Helen Zille’s predictably controversial speech to the tall meeting at BizNews’ Drakensberg retreat final month continues to evoke responses, this time from no numerous than constitutional skilled and founder of Accountability Now, Paul Hoffman. He differs from what he terms her ‘hopeful assertion’ that President Cyril Ramaphosa is a constitutionalist at heart and proceeds to persuasively argue why, with some charming, telling examples. After outlining the three predominant factions of the ANC, he speculates on which one Ramaphosa belongs to sooner than reminding us of his tepid response to widely agreed-upon extra-occasion anti-corruption measures. Besides his properly-illustrated anti-constitution behaviour, this might perchance even be his Achilles’ heel. I order that because I believe Ramaphosa has completed a transient inner price-earnings calculation on instituting as a minimal the Glenister ‘Stirs’ standards and chanced on that doing so might perchance well well be counter to occasion ideology and price him his job in a corruption-riddled atmosphere. One more formula of representing Hoffman’s argument might perchance well well be to scream we possess a compromised president. Listing courtesy of Politicsweb. – Chris Bateman
Is the president a constitutionalist at heart?
By Paul Hoffman*
A keen contretemps is being waged within the columns of Politicsweb between Oxford don, Invoice Johnson and veteran flesh presser Helen Zille following her gig at the Drakensberg celebration organised by Biznews.com.
This trace is concerned most spirited with the question posed in its title: is the president a constitutionalist at heart?
Pretty than making the respond to the question a matter of conception, it’s far more healthy to glimpse the evidence either formula in command to achieve at a defendable response to what’s a fundamental question in these vexed times.
The evidence in favour of a ‘certain’ is to be chanced on in a form of sources. Cyril Ramaphosa and Roelf Meyer are credited with being the most fundamental authors of the compromise which gave delivery to the Constitution. Ramaphosa used to be secretary well-liked of the ANC attend then and favoured by Nelson Mandela to be his successor. That used to be now to no longer be; Thabo Mbeki took that role and Ramaphosa entered the hurly-corpulent of the sector of alternate to emerge a BEE billionaire.
If he used to be negotiating in factual religion with the representative of Afrikaner nationalists on behalf of African nationalists, then Ramaphosa would regard himself as certain by the compromise reached. That can perhaps well like him a constitutionalist at heart, as proposed by Zille.
Ramaphosa, when he re-entered politics as deputy to Jacob Zuma, swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and all numerous legislation. If he takes his sworn statements severely, that oath would possess him firmly within the constitutionalist camp. The rule of thumb of legislation, the independence of the judiciary and a free press all remain moderately intact on his search (having been severely threatened on that of his predecessor who is clearly no longer a constitutionalist) all evidence of fealty to constitutionalism.
Ramaphosa himself is an enigma when it involves assessing his commitment to the Constitution. He wants to retain cadre deployment within the public administration and SOEs, even though it’s far clearly unlawful to abolish so.
No longer too prolonged within the past he is recorded as pronouncing, nearly within the same breath, that we possess the staunch Constitution on the earth after which insisting on the importance of pursuing the many targets of the NDR (nationwide democratic revolution), targets that are wholly inconsistent with the Constitution as has been demonstrated within the previous.
When he used to be launched to the Nationwide Assembly in 2018 as the ANC candidate to prevail the disgraced Jacob Zuma, both his proposer and seconder had been at wretchedness to level out that he is a “factual revolutionary”. Some analysts claim that the ANC governs by sleight of hand, paying lip carrier to the Constitution whereas awaiting the propitious time to pounce by rolling out the NDR. This entails a shut evaluation of the ‘steadiness of forces’ and the employ of ‘dexterity in tact’ to achieve at the socialist nirvana contemplated by the NDR but never reached wherever on the earth where its ideology has been tried. The words in quotes are drawn from the ANC ‘System and Tactics’ paperwork.
Ramaphosa’s simultaneous championing of both the Constitution and the NDR might perchance well additionally be explained by reference to those claims.
There are as a minimal three predominant factions within the ANC referring to ideology. There are heaps of more minor factions built all over the venality and greed of their rent-trying for contributors; any or no ideology is okay with them for goodbye as they’re allowed to continue looting with impunity.
The predominant faction is produced from those contributors of the ANC who get the values of the Constitution severely. Professor Kader Asmal, a cupboard member who known as for the scrapping of the NDR and resigned in preference to vote for the loss of life of the Scorpions, used to be one among these. Judges and professionals who are identified to possess shut ties with the ANC are additionally in this grouping. Judges clearly get their oath of place of job more severely than some politicians inner the massive church that is the ANC. A little surprisingly, the leadership of COSATU has strongly prompt constitutionalism within the wake of the heresy expressed by Minister Lindiwe Sisulu who now thinks the Constitution is a mere “palliative”.
The 2nd predominant faction contains people who possess fully embraced the NDR and surely feel its time has attain. They’re mainly within the RET faction and within the SA Communist Birthday celebration, which has a ‘cuckoo’s nest’ relationship with the ANC. The skin cruise of this faction is the breakaway EFF, which is unapologetic about its revolutionary agenda.
The third faction is made up of people who discuss revolution but tear constitution. Zille curiously pins her hopes on Ramaphosa being in this faction if he is no longer within the most fundamental-talked about faction. She can be nasty about the extent of his commitment to the Constitution because she has no longer been paying ample consideration to the evidence available out of his accept as true with mouth.
