OPINION: Parents of learners are therefore eager to provide their children with the best education they can afford. In the hope that equipping their children with the necessary education and skills will help them stand out in the job market, writes Zelna Jansen.
OPINION: Part and parcel of any democracy is the right to advocate and lobby your interests. It is provided for in the Constitution, writes Zelna Jansen.
OPINION: The ConCourt must guard the separation between and independence of the judiciary, executive and legislature. It may allow Justice Mogoeng’s political right, subject to him terminating his ties to the judiciary, writes Zelna Jansen.
OPINION: Advocate Malesela Teffo has claimed he was unaware of an application by the Legal Practice Council of SA in the Pretoria High Court to have him struck off the advocates’ roll or suspended, writes Zelna Jansen.
OPINION: Protection for whistle-blowers is essential if South Africa wishes to turn the tide on corruption, writes Zelna Jansen.
OPINION: The crime of cable theft is not occurring in a vacuum; there are reasons many are committing these crimes, writes Zelna Jansen.
OPINION: Closing the bank accounts of Sekunjalo would have affected its 8 500 employees and their dependants, and therefore, Nedbank should have acted with more caution, writes Zelna Jansen.
The lockdown due to Covid-19 has changed our way of life. Constraints on in-person contact, the elimination of large gatherings and conferences has amongst others, transformed how we work, interact and learn. It also glaringly exposed, how the spatial, economic and social inequalities that were characteristic features of the apartheid period have persisted in post-apartheid South Africa.
The Copyright Amendment Bill and Performers Protection Amendment Bill was referred back to Parliament. After about two years of public hearings, stakeholders making representations, spending resources attending hearings, making inputs, deliberations from the committee members, etc. , the President referred the bills back to Parliament due to his reservations as to whether the bills would pass constitutional muster.
The constitutional court ruling in the New Nation Movement v the President of the Republic of South and others, ordered that the Electoral Act of 73 of 1998 is unconstitutional, in so far as it requires adult citizens, may be elected to the National Assembly (NA) and Provincial Legislatures only through membership of a political party.
The liberal yet scathing High Court judgement of De Beer and Liberty Fighters Network v Minister of Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs declared certain regulations published under Alert Level 3 of the national lockdown, invalid and unconstitutional. This can leave one confused, because, in April 2020, a judgement from the same high court declared regulations prohibiting gatherings constitutional and justifiable.
The President in his message to the nation on 24 May 2020, announced that South Africa is moving to level 3 in the national lockdown. This allows for business, mining, communications and government services to resume on 1 June 2020. The President confirmed that this decision was taken after extensive consultations with various political parties and other stakeholders and that consultations will continue.
The case of Muhammed Bin Hassim Mohamed vs The President of Republic of South Africa (Case number: 21402/20), looked at the question of whether or not regulations prohibiting religious gatherings, issued in terms of the Disaster Management Act of 2002, are reasonable and justifiable in the circumstances under which they were promulgated.
National Treasury published the Public Procurement Bill earlier this year for comments from the public. The primary aim of the bill is to regulate public procurement and to prescribe the framework for the procurement policy as envisaged in section 217 of the constitution. The bill aims to use the procurement system to advance economic opportunities for previously disadvantaged people and women, the youth and people with disabilities small businesses; and promote local production.
The African National Congress’s (ANC) January 8 Statement for 2020 lists a number of priorities for the ruling party to deliver on in 2020. The first on the list emphasises and talks to citizens holding political office bearers (politicians) accountable. This is mentioned in relation to the loss of the public confidence and trust in public institutions such as state-owned enterprises (SOEs) due to mismanagement, state capture and corruption.
Citizens can - and should - participate in the making of laws and policies and when oversight is conducted in Parliament and provincial legislatures.
For any democracy to work, structures must be in place to ensure good governance. Governance is the process whereby decisions are made and implemented or not implemented. Some of the characteristics of good governance are participation, accountability, transparency, responsiveness, effectiveness and efficiency and the rule of law.
South Africa’s constitutional democracy can be characterized as both representative and participatory in its nature. The representative part of our democracy takes place when citizens elect political representatives. The participatory portion of South Africa’s democracy takes place when laws are made and oversight is conducted at Parliament and the nine provincial legislatures.
The Sixth Parliament kicks off in the wake of revelations of alleged corruption brought to light at the judicial commission of inquiry into allegations of state capture. We recall in October 2017, the then Minister of Finance, announced a budget deficit of R48,2 billion. Later that very same year, the Auditor General announced that over R45 billion was lost due to wasteful expenditure.
Judge Nugent briefed the Standing Committee on Finance on Wednesday, 13 February 2019, on the key findings and recommendations of Nugent Commission of Inquiry into the Tax Administration and Governance by the South African Revenue Services (SARS). The commission was constituted on 24 May 2018, by His Excellency, President Cyril Ramaphosa under Proclamation 17 of 2018.
The Minister of Finance delivered the Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) on 24 October. Amongst the announcements he made, was that the MTBPS is an opportunity to restore trust between government and society. South Africans correctly expect more from their government to ensure that their money is spent wisely and productively, and goes to meeting their basic needs.
Earlier this year, the National Assembly of Parliament adopted a resolution, mandating its Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) to review section 25 of the Constitution in terms of how the state can expropriate land without compensation in the public interest. This resolution has been debated at length in Parliament.
Funding of political parties can be used as a tool for influence and/or bribery, writes Zelna Jansen
Corruption, wasteful spending and illicit financial flows come under the spotlight
Stakeholders say they have not been given sufficient time to interrogate the fiscal framework
