Ruling shows how far SA has drifted from ideals of founding fathers and mothers

CAPE TOWN, South Africa - March 31, 2016 - PRLog -- MEDIA RELEASE BY

ELDER STATESMAN ARCHBISHOP EMERITUS NJONGONKULU NDUNGANE,

Thursday 31 March 2016

The unanimous judgment handed down today by South Africa's Constitutional Court that found that President Jacob Zuma and the National Assembly did not uphold the Constitution of South Africa is a sad illustration of how far South Africa has drifted from the course set in the voyage of high ideals established by our founding fathers and mothers under the leadership of President Nelson Mandela.

It is also an illustration of the dismissive way in which governments in South Africa have increasingly treated the poor and marginalised because the Public Protector - whom the court found to be the biblical David acting on behalf of those with no voice and no means - was so shamefully undermined after her findings on Nkandla.

It is a great day for South Africa's constitutional democracy, however, because it has shown that when people are insistent in standing up for their rights, right will triumph. In this case, it is the right of the rule of law, the supremacy of our Constitution, and the imperative to do what is right in the interests of the majority of the people of our land who simply do not have the luxurious style of living which members of the Cabinet, members of Parliament, and other elected officials enjoy. It is instructive to note that the Constitutional Court indicated that these elected officials are the servants of the people.

Now is the time for those in power, both within the ruling elite in the ANC, and in Parliament, to take stock of the damage they have done to the good name of our country and, more particularly, to the rich heritage we enjoyed as a result of the likes of Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Robert Sobukwe, and others.

Given the damning indictment by the Court, not only of the President, but also of some of his ministers who he has been asked to discipline, and also the ANC majority in Parliament, which rallied around the President, the responsibility for this debacle goes way beyond just the President. In any other democracy in the world, such widespread responsibility would almost certainly lead to a government reconsidering its position.

As someone who has consistently in my ministry promoted the cause of the poor and marginalised, this finding suggests that this government ought to reconsider its standing in South Africa at this point in time.

Ends

Issued by: Quo Vadis Communications

on behalf of Archbishop Emeritus Njongonkulu Ndungane

Media contact:  Ruth Coggin

         082-903-5819

         ruth@quo-vadis.co.za

Note: Archbishop Emeritus Njongonkulu Ndungane is the former Archbishop of Cape Town. He held this office as head of the Anglican Church in South Africa for 11 years from September 2006 to September 2007 when he retired. He is currently the Executive Director of the Historic Schools Restoration Project (an initiative to restore the historic schools of South Africa) and President of African Monitor (an independent continent-wide organisation that monitors the development of grassroots communities).