Pierre De Vos teaches Constitutional law at the University of Cape Town Law Faculty, where he serves as deputy dean and as the Claude Leon Foundation Chair in Constitutional Governance.
Last week Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Mineral Resources and Energy voted against a proposal to launch an investigation into how bids were awarded for a multibillion-rand programme to fast-track new power production. This follows various media reports of alleged corruption and/or tender rigging in the awarding of the tender for the provision “emergency electricity”. Ironically, this happened in the same week that President Cyril Ramaphosa, testifying before the Zondo Commission, claimed that the ANC had turned over a new leaf and suggested that its MPs will do better at holding the executive to account.
We do not know how many LGBTQ people are violently attacked or murdered in South Africa each year in homophobic or transphobic hate crimes. The South African Police Service (SAPS) does not keep statistics on hate crimes, and even if it did, many homophobic and transphobic hate crimes would not be classified as such because of the reluctance of the authorities to acknowledge the homophobic and transphobic motivation behind many of these attacks. (Similarly, authorities seem to be reluctant to acknowledge that attacks on many foreigners are fuelled by xenophobia.)
We do know that several LGBTQ individuals have been brutally murdered over the past few weeks because some news outlets have reported on at least some of these murders. The victims include Bonang Gaele, Nonhlanhla Kunene, Sphamandla Khoza, Nathaniel “SpokGoane” Mbele, Andile “Lulu” Nthuthela, Lonwabo Jack, Buhle Phoswa and Lucky Kleinboy Motshabi. These murders sparked nationwide protests from some members of the
The messages speak of the promise of service delivery and anti-corruption. They speak about respect for women and protecting children. They speak about education and health.
The campaign, “The Will of the People”, called on those living in South Africa to send in personal declarations, ahead of Freedom Day, with a prompt linked to the first words of the preamble of the Constitution: “We the people”.
Albie Sachs, former activist and Constitutional Court justice, addresses guests via live stream at the Will of the People campaign launch at Constitution Square, Johannesburg. (Photo: Shiraaz Mohamed)
“[The messages] are about reaching out to the humanity in each other,” said Vanessa September, CEO of the Constitution Hill Trust, about the group’s campaign, which feeds into a wider national campaign, called “We, the People”, aimed at defending democracy.
I was going to write a column about Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng’s claim that he has been receiving both legal and security advice from the Lord, but quickly realised that it is a fool’s errand to try and engage in a reasoned manner with zealously and sincerely held religious beliefs like trying to argue with a vegan about the best way to prepare
ulusu (tripe). Instead, I will focus on another issue on which reasoned discussion may be possible (except perhaps with market fundamentalists), namely the likely unconstitutionality of aspects of the draft Budget.
First things first. While Parliament has never rejected or amended a Budget tabled by the minister of finance, section 77 of the Constitution empowers it to do so. But because the Budget is a technical document, it cannot be amended in exactly the same manner as other bills tabled in Parliament. Instead, section 77(3) requires that legislation “must provide for a procedure to amend money Bills before Parliament”.