ANC undermines Constitution and justice

16 July 2019

South Africa has a modern, progressive constitution, but the implementation of laws and policy is poor, constitutional values are watered down and the government and other state institutions are indifferent to their duties and responsibilities and that means that constitutional guarantees do not realise.

In an environment where fraud and allegations of state capture and other irregularities are at the order of the day even in the highest government circles, the Department of Justice is supposed to protect and maintain the rule of law and South Africa's Constitution. A national director of public prosecution is of cardinal importance in this regard.

Under the new administration of President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Department of Justice must prove that it will put South Africa and its people first, unlike what happened in the past.

Since 2016, the office of the Public Protector (PP) has investigated more than 50 000 cases. Of these 35 000 have been finalised. That means that there are still 15 000 investigations that are not yet finalised.

Many of these pertain to municipalities and instances where the government did not fulfil its oversight role as it ought to have done or did not take any action where it was warranted.

Despite all the FF Plus's queries about these outstanding cases, the PP has not provided any feedback on the matter.

In 2017, the High Court in Pretoria ruled that the recommendation made by the PP, adv Busisiwe Mkhwebane, regarding the Reserve Bank's mandate was irrational. There were also further findings on the Estina project and the fact that the PP neglected to take action with regard to Petro SA, where R14,5 billion went missing in a single year.

The office of the PP does not instil confidence in the public and sometimes one gets the impression that her office may be misused for the sake of internal faction fights in the ANC. The FF Plus finds it unacceptable that tax money is squandered in this way.

Law and order seem to be under attack and the principle of expropriation without compensation will steer South Africa in the same direction as Zimbabwe. The ANC simply amends South Africa's Constitution so as to make illegal actions legal.

The shrinking South African economy should serve as a warning for the Department of Justice and the Chapter 9 Institutions as they will be under ever-increasing pressure to maintain the country's constitutional democracy under ANC rule.

The FF Plus will continue to act as watchdog in the interest of all South Africans and will keep fighting for freedom and justice.

Issued by Jaco Mulder, FF Plus MP and chief spokesperson: Justice and Correctional Services, 16 July 2019