THERE are times when you have to wonder whether President Jacob Zuma says some of the wonderful things he utters in his speeches simply because he has to make the right noises or whether he simply does not understand what he is reading.
How else do you explain his ability to stand on a platform and make noble commitments while doing the exact opposite in his day-to-day governance of the republic?
This week he stood before delegates to the 59th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference and, with a straight face, stated this country’s commitment to all the good things that democracy is supposed to be about.
“We do not take democracy, and the protection and promotion thereof, lightly in South Africa ... we are thus always ready to protect, promote and defend our democracy and all institutions of democracy including parliament,” he told the delegates.
Later in the speech, he declared: “We should also bear in mind that democratic governance and its institutions such as parliaments and legislatures, are vital for good governance, human rights and the rule of law.”
Underline RULE OF LAW for we shall return to it later. Later in the week, the president addressed a meeting of editors and foreign correspondents where the cabinet was highlighting its programmes, achievements and challenges.
After addressing many issues the government was dealing with, he said he wished to “acknowledge the contribution of the media to the campaign against corruption.”
“While many corruption cases arise from government investigations, many others came about through the hard work of the media. We are satisfied that we have enough instruments in the country to help us fight this scourge,” said Zuma.
He then went on to list these instruments and the strides made in the war against the “scourge” of corruption and in the promotion of “clean governance and accountability within the public service”.
Now back to the rule of law.
It must be noted that Zuma gave this lofty commitment to protecting the rule of law in the wake of him and his legal team doing everything to undermine this principle which he swore to uphold when he took the oath of office.
In one of the most brazen cases of flouting the rule of law, Zuma and his lawyers have effectively given the judicial system the middle finger.
Almost 18 months after the Supreme Court of Appeals (SCA) ordered the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to hand over to the registrar of the Gauteng High Court, a reduced record of the material on which former acting NPA head Mokotedi Mpshe relied on to drop charges against Zuma, the president and the prosecuting authorities have been playing a game of cat and mouse. There is no need to go into the history of the case here, as this has been widely covered and canvassed in the media and in public discourse. What is most disturbing in this saga though, is that Zuma and his team have pulled every underhand trick to prevent the Democratic Alliance from getting its hands on the material they need to lodge a review of Mpshe’s dodgy decision.
These tricks have included overt defiance of the unambiguous instructions of SCA, the second highest court in the land.
It has also involved the unashamed manipulation of the NPA, a constitutionally established body whose stated mission “prosecuting without fear, favour and prejudice”.
In this case, however, the NPA has definitely acted out of fear, shown lots of favour and certainly acted with prejudice towards the applicant.
And the purpose of undermining the rule of law by defying the courts and manipulating the NPA?
To protect Zuma from being prosecuted for the very corruption he refers to as a “scourge” and has vowed to fight.
The statistics of anti-corruption successes he reeled out to the editors were indeed very impressive. Several thousand officials have been found guilty of corruption and misconduct with 1600 being kicked out of the public service and more than 200 being prosecuted in criminal courts.
The government deserves at least a good mark for effort in this regard. It means some of the instruments are working. Pity then that the same enthusiasm has not been extended to the over 700 corruption, fraud and racketeering charges faced by the man reading out the impressive statistics.
Instead the opposite has happened. The NPA, a vital instrument in the anti-corruption war, has been turned into an instrument in the defence of corruption and the undermining of the rule of law.
Before Zuma reads the next speech in which he extols the virtues of South Africa’s constitutional democracy, he must consider the immense damage that his battle to stay out of the dock is doing to this 20 year-old project.
He must also ask himself if these acts by him, the head of state, are consistent with his pledge “to protect, promote and defend our democracy and all institutions of democracy”.
Mondli Makhanya is the former editor of the Sunday Times
Zuma’s actions contradict his pledges on democracy
How else do you explain his ability to stand on a platform and make noble commitments while doing the exact opposite in his day-to-day governance of the republic?
This week he stood before delegates to the 59th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference and, with a straight face, stated this country’s commitment to all the good things that democracy is supposed to be about.
“We do not take democracy, and the protection and promotion thereof, lightly in South Africa ... we are thus always ready to protect, promote and defend our democracy and all institutions of democracy including parliament,” he told the delegates.
Later in the speech, he declared: “We should also bear in mind that democratic governance and its institutions such as parliaments and legislatures, are vital for good governance, human rights and the rule of law.”
Underline RULE OF LAW for we shall return to it later. Later in the week, the president addressed a meeting of editors and foreign correspondents where the cabinet was highlighting its programmes, achievements and challenges.
After addressing many issues the government was dealing with, he said he wished to “acknowledge the contribution of the media to the campaign against corruption.”
“While many corruption cases arise from government investigations, many others came about through the hard work of the media. We are satisfied that we have enough instruments in the country to help us fight this scourge,” said Zuma.
He then went on to list these instruments and the strides made in the war against the “scourge” of corruption and in the promotion of “clean governance and accountability within the public service”.
Now back to the rule of law.
It must be noted that Zuma gave this lofty commitment to protecting the rule of law in the wake of him and his legal team doing everything to undermine this principle which he swore to uphold when he took the oath of office.
In one of the most brazen cases of flouting the rule of law, Zuma and his lawyers have effectively given the judicial system the middle finger.
Almost 18 months after the Supreme Court of Appeals (SCA) ordered the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to hand over to the registrar of the Gauteng High Court, a reduced record of the material on which former acting NPA head Mokotedi Mpshe relied on to drop charges against Zuma, the president and the prosecuting authorities have been playing a game of cat and mouse. There is no need to go into the history of the case here, as this has been widely covered and canvassed in the media and in public discourse. What is most disturbing in this saga though, is that Zuma and his team have pulled every underhand trick to prevent the Democratic Alliance from getting its hands on the material they need to lodge a review of Mpshe’s dodgy decision.
These tricks have included overt defiance of the unambiguous instructions of SCA, the second highest court in the land.
It has also involved the unashamed manipulation of the NPA, a constitutionally established body whose stated mission “prosecuting without fear, favour and prejudice”.
In this case, however, the NPA has definitely acted out of fear, shown lots of favour and certainly acted with prejudice towards the applicant.
And the purpose of undermining the rule of law by defying the courts and manipulating the NPA?
To protect Zuma from being prosecuted for the very corruption he refers to as a “scourge” and has vowed to fight.
The statistics of anti-corruption successes he reeled out to the editors were indeed very impressive. Several thousand officials have been found guilty of corruption and misconduct with 1600 being kicked out of the public service and more than 200 being prosecuted in criminal courts.
The government deserves at least a good mark for effort in this regard. It means some of the instruments are working. Pity then that the same enthusiasm has not been extended to the over 700 corruption, fraud and racketeering charges faced by the man reading out the impressive statistics.
Instead the opposite has happened. The NPA, a vital instrument in the anti-corruption war, has been turned into an instrument in the defence of corruption and the undermining of the rule of law.
Before Zuma reads the next speech in which he extols the virtues of South Africa’