“Tolerance is an act of humanity, which we must nurture and enact each in [our] own lives every day, to rejoice in the diversity that makes us strong and the values that bring us together.”
– UNESCO Director-General, Audrey Azoulay
Freedom of religion, belief and opinion, in addition to freedom of association, are embedded in the Bill of Rights and serve as valuable constitutional rights.
Friday, November 16, will mark exactly nine months since President Ramaphosa delivered his maiden speech in Parliament. Amid non-stop news, it is perhaps good to take a quiet moment and to evaluate how the “new dawn” looks after nine months (and it was perhaps just as exhausting as a difficult pregnancy!).
On 16 February, the new President made a number of commitments to the representatives of South Africa’s people (and thereby to all of us). Some of these were commitments that were already in the works under former Cabinet members, and others were clearly his own. In many cases, he placed his own stamp on these commitments.
The FW de Klerk Foundation welcomes the decision by Minister of Home Affairs, Malusi Gigaba, to resign with immediate effect (as we have argued on 2 November). Amid mounting charges of having lied under oath, violating the Constitution and being found to be in contravention of the Executive Members’ Ethics Act by the Public Protector, Minister Gigaba leaves Cabinet under a very dark cloud.
The FW de Klerk Foundation is delighted to announce that former President FW de Klerk was discharged from Panorama Mediclinic in Cape Town this afternoon, following a successful procedure on Saturday to treat pneumothorax.
Mr and Mrs De Klerk, as well as the Foundation, would like to express their sincere thanks for all the good wishes and messages of support they have received over the past few days.
FW de Klerk was hospitalised yesterday at the Panorama Hospital with a condition known as pneumothorax – which is an abnormal collection of air in the pleural space between the lung and the chest wall. He underwent a successful procedure this morning and it is expected that he will be discharged from hospital some time next week.
The FW de Klerk Foundation will today, Friday 26 October 2018, appear before the Constitutional Review Committee to make a presentation on its earlier submission on the possible amendment to section 25 of the Constitution. The Foundation regards this question as being of central importance to the future of South Africa – not only for successful land reform, but also for the future of property rights, the future of the economy, and the future of race relations in South Africa.
Together with numerous respected jurists, including the late Arthur Chaskalson CJ, as well as the High Level Panel appointed by Parliament and led by former President Kgalema Motlanthe, the Foundation believes that it is not necessary to change section 25 of the Constitution to achieve land reform and extend property rights to all South Africans.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s tenure might well be remembered for his penchant for the appointment of commissions of inquiry and task teams or, as some analysts have referred to it, rule by commissions.
If national elections do take place in the second quarter of 2019 as predicted, might the electorate be asking political parties to account for performance in the preceding period, in addition to inquiring about pending plans and proposals captured in a manifesto for post-election implementation?
