1. The President of the Republic of South Africa has under s 84(2)(f) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 and in terms of Government Notice R926 published in Government Gazette No 34731, 4 November 2011 appointed a Commission of Inquiry into the Allegations of Fraud, Corruption, Impropriety or Irregularity in the Strategic Defence Procurement Package (“the SDPP”).

The Terms of Reference of the Commission are to inquire into, make findings, report on and make recommendations concerning the following, taking into consideration the Constitution and relevant legislation, policies and guidelines:

1.1 The rationale for the SDPP.

1.2 Whether the arms and equipment acquired in terms of the SDPP are underutilised or not utilised at all.

1.3 Whether job opportunities anticipated to flow from the SDPP have materialised at all and:

1.3.1 if they have, the extent to which they have materialised; and

1.3.2 if they have not, the steps that ought to be taken to realise them.

1.4 Whether off-sets anticipated to flow from the SDPP have materialized at all and:

1.4.1 if they have, the extent to which they have materialised; and

1.4.2 if they have not, the steps that ought to be taken to realise them.

1.5 Whether any person/s, within and/or outside the Government of South Africa, improperly influenced the award or conclusion of any of the contracts awarded and concluded in the SDPP procurement process and, if so:

1.5.1 Whether legal proceedings should be instituted against such persons, and the nature of such legal proceedings; and

1.5.2 Whether, in particular, there is any basis to pursue such persons for the recovery of any losses that the State might have suffered as a result of heir conduct.

1.6 Whether any contract concluded pursuant to the SDPP process is tainted by any fraud or corruption capable of proof, such as to justify its cancellation, and the ramifications of such cancellation.

2. The Commission is to report to the President within a period of two years from date of proclamation.

Written submissions can be made to the Commission by way of an affidavit by no later than 30 July 2012.

Enquiries may be directed to: The Chairperson, Arms Procurement Commission at admin@armscomm.org.za . Telephone numbers to be provided at a later stage.

 The SAHRC is currently inviting applications for postgraduate law students to apply for internships at the Western Cape Office of the South African Human Rights Commission.

Requirements:

An appropriate four-year legal qualification with courses preferably in:

• Constitutional Law, Law of Evidence, Civil Procedure, Criminal Procedure, Criminal

Law and Interpretation of Statutes;

• ·                Knowledge of Human Rights Law;
  • Knowledge of Constitutional developments;
  • Relevant practical experience would be a recommendation;
  • The applicant should have computer word processing skills.

SPECIFIC ATTRIBUTES

Very specific attributes required are as follows:

ABSOLUTE commitment to the success of the Commission

• Reliability
• Tact
• Organised
• Integrity
• Good Team Player
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Networking skills
• Good written and verbal communication skills
• Attention to detail
• Pro active
• Innovative
• Can handle pressure
•  Punctual and able to meet deadlines
• Assertive
• Computer literacy and good knowledge and experience of IT systems
• Enthusiasm to learn

We would appreciate if you advise students of this opportunity.

Ability to speak isiXhosa will be an advantage.

Interested students are invited to contact our offices for further information.

On 22 March 2012, the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) republished an advertisement calling for nominations of interested persons to fill a vacancy in the Constitutional Court.  The closing date for the nominations was set for 30 April 2012.

Following the closing date, the JSC has compiled a shortlist of candidates to be interviewed for the vacant position in the Constitutional Court at its sitting to be held on 09 June 2012 as follows:

1. Judge L O Bosielo
2. Judge M M L Maya
3. Judge R W Nugent; and
4. Judge R M M Zondo

The shortlisted candidates
will be notified of the time and venue of the interviews in due course.

Issued
by the Judicial Service Commission

Enq: Adv D Ntsebeza SC
0824672490 and Mr C P Fourie 0828811737

06 March 2012

OFFICE OF THE CHIEF JUSTICE

MEDIA STATEMENT ON THE PASSING OF MINISTER ROY PADAYACHIE

 8 May 2012

Chief Justice of the Republic of South Africa Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng today expressed his deep sadness at the sudden and untimely passing of Public Service and Administration Minister Roy Padayachie at the weekend.

In paying tribute to Minister Padayachie, Chief Justice Mogoeng said: “Observing from a distance, Minister Padayachie struck me as someone who served our country with laudable gallantry and great distinction. The only official engagement that brought the late Minister and I together, was my request in relation to the composition of the panel that is to interview the Head of the new national Department known as the Office of the Chief Justice.  He, in consultation with Justice Minister Jeff Radebe, responded positively and with great speed to our proposal that contrary to the norm, the panel should comprise more members of the Judiciary than of the Executive, in support of the independence of the Judiciary.   We will always remember him as someone who was committed to speedy delivery of quality service to our people.”

