CONSTITUTIONAL COMMENTARY AND EVENTS
ARTICLES AND STATEMENTS
ARTICLE: SOUTH AFRICA RETURNS TO OFFICIALLY IMPOSED RACIALISM IN SPORT
Earlier this week the Minister of the Sport and Recreation, Fikile Mbalula, announced the imposition of sanctions against four of South Africa’s main sporting codes (Athletics South Africa, Cricket South Africa, Netball South Africa and South African Rugby) for not meeting the racial targets that they themselves had earlier accepted. He said that he had resolved “to revoke their privilege … to host and bid for major international tournaments” in South Africa.
FW DE KLERK FOUNDATION STATEMENT ON THE FOUNDATIONS INITIATIVE
The FW de Klerk Foundation strongly supports The Foundations Initiative because we believe that we South Africans really need to talk to one another about the challenges that confront our society. We would like to recapture the spirit of inclusivity, of listening, debating and compromising that characterised our great national constitutional dialogue during the early 90s. Who better to begin this process than the Foundations established by our founding fathers and mothers?
ARTICLE: STATE CAPTURE, ANC CAPTURE AND THE CAPTURE OF THE ECONOMY
There are several aspects to the current “state capture” debate.
To start with, there is nothing new about state capture. It has always been the ANC’s openly proclaimed, and profoundly unconstitutional, policy to capture the state to promote its own political and ideological interests. According to its Strategy & Tactics documents, a key task of the National Democratic Revolution (NDR) after 1994 was
“to strengthen the hold of the democratic movement (i.e. the ANC) over state power, and to transform the state machinery to serve the cause of social transformation (i.e. the NDR): The levers of state power include the legislatures, the executives, the public service, the security forces, the judiciary, parastatals, the public broadcaster, and so on.”
PODCASTS
SUBMISSIONS
SPEECHES
EVENTS
ARTICLE: SABC – NO LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL
At the beginning of August 2019, the Report of Commission of Inquiry into Interference in the Decision-making in the Newsroom of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC Report) was released. The Commission was established in May 2019 to investigate the alleged interference of the governing party in the broadcaster’s newsroom. The report found no direct link between the African National Congress (ANC) and the many controversial editorial decisions taken at the SABC per the allegations. However, it is important to note that whilst a direct link was not found, the Commission stated that the spectre of the ANC was still found in the newsroom. This arises from the fact that the SABC executives report to the Minister of Communications, who is a member of a political party. In the case of South Africa, since 1994 this Minister has come from the ANC ranks. This indirect link lends credence to the suspicions of party-political interference.
MÉRIDA DECLARATION
We, the Nobel Peace Laureates and Peace Laureate Organisations, gathered at the XVIIth World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates from 19 – 22 September 2019, wish to thank the State of Yucatán, the city of Mérida and the nation of Mexico for hosting this World Summit. We are inspired by being able to meet in a city and state with such warmly hospitable people, with such a rich Mexican and Mayan cultural heritage and surrounded by such natural beauty.
We commend the progress that the State of Yucatán has made in implementing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and encourage the promotion of a just society for all.
COMMENTS BY FORMER PRESIDENT FW DE KLERK TO THE PANEL ON THE POWER OF LAW V/S THE LAW OF POWER
Since the beginning of this century there have hardly been any wars between countries. Most conflict is now within countries between cultural, religious and language communities. All three of the world’s major ongoing wars – those in Afghanistan, Yemen and Syria – are being exacerbated by divisions between Islamist fundamentalists, and Shi’a and Sunni Muslims. The world’s seven minor wars – in Somalia, Nigeria, Iraq, Southern Sudan, Mali, the Sahel and Libya – likewise have their origins in the clashes between ethnic tribes, Islamist fundamentalists, moderate Muslims and Christians.
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