Rule of Law Archives - Page 13 of 20 - FW de Klerk Foundation

ARTICLE: THE IDEOLOGICAL BLINDNESS TO THE ECONOMIC DAMAGE OF EXPROPRIATION WITH NIL COMPENSATION

2020-01-31

The deadline for comments on the draft amendment bill on section 25 of the Constitution (the so-called Constitution Eighteenth Amendment Bill) is fast approaching. Numerous organisations are busy putting their comments in writing. The majority of these will oppose it, while committing themselves to the urgent need for land reform in terms of the present Constitution.

ARTICLE: IT’S STILL TOO EARLY TO SAY THAT IT’S GAME OVER FOR PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA

2020-01-23

In a recent article, I wrote about five trends that will characterise 2020. These five are:

Greater centralisation and State control by the ANC government on the actions of South Africans;
Better investigations, charges and prosecutions by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Hawks.
The gradual but definite erosion of government institutions’ ability to govern, manage, maintain and provide basic services;
The ongoing infighting within the ANC and its alliance partners (and accompanying attacks on President Ramaphosa); and
The stagnant economy (with the possibility of a downgrade lurking).

In the past week, the focus of the media and citizens has specificially been on the infighting in the ANC (no. 4 above), which was influenced and even driven by Eskom’s problems (no. 3 above).

ARTICLE: FIVE TRENDS TO UNDERSTAND AND MANAGE 2020

2020-01-09

At the start of a new year, we all reflect on the year ahead, what we want to do, what we are excited about, and what we are afraid of. What about the country – politics, the economy and our social life? It is impossible to make predictions, but one can describe certain trends, which are accompanied by certain events and their possible consequences.

Broadly, there are five trends that emerged during 2019 that will significantly impact the political and socio-economic landscape in 2020 – and which can help one to understand and cope with the year.

The first is a growing trend of centralisation and state control (read ANC control) of various aspects of South African society. There are currently four pieces of draft legislation (most of which were recently published by the ANC-controlled Parliament before the December holidays) that have one thing in common: greater and/ or absolute control over important national issues, which do not necessarily need State control or that should not be controlled because it is in the private domain according to constitutional requirements.

ARTICLE: INTERNATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION DAY: 9 DECEMBER

2019-12-09

On 31 October 2003, the United Nations General Assembly decided to declare 9 December as International Anti-Corruption Day. Its role would be “to raise awareness of corruption and of the role of the UN Convention against Corruption” that came into force in 2005.

Article 6 of the Convention required States Party to ensure the existence of “a body or bodies to prevent corruption”. Such bodies would be granted the necessary independence to enable them to carry out their functions effectively and free from any undue influence. They would also be provided with the “necessary material resources and specialised staff, as well as the training that such staff may require to carry out their functions.”

ARTICLE: DOES THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT JUDGMENT SIGNAL THE END FOR AFRIKAANS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS?

2019-11-26

The dust has settled a bit regarding the Constitutional Court’s ruling in the Gelyke Kanse (GK) case on Stellenbosch University’s (SU) Language Policy (read the full analysis of the case here). The implications of this ruling are relevant for SU and the Potchefstroom Campus of the North-West University (NWU Potch); and perhaps most importantly of all, for Afrikaans as a language of instruction in public schools.

ARTICLE: THE ANC’S DISASTROUS NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE PROPOSAL

2019-08-23

There is nothing wrong with first world national health schemes if you are a first world country. Unfortunately, South Africa is not a first world country and simply does not have the resources or manpower to achieve the ambitious objectives of the ANC’s proposed National Health Insurance (NHI) scheme.

As it stands, the NHI has the potential to cause more havoc than even the dire prospect of expropriation without compensation. If it is implemented as envisaged it will have a direct impact on the lived experience of South Africa’s multi-racial middle class, millions of South Africans who already bear a heavy tax burden. If parents with sick children have to wait for weeks for medical appointments – and for yet more weeks to see specialists – their frustration and anger will dominate their lives. And to make things worse, the NHI will not make any difference to the presently crippled and defunct public health system.

ARTICLE: SECTION 25: TO AMEND OR NOT…

2019-08-16

The report of the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture was presented to President Ramaphosa on 4 May 2019 and made available to the public in July. Even before this date, two panelists – Dan Kriek (president of AgriSA) and Nick Serfontein (well-known farmer) – decided to hand over a minority report to the President. It was made available to the public after the main report.

What are the key differences between the main report and the minority report? Why did these two respected panelists find it necessary to draft a minority report? The differences can be summarised in three groups: process issues, style and ideological issues and substantive issues.

ARTICLE: CAN MOTHER TONGUE EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOLS BECOME A REALITY?

2019-08-14

During her recent budget speech, the Minister of Basic Education, Angie Motshekga, referred to President Ramaphosa’s target in his State of the Nation address that every learner should be able to read with comprehension by the age of ten. She notes that the language issue is a key factor affecting reading ability and literacy, and then refers to the importance of African languages as teaching and reading languages. However, the phrase “mother tongue education” was not mentioned in her speech.

ARTICLE: THE REPORT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ADVISORY PANEL ON LAND REFORM AND AGRICULTURE

2019-08-05

The Final Report of the Presidential Advisory Panel on Land Reform and Agriculture, which was released to the public on 28 July, is already causing uncertainty and concern over the future of agriculture and property rights in South Africa. Two of the Panel’s 10 members, Dan Kriek, the President of Agri SA, and Nick Serfontein, a commercial farmer, have issued a minority report rejecting many of the Panel’s main recommendations.

The Panel was appointed by President Ramaphosa in September 2018 to “provide a unified policy perspective on land reform in respect of land restitution, land redistribution and land tenure reform”. It was also asked to report on the circumstances in which expropriation without compensation (EWC) should be applied and the procedures and institutions that should be involved in its implementation.

View Archived Content

ARTICLE: THE IDEOLOGICAL BLINDNESS TO THE ECONOMIC DAMAGE OF EXPROPRIATION WITH NIL COMPENSATION

ARTICLE: IT’S STILL TOO EARLY TO SAY THAT IT’S GAME OVER FOR PRESIDENT RAMAPHOSA

ARTICLE: FIVE TRENDS TO UNDERSTAND AND MANAGE 2020

ARTICLE: INTERNATIONAL ANTI-CORRUPTION DAY: 9 DECEMBER

ARTICLE: DOES THE CONSTITUTIONAL COURT JUDGMENT SIGNAL THE END FOR AFRIKAANS IN PUBLIC SCHOOLS?

ARTICLE: THE ANC’S DISASTROUS NATIONAL HEALTH INSURANCE PROPOSAL

ARTICLE: SECTION 25: TO AMEND OR NOT…

ARTICLE: CAN MOTHER TONGUE EDUCATION IN SOUTH AFRICAN SCHOOLS BECOME A REALITY?

ARTICLE: THE REPORT OF THE PRESIDENTIAL ADVISORY PANEL ON LAND REFORM AND AGRICULTURE

CATEGORIES

ISSUES