CONSTITUTIONAL COMMENTARY AND EVENTS
ARTICLES AND STATEMENTS
STATEMENT: THE OPEN-ENDED NATURE OF BROAD-BASED BLACK ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT
When he briefed the media yesterday before the debate on the Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment Bill in Parliament, Minister of Trade and Industry, Rob Davies, said that the country was nowhere near the point where a sunset clause for BBBEE measures could be considered. He said that according to a -007 survey by the University of Pretoria, most companies were still at the lowest level of BBBEE.
STATEMENT: THE CENTENARY OF THE 1913 NATIVES LAND ACT
19 June 2013 will rightly be commemorated as a key point in the dismal story of the dispossession of the land of the black population of South Africa.
The process began in 1652 with the first settlement of the Cape by the Dutch East India Company. Despite Jan van Riebeeck’s instructions to live in amity with the Khoi Khoi population of the Cape, the rapid expansion of the settlement soon led to conflict over land.
STATEMENT: THE DISPUTE BETWEEN MARIUS FRANSMAN AND THE JEWISH BOARD OF DEPUTIES
On 27 February ANC Western Cape leader Marius Fransman gave an interview to the local Voice of the Cape, a local Muslim radio station, in which he alleged that “… the DA had given over building contracts … as well as lots of contracts in Woodstock and Observatory that historically were in the hands of Muslim participants … to people from the Jewish community.”
PODCASTS
SUBMISSIONS
SPEECHES
EVENTS
STATEMENT: ESKOM LOAD-SHEDDING: MORE THAN A HANGOVER FROM THE ZUPTAS
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.
STATEMENT: FW DE KLERK FOUNDATION WELCOMES APPOINTMENT OF NEW NDPP
The FW de Klerk Foundation welcomes the announcement by President Ramaphosa of Advocate Shamila Batohi as the new National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP). Advocate Batohi is well qualified and experienced to fulfil this significant role. This, at a time when the country is at a critical crossroads and the justice system cries out for an independent and fair-minded individual to fulfil the mandate of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). In line with section 179 of the Constitution, we trust that she will pursue her mandate without “fear, favour or prejudice”. Advocate Batohi has experience as a former Director of Public Prosecutions in KwaZulu-Natal and has gained international exposure in her role as the Senior Legal Advisor to the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court (ICC). This latter experience we believe will be important, as it gives her the necessary distance and objectivity from matters facing prosecution.
ARTICLE: FIVE WISHES FOR SUCCESS FOR SOUTH AFRICA IN 2019
2018 is almost over. December is a time for many South Africans to wrap things up and conclude business, to take some time off and to rest. But it is also a time of taking stock of the year and what was achieved – and to start thinking about what 2019 holds.
Call it a combination of wishes for Christmas presents and New Year’s resolutions, but if there are say, only five things that can be chosen, I would choose the following five for the country. It could be the recipe for success for South Africa in 2019.
CONSTITUTIONAL ISSUES
- Equality
- Non-racialism
- Gender Rights
- The Constitution
- The Rule of Law
- Multiparty Democracy
- Personal Rights
- Cultural, Religious and Language Rights
- Freedom of Expression and Political Rights
- Social and Economic Rights
- Property Rights
- Education
- Access To The Courts, Information And Fair Adminstration