DR MATHOLE MOTSHEKGA'S VIEWS ON THE COURTS AND ON THE CONSTITUTION
In an interview in Rapport on 19 February, ANC Chief Whip Dr Mathole Motshekga, continued the government's orchestrated campaign to white-ant the courts and, by extension, the Constitution (see here). He stated inter alia that
- "certain people" wanted to hand over the powers of parliament and President Zuma to the courts;
- South Africa was being transformed into a "one-party state" led by unelected courts;
- President Zuma's recent statement that the government wanted to review the powers of the constitutional court were not unconstitutional or out of order - but were simply a reflection of public concern over the power of the courts;
- "for most people it appeared that the government had to ask the permission of the courts before it did anything" and that this was the case even though " the government derived its mandate from the people, while the courts comprised only a handful of people."
- amendments to the Constitution were not excluded - but would not interfere with the fundamental rights of South Africans.
Dr Motshekga shed some light on the government's plan to review the judgments of the Constitutional Court during the past 18 years to see how they had affected transformation. The objective of the review would be to clarify the situation that had arisen because "some people misunderstood the powers of the courts". It was in "the national interest to gain clarity on the powers of the executive, the courts and the legislature."
Dr Motshekga was particularly aggrieved by elements "who used the courts for their own narrow interest and to prevent transformation." He was also upset with "political parties that run to the courts with bills before parliament had dealt with the legislative process" - although he could not provide any example of where this had actually happened.
Dr Motshekga's statements are irreconcilable with the principle of the separation of powers that underlies our Constitution.
There is, in fact, no lack of clarity regarding the respective powers of the executive, the legislature and the courts. They are all lucidly spelled out in the Constitution that the ANC itself, and other parties in the Constitutional Assembly, adopted fifteen years ago.