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
BLA statement on disclosure by judges
Whilst we are not fully appraised with the reasons thereto, we hold a firm and honest belief that it should stand to reason that as custodians of the interpretation and application of the constitution, which is unequivocal on issues of transparency and accountability by all arms of government including the judiciary, there was and there still remains a duty to lead the pack on transparency which is already meted out against executive and legislature. To this end, there does not appear to be any foundational basis for the justices not to disclose their financial interests including their assets. If anything, their focal point should be hinging on establishing mechanisms of ensuring that the disclosures are as less intrusive “IS possible, largely in so far as same may be relating to their families.
The disclosures which are meted out to the Executive and Legislature should similarly hold same for the judiciary. There are hosts of reasons for such line of disclosure to be adopted.
While we acknowledge the inalienable right to follow the due process, it will be extremely amazing if the justices were to carry out the threat of subjecting this issue to court processes. Such a course of action is not only undesirable but is also enemical to the judiciary’s commitment to transparency as envisaged by the constitution.
The BLA accordingly urge the justices not to entangle themselves in a quagmire of whether or not the proposed disclosures are necessary or not. In our view these measures are not only desirable but are also necessary both in fact and law and above all are instructure in terms of the constitution which binds the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary.
PER: P B MABUNDA
OBO: BLACK LAWYERS ASSOCIATION
