevitable clashes of interest between countries, communities, parties and individuals. It is a framework within which the irresistible and dynamic processes of social, economic and political development can be regulated and accommodated.”

The phenomenon of load-shedding is hanging over the festive season of 2018 like a dark cloud. For many, across the country, their festivities might happen by candlelight, which may add to the ambience but will predictably cast a shadow over any possible and much-needed economic recovery. 

Naive South Africans believed that with a new President and a new Minister of Public Enterprises, plus a new Eskom Board, Eskom should be functioning optimally, and load-shedding was something of the past and would be over. The fact is that corruption and mismanagement cast a long shadow and cannot be turned around quickly. Additionally, incapable, inexperienced and corrupt officials (evidenced by the design faults at Medupi and Kusile) can’t be fired at will without the requisite due process, which is a supreme irony, considering the damage that they have caused. It is therefore important to state that the present load-shedding – with feeble excuses from Eskom about lack of capacity and needed maintenance, and uranium left out to get wet – is a bad hangover from the Zupta era. So is the fact that Eskom is in deep financial crisis and continuously dependent on State bail-outs.