The Chief Justice added that it was telling that Minister Padayachie passed on while in Ethiopia – doing what he stood for, delivering service not only to the country, but to the African continent as a whole.

“I wish to express a word of deep condolence to his family, friends and colleagues in government. I also wish to convey a special word of gratitude to his family for allowing us to share him with them.

His untimely departure will leave an emptiness that will be hard to fill and we hope his selfless service and contribution to building a united, just and truly free South Africa will be remembered by many generations to come” said Chief Justice Mogoeng.

Ends.

Enquiries

Lulama Luti;
Director: Media Relations, Private Office of the Chief Justice

Tel: +27 (0) 11 359 7537; Cell:
+27 (0) 76 424 0667; Email: luti@concourt.org.za

MEDIA STATEMENTS ATTRIBUTED TO INKOSI HOLOMISA

The Office of the ANC Chief Whip notes with great concern the recent utterances attributed to ANC MP Nkosi Patekile Holomisa where he has stated that “the ANC knows that the ‘great majority’ of South Africans do not want to promote or protect the rights of gays and lesbians.” The ANC Caucus distances itself from these views and would like it noted that at no stage has it considered debating this issue before Parliament.

The South African Constitution and its Bill of Rights remain the “cornerstone of democracy in South Africa” and Section 9 of the Constitution is viewed as one of the core values of the Constitution. It guarantees equality for everyone before the law and this equality includes the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms. Our Constitution is clear that “the state may not unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone on one or more grounds, including race, gender, sex, pregnancy, marital status, ethnic or social origin, colour, sexual orientation, age, disability, religion, conscience, belief, culture, language and birth”.

The ANC believes that any law which denies people the right to their sexual expressiondevalues them in our broader society and as such is an affront to their dignity and a breach of Section 9 of our Constitution.

We would also like to dispel a further accusation attributed to Nkosi Holomisa where he argued that some ANC MP’s were coerced to vote for the Protection of State Information Bill by Luthuli House. The Bill in question was discussed at the ANC Caucus meeting where it was unanimously supported by all ANC MPs.

The ANC’s key objective is the creation of a united, non-racial, non-sexist and democratic society and we will not deviate from this objective. The ANC Chief Whip, Dr Mathole Motshekga, will at his earliest convenience meet with Nkosi Holomisa for clarity regarding his media statements.

Statement issued by Mathole Motshekga, The Chief Whip of the Majority Party, Parliament of the Republic of SA, May 6 2012

Civil society organisations from across the country have come together in a broad alliance that rejects the Traditional Courts Bill that is presently before the National Council of Provinces. The Alliance for Rural Democracy includes a cross-section of civil society organisations that are concerned about the detrimental effects the Bill will have on the constituencies they serve and support.

Alliance partner organisations include the Law, Race and Gender Research Unit, UCT; the Rural Women’s Movement; the Rural People’s Movement; Sonke Gender Justice; the Women’s Legal Centre; the Community Law Centre, UWC; Section 27 and the Treatment Action Campaign.

The Bill will directly affect at least 17 million South Africans and has serious implications for democracy as a whole. Despite having sparked an outcry in 2008 when tabled in the National Assembly (NA), the Bill’s original provisions remain intact. The Bill has since been withdrawn from the NA and was reintroduced in the National Council of Provinces this January. As part of the legislative process, it will now be taken into public hearings in the provinces during April and May.

The Alliance for Rural Democracy contends that the Bill, in its current form, undermines democracy and constitutional rights and values. Because few rural people know about the Bill and its likely impact, alliance partners are assisting rural communities and organisations in raising awareness of the Bill’s content and implications. Alliance partners will keep a close eye on the provincial hearings and parliamentary process to ensure they pass democratic muster, and will put forward submissions demanding that the Bill be scrapped.

Sindiso Mnisi Weeks from UCT’s Law, Race and Gender Unit states that, “This Bill creates separate categories of citizenship reminiscent of apartheid. It strips rural people of basic citizenship rights. Those living in the former Bantustan areas will be second-class citizens, with no right to the legal representation and recourse the law allows for.”

The alliance believes that customary law continues to play an important role in the lives of many rural South Africans. However, the Bill does not appreciate the real-life experiences of people on the ground. The Bill was developed in close consultation with traditional leaders, rather than in consultation with the people who will be most affected by it, namely rural citizens, particularly women.