He defends the NDR as being adore minded with the Constitution. Clearly it’s far rarely. Listed below are the contortions required of him to abolish so, in his accept as true with words written in response to a complaint by FW de Klerk that he did no longer join the NDR:
“These who wrote the Constitution understood that equality can no longer be finished by proclamation. It’s something that has to be finished regularly thru deliberate and sustained motion.
Since the divisions in our society are predominately in conserving with roam, it stands to reason that most fundamental amongst our issues wants to be the fulfillment of racial equality. On the same time, we must always at all times work to eradicate the associated injustices of gender discrimination and earnings inequality.
Over the previous 20 years, the insurance policies and programmes of the ANC had been directed in the direction of precisely these projects. These consist of the commitment of sources in the direction of meeting the wants of the downhearted. The provision of free properties, electricity, water, sanitation, roads and numerous social infrastructure are all share of the industrial empowerment of the sad majority. So too is the growth of entry to training. Bigger than 80% of faculties are now no-price faculties. The share of university college students who had been African increased from 49% in 1995 to bigger than 66% in 2010. Over the same interval, university enrolment bigger than doubled.
Alongside these programmes, which possess a had a tangible impact on the lives of hundreds and hundreds of people, the ANC has additionally pursued insurance policies around employment equity and sad economic empowerment. These too possess borne obvious outcomes. The sad heart class doubled in dimension between 1993 and 2008. There used to be a 325% increase within the percentage of blacks in senior administration since 1996.
That is no longer nearly ample to address the enormity of the apartheid legacy, alternatively it demonstrates that the ‘harmful ideology’ of the ANC is regularly redressing the injustices of the previous.
De Klerk decries the ‘ideology of demographic representivity’ whereas trying for a society ‘all the blueprint thru which roam is no longer any longer an field or a supply of division’. What he doesn’t appear to know is that roam will continue to be an field for thus prolonged as there are such stark disparities within the sector cloth circumstances of sad and white South Africans. Trip will remain an field till all echelons of our society are demographically representative.”
Actually that SA has never been more unequal than it’s far now and the stages of unemployment and unemployability possess never been better as a outcome of the crumple of the economic system and the dysfunction within the education system at all stages. Demographic representation is required by the Constitution within the judiciary and the final public administration; it’s far rarely required in ‘all echelons of our society’ excluding in NDR-talk.
One more entrance on which the commitment of Ramaphosa to constitutionalism is suspect is his tepid response to the need for reform of the hollowed out prison justice administration, which used to be all but destroyed by Jacob Zuma to facilitate his declare have mission.
Accountability Now has prolonged championed the institution of a new Chapter 9 institution to prevent, combat, investigate and prosecute extreme corruption. In August 2021, it presented Ramaphosa with prompt draft legislation. He has no longer replied in any formula.
This passivity of the president is uncommon as his accept as true with political occasion, the ANC, passed an urgent resolution in August 2020 calling on the cupboard to declare up a stand-by myself, permanent, neutral and specialised unit to counter corruption. The IFP has been in favour of the Chapter 9 solution since as a minimal 2019, and the DA embraced it earlier this twelve months. The parliamentary drafters are onerous at work on the DA’s model of the reforms that might perchance be fundamental.
The optimal constitutionally compliant solution will emerge from the crucible of parliamentary debate. That debate wants to be scheduled as soon as is humanly doable. Foot-dragging is most spirited working to the earnings of the unpleasant and in opposition to the pursuits of the country as an whole. There will not be any longer this type of thing as a rocket science in making employ of the Constitutional Court’s Glenister litigation standards to the solutions of all occasions to achieve at a most spirited-relate contrivance to the challenges to society that are posed by the rampant corruption in SA.
The president is a certified lawyer and a seasoned flesh presser. He knows that the executive is certain by the Glenister ‘Stirs’ standards, (S for a specialised unit devoted to investigating and prosecuting the unpleasant; T for properly trained workers, which is equipped to abolish so; I for independence from political affect and interference; R for guaranteed sources ample to the duty; and S for safety of tenure of place of job).
Ramaphosa additionally knows that the Stirs standards are no longer in living, and that steps must always be taken to reform the prison justice administration’s ability to deal successfully and efficiently with corruption. Completely, if he is a constitutionalist at heart, he would give you the cash for precedence to reform of the prison justice administration in command to render it constitutionally compliant by properly implementing the selections of the ideal court docket within the land, itself a creature of the Constitution.
A conspectus of the evidence would appear to point out that Zille is engaged in wishful (presumably hopeful) pondering when she asserts that Ramaphosa is a constitutionalist at heart. Maybe she has numerous evidence upon which she bases her conception.
David Bullard is certain to remind readers that his nickname for Ramaphosa is ‘President frogboiler’. Constitutionalists attain in a couple of shapes and sizes, but none of them are frog boilers.
- Paul Hoffman SC is a director of Accountability Now.
Learn additionally:
- The clock is ticking Cyril – time for motion
- Thabo Mbeki criticises Cyril Ramaphosa’s economic conception to establish SA
- ANC rule can be over by live of decade, helped by Covid-19 – Frans Cronjé, Ralph Mathekga
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