It is a great pleasure for me to address you today on the topic of South Africa’s transition to democracy. This is now my ninth visit to Taiwan and with each visit I have admired the manner in which your country has progressively consolidated and deepened your own democratic system.
The peaceful resolution of South Africa’s long-standing racial imbroglio 24 years ago seemed to show that even the most intractable disputes could be solved peacefully by compromise and negotiation. Our experience gave new hope to the world that it might be possible to mediate the impossible and that other long-standing disputes might also be resolved through peaceful negotiations.
Twenty-two years ago elected representatives of all the people of South Africa, gathered in Parliament, sitting as a Constituent Assembly, adopted a new Constitution as the supreme law of South Africa.
The Ad Hoc Committee on the Funding of Political Parties recently held public hearings on the Draft Political Party Funding Bill of 2017 (Draft Bill). The Draft Bill seeks to regulate the public and private funding of political parties. The underlying premise of the Draft Bill is that the contestation of electoral politics should be fought on an equal and fair basis, with the citizen as core consideration.
The reality however, is not the case as the increasing influence of money in politics appears to dominate electoral discourse, as opposed to an interrogation of positions, policies and principles.
South Africa is no stranger to the transactional nature of politics and in recent times #GuptaLeaks has exposed the invidious underbelly of politics in the country. This series of leaks has hastened the calls for greater commitment to transparency and accountability and for disclosure to become norm in political life and practice.
The UN declared 1995 the year of Tolerance.
The recent appointment of Mr Sy Mamabolo as Chief Electoral Officer at the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) is key to ensuring that this important Chapter 9 institution continues to fulfil its constitutional mandate to manage free and fair elections at all levels of government, in a competent and fair manner.
The Portfolio Committee on Social Development might have been bracing itself for a much-awaited report from the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) on its 2016/17 performance.
Johann Rupert, Executive Chairman of Remgro and CEO of Richemont, said recently in London at a shareholders meeting that “radical economic transformation” was just a codeword for theft.
The ANC responded within hours with a blistering statement and a torrent of comments, straight from the socialist-Marxist economic textbook. They warned Rupert to remain silent because he is a “beneficiary of apartheid’s exclusionary policies” with “ill-begotten privilege”. The insinuation is that he opposes economic empowerment and change, and that he does not act in the interests of a democratic system.
Even though no comments have been forthcoming from other South African business leaders, it can be assumed that a substantial number of them agree with him on this point and say exactly the same in private conversations and in board meetings.
In an incident which has made global news, the First Lady of Zimbabwe, Mrs Grace Mugabe, is alleged to have assaulted a young South African woman while on a visit to the city of Johannesburg in South Africa. Early media reports had stated that she was on a visit to the country to seek medical attention. The most recent media reports, in line with a statement released by the South African Police Service (SAPS), stated that she was in South Africa to attend meetings convened by the Southern African Development Community (SADC). The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) has since, controversially so, granted Mrs Mugabe immunity. This has left the Zimbabwean First Lady free to return to Harare, which freedom she promptly exercised.
