Quote of the week
Universal adult suffrage on a common voters roll is one of the foundational values of our entire constitutional order. The achievement of the franchise has historically been important both for the acquisition of the rights of full and effective citizenship by all South Africans regardless of race, and for the accomplishment of an all-embracing nationhood. The universality of the franchise is important not only for nationhood and democracy. The vote of each and every citizen is a badge of dignity and of personhood. Quite literally, it says that everybody counts. In a country of great disparities of wealth and power it declares that whoever we are, whether rich or poor, exalted or disgraced, we all belong to the same democratic South African nation; that our destinies are intertwined in a single interactive polity.
August and Another v Electoral Commission and Others (CCT8/99) [1999] ZACC 3
SANDU media statment about deployment of soldiers
MEDIA STATEMENT BY THE SOUTH AFRICAN NATIONAL DEFENCE FORCE UNION (SANDU) IN REACTION TO THE CONCERNS OF POSSIBLE UNLAWFULNESS OF RECENT DEPLOYMENT OF SANDF MEMBERS IN CIVILIAN AREA’S
Friday 20 January 2012, SANDU Head Office, Pretoria:
SANDU has noted recent concerns expressed by legal experts in the media on the deployment of soldiers in civilian areas and the possible unlawfulness thereof.
The explanation provided by the Department of Defence which sought to justify the legality of these deployments based on a decade old open ended proclamation, by a president not even currently in office, begs belief. This dubious explanation only serves to strengthen the concerns already raised.
The last thing that is needed is that the South African public get the notion that soldiers deployed in civilian areas, to do what is essentially police work, is an acceptable norm and way of governance or that soldiers are deployable without stringent regard for constitutional imperatives. SANDU has consulted its legal team on this issue and is convinced that the current deployments, if based on the reasons offered by the Department, are in all probability authorized in contravention of the Constitution and thus unlawful.
It is not SANDU’s place to direct , criticize or opine on operations conducted by the SANDF per se. The only concern it has as a Military Trade Union is that soldiers, if indeed unlawfully deployed, are at risk of attracting legal liability which they would normally escape were the deployments lawful. It is further of general concern that apparently disregard for the Constitution is considered acceptable in certain circumstances. This goes against the very substance of SANDU as an organization which has always fought for the constitutional rights of its members.
In view of the above facts SANDU has decided to urgently submit a complaint to the office of the Public Protector in order to have a pronouncement made on the legality of the deployments on the basis offered by the Department itself.
(JG GREEFF)
NATIONAL SECRETARY: SANDU
Enquiries: 082 573 0082
