CONSTITUTIONAL COMMENTARY AND EVENTS
ARTICLES AND STATEMENTS
PODCASTS
SUBMISSIONS
SPEECHES
EVENTS
ARTICLE: INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES – LEAVE NO ONE BEHIND
3 December is commemorated annually as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD). This observance has been promoted by the United Nations (UN) since 1992. It aims to promote the rights and wellbeing of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development, as well as to increase awareness of the situation of members of this group, in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life. The annual theme differs and this year it was, “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient society for all”. In South Africa, 3 December also marked the beginning of Disability Awareness Month.
This year, a recurring thread that featured during celebrations is the importance of understanding that not all disabilities are visible. There has always been a movement to recognise that disability is not inability, and that ableism should be the focus of awareness campaigns, rather than the difficulty to execute what are perceived as ‘normal’ tasks faced by persons with disabilities. Another familiar call is for the elimination of the stigma attached to disability. The world over, when one considers persons with disabilities, one is most likely to consider a visible impairment, particularly if one has limited interaction or exposure with/to persons with disabilities. These visible impairments have come to be the standard by which the notion of disability is evaluated. One only has to look at the everyday representations of disability to understand this. In public spaces, disability is commonly represented by a wheelchair and this means that the concerned environment is wheelchair-friendly. This totally disregards all other ways that disability presents itself and the myriad of diverse accessibility needs. This means that there remain millions of people whose accessibility needs are not met in public (and private) spaces.
STATEMENT: MOURNING MADIBA
It is today four years since South Africa mourned the passing of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the first President of the democratic and non-racial South Africa. And even though this is a short time in the life of a country, it seems much longer. This feeling originates from the fact that in the last four years, the country has moved almost a lifetime away from Madiba’s South Africa. During, and for some time after his presidency, South Africa was the country of hope, of reconciliation, of an active reconstruction and development programme, and of a public service with a motto such as batho pele, the people first.
Even within his beloved ANC, countless leaders have asked the question of what Madiba would have thought of the South Africa of 2017. A South Africa where hope has all but left even the most patriotic of South Africans, where reconciliation has been replaced with racialisation and intolerance, where not even the most basic of government programmes are implemented and service delivery has grinded to a halt, where the motto of the public service is, with only a few exceptions, ke pele, me first. Those same leaders answered their own question: He would have been pained, sad and furious. Lack of leadership, corruption and state capture are far from the ideal society Madiba had envisaged for the nation.
STATEMENT: WE ARE WAITING AND WATCHING, MR PRESIDENT…
In an affidavit that came to light last week, the evidence leader of the parliamentary Eskom inquiry, Advocate Ntuthuzelo Vanara, stated that the Minister of State Security, Bongani Bongo, offered him a bribe to derail the inquiry. It was specifically stated that Bongo told Vanara that he offered him the “blank cheque” at the request of the interim chairman of the Eskom board, Zethembe Khoza. Khoza has since denied that he had anything to do with the bribe or that he even knows Bongo.
All parties taking part in the Eskom inquiry were outraged by this, and the Speaker even reported this on Monday to President Zuma, as Minister Bongo is a member of his cabinet. The Presidency released a statement on Tuesday stating that the president is “attending to the matter”.
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