Says Desmond Lesejane from the Sonke Gender Justice Network, “This is a Chiefs’ Bill and not a people’s Bill. It will centralise power in the hands of a senior traditional leader and distort living customary law.” Nomboniso Gasa, researcher and analyst, adds, “The Bill will empower traditional leaders to single-handedly make, apply and adjudicate customary law. This undermines the separations of powers that are fundamental to the Constitution.”

As women form the vast majority of rural citizens and often find themselves in a vulnerable position in relation to male-dominated traditional institutions, they face particular problems in customary courts and will therefore be most adversely affected by the Bill’s failings. “The subordinate position of women is likely to be made worse by this Bill and our right to legal protection from gender discrimination will suffer a huge set-back,” says Sizani Ngubane from the Rural Women’s Movement.

On 10 April, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development presented the Bill to members of the Western Cape Provincial Parliament. Henk Smith from the Legal Resources Centre, acting as legal advisor to the alliance, states that “at the Western Cape briefing, the Department conceded that there is valid criticism of the 2008 Bill and that there was insufficient consultation before it was introduced to Parliament. We, as the LRC, believe this Bill is ill conceived.”

The alliance calls for the Bill to be scrapped and for replacement legislation to take as its starting point the Constitution’s commitment to the social justice principles of equality, dignity and human rights, as well as the rights of ordinary rural people to participate in the formulation of laws that affect them.

STOP THE BANTUSTAN BILL

The Alliance for Rural Democracy includes the following organisations: Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape (CLC); Corruption Watch; Co-operative Policy Alternative Centre (COPAC); Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC);Democratic Governance and Rights Unit, University of Cape Town (DGRU); Embrace Dignity Campaign; Empilisweni AIDS Education and Training Centre; Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR); Law, Race and Gender Research Unit, University of Cape Town (LRG); Masimanyane Women’s Support Centre; Open Democracy Advice Centre (ODAC); Peddie Women’s Support Centre; Rural People’s Movement; Rural Women’s Movement; Section 27; Sonke Gender Justice; Students for Law and Social Justice (SLSJ); Treatment Action Campaign (TAC); Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre; Unemployed People’s Movement; Women’s Health Research Unit, School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town; Women’s Legal Centre Trust. The Legal Resources Centre (LRC) acts as legal advisors to the Alliance.

END.

Released on 11 April 2012.

For more information contact

Sindiso Mnisi Weeks (Law, Race and Gender Unit):

Cell: 072 616 8299

Desmond Lesejane (Sonke Gender Justice Network):

Cell: 084 5816305

Sizani Ngubane (Rural Women’s Movement):

Cell: 073 840 5151

Urgent call to all Southern African universities and youth under 30 to propose an independent anti-corruption framework

 Johannesburg businessman and anti-corruption campaigner, Bob Glenister today posed a R100 000 challenge to all Southern African youth and universities in a bid to rally civil society in the fight against corruption.

Earlier last year, Glenister won the Constitutional Court judgment which found the Hawks – the corruption-busting unit of the SA Police Service – unconstitutional on the grounds that they lacked sufficient independence, both operationally and structurally, to enable them to properly fight corruption.

Glenister has invited Southern Africans below the age of 30 to devise a ‘best practice’ implementation of the judgment in the Glenister case. The competition is open to all university faculties and students, as well as to all private entrants, south of the equator (including Indian Ocean Islands).

Glenister believes that the only way to fight corruption is to involve as diverse a range of responses as possible in the public participation process leading up to the Constitutional Court’s judgment being finally implemented by Parliament in September this year.

Glenister believes that the only way to conquer corruption is for all levels of society to participate.

“Corruption is a disease that affects every single one of us, no matter your age, profession, location or economic dispensation.  Most of all, it affects young adults, because they are the ones that will be left to fix the mess that we have allowed to happen,” says Glenister.

The objective of the challenge is to engage young people in this issue, which is vital to the success of South Africa’s constitutional democracy, and to encourage them to produce ideas that can help to strengthen the integrity of the country’s corruption-fighting entity.

Competing teams and individuals are invited to submit their proposed draft legislation and accompanying explanatory memorandums of not more than 5000 words by no later than 31 July 2012.

Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of retired judges in South Africa, who will decide which team or individual most deserves the prize.

