Quote of the week
Mr Zuma is no ordinary litigant. He is the former President of the Republic, who remains a public figure and continues to wield significant political influence, while acting as an example to his supporters… He has a great deal of power to incite others to similarly defy court orders because his actions and any consequences, or lack thereof, are being closely observed by the public. If his conduct is met with impunity, he will do significant damage to the rule of law. As this Court noted in Mamabolo, “[n]o one familiar with our history can be unaware of the very special need to preserve the integrity of the rule of law”. Mr Zuma is subject to the laws of the Republic. No person enjoys exclusion or exemption from the sovereignty of our laws… It would be antithetical to the value of accountability if those who once held high office are not bound by the law.
Secretary of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State v Zuma and Others (CCT 52/21) [2021] ZACC 18
President’s power to appoint Premiers undermine Constitution
When the ANC gave the President the power to appoint the Premiers of the provinces where they had won the election, it was seen as a genuine attempt to bring stability to the fractious regions. I must confess, at the time I did not give it a second thought.
It now turns out that from a constitutional perspective it was a disastrous move. It has unintentionally eroded the power and prestige of both the legislative and executive arms of government in the provinces. It has also fundamentally undermined the Constitution.
Take the case of poor embattled Premier of the
Of course, the ANC in the province can theoretically easily get rid of either Rasool and/or the members of his cabinet by passing a vote of no confidence in the Premier as mandated by section 141 of the Constitution. They can then elect a new Premiere and he or she can elect a cabinet that will have the confidence of the ANC members in the legislature.
But no, wait, they cannot do so because they are disciplined members of the ANC and cannot undermine the Premier, which was supposed to be elected by the provincial legislature and accountable to that legislature, but was in fact appointed by the President and leader of the ANC.
If they now make moves to topple Rasool or members of his cabinet they would be defying their leader and would therefore be seen as ill-disciplined cadres of the Movement.
The President has therefore, in effect, usurped the constitutional powers of the legislature to appoint and fire the Premier and his or her cabinet. At the same time, the Premier and the cabinet does not always have an independent power base because they serve at the pleasure of the President.
This means the ANC and the decisions of its leadership is elevated above the provisions of the Constitution. I am sure this was never intended, but this has been the consequence of the decision in
At the next ANC conference surely one of the most important decisions should be to take the power to appoint Premiers (and Mayors) away from the President and give it back to the Provinces where it belongs.
