CONSTITUTIONAL COMMENTARY AND EVENTS
ARTICLES AND STATEMENTS
PODCASTS
SUBMISSIONS
SPEECHES
EVENTS
ARTICLE: ONE STEP FORWARD, TEN STEPS BACK FOR THE SABC
The President has finally appointed the permanent Board of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). Whilst the appointment is most welcome, it comes with some red flags raised regarding some appointees, as well as regarding the circumstances surrounding the timing of the appointment.
The appointment came the day after the Presidency missed a deadline to file opposing papers in a court application initiated by the Media Monitoring Project Benefit Trust, the SOS Support Public Broadcasting Coalition and the Freedom of Expression Institute. The application was triggered by the President’s delay in making the appointment, which left the SABC in a precarious position without a stable governance body.
ARTICLE: MAMABOLO’S HAND ON THE TILLER
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.
STATEMENT: PRESIDENT’S POWERS MUST BE EXERCISED RATIONALLY
The South African President enjoys great discretion with respect to how he exercises his powers. This includes the appointment of Cabinet Ministers. This is not to suggest that there are no limits to his power. As court decision after court decision has emphasised, public powers can only be exercised within the narrow confines of rationality. Of course, as the courts have made clear, rationality does not mean that a decision is irrational just because there is a different way of doing things. Rationality means that there should be a logical connection between the reason for the decision and the outcome of the decision. Simply put, there must be a link between the means and the ends.
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