The R100 000 will be split into two prize categories: If a faculty submission is selected, half of the prize money will be awarded to the winning participating faculty, while the remaining half will be divided amongst the students deemed most deserving by their faculty.  In the event that an independent (non-university) winner is chosen, they will receive R10 000 and the remaining R90 000 will go to the best university submission. In this case, the faculty will get R45 000 and the students will receive an equal share of the remaining R45 000.  Glenister has also included 6 Galaxy Tablets as part of the prize.

Only one entry per team or faculty, submitted in English, is allowed.

Entry forms are available from phoffman@ifaisa.org. Completed entries must be submitted to this email address as well as in hard copy to PO Box 33, Noordhoek, 7979, RSA, by 31 July, 2012.

The panel’s decision will be made public on 30 September 2012.

The judgment in the Glenister case can be found at www.ifaisa.org.

Ends

Notes to editors:

Timeline on Hawks ruling 

Prepared by: FTI Consulting Strategic Communications

Courtney Chennells            Courtney.chennells@fticonsulting.com / 011 2142404 / 082 734 5536

Sandra Sowray             Sandra.sowray@fticonsulting.com / 011 2142422 / 079 167 6863

For further information: 

Hugh Glenister – 083 463 3339

Paul Hoffman SC, Ifaisa (Institute for Accountability in Southern Africa) -  082 888 0821


The Democratic Left Front (DLF) condemns the ANC, SACP and SANCO for organising a anti-democratic march for today in Cape Town in support of the anti-democratic Secrecy Bill (the Protection of State Information Bill). Despite the fury of the anti-imperialist and revolutionary rhetoric used to justify this march, no democrat of any conviction in South Africa can stand silent whilst the ANC, SACP and SANCO threaten to use their mass power to trample on basic democratic rights to information. This march is the first warning shot in the use of the mass activist base of these organisations as storm-troopers for the authoritarian ruling elite. If ever there was ever a classic example of the extent to which the ANC and the SACP represent authoritarian populism, this march is it. This is typical of Stalinist propaganda that was used by anti-democratic regimes in the past. Today, the ANC and the SACP have created false bogeys of liberals, foreign infiltrators and aggressors, and espionage in order to clamp down on social dissent given their collective failure to transform capitalist South Africa.

The DLF stands unreservedly in full and firm support of the Right to Know Campaign (R2K), COSATU, the SA Human Rights Commission and other progressive organisations in South Africa who remain opposed to the Secrecy Bill. The DLF rejects the spurious allegations made by the ANC, SACP and SANCO in their statement announcing today’s march. The DLF fully endorses the R2K statement issued in response to the ANC-SACP-SANCO statement. The R2K is not dominated by foreign-sponsored NGOs and western-owned media agencies. The R2K is not misleading the public about the class orientation of the media. In fact, the R2K has not only opposed the Secrecy Bill but has also argued and mobilised for truly democratised and diversified media, something which the ANC government has failed to facilitate through the statutory Media Development and Diversity Agency. For all these reasons, the DLF reaffirms its endorsement of the R2K campaign.

The intention of the Secrecy Bill is to stifle the spaces that do exist for access to information and critically informed citizens. The Secrecy Bill is not fundamentally about protection information that threatens the security of ordinary working class South Africans, but about protecting spaces for the ruling elite to continue their plunder of the state. While recent concessions by the ANC have improved the Bill, it will still be extremely difficult, if not impossible to ensure transparency of the most shadowy of all state structures, the security cluster. The grounds for classification of documents, and the definition of national security, still remain overbroad, and will lead to documents that are of considerable public interest and importance being declared secret. The Bill also lacks an adequate public interest/public domain defence in case people come into possession of classified documents, or if they are released into the public domain. This has serious implications for activists, who may come into possession of classified documents exposing abuses of power.

The Secrecy Bill is merely symptoms of a much bigger problem. Jacob Zuma’s ruling elite, which was brought to power by the ANC’s Polokwane conference, is enhancing the coercive capacities of the state, and in the process centralising power in an increasingly unaccountable security cluster. The re-militarisation of the police, which has intensified state violence against protestors, attempts to drive unions out of the military, and the lockdown on transparency and accountability in the Ministry of Defence are also signs of the growing power of Zuma’s securocrats. The DLF fears that unless the growing power of the security cluster is checked, then South Africa may be well on its way to a national security state, which likely to contain growing dissent against service delivery and the capitalist system itself through repression.

FOR COMMENTS, CONTACT:

Brian Ashley – 082 085 7088

Mazibuko K. Jara – 083 651 0271

Ayanda Kota – 078 625 6462

Vishwas Satgar – 082 775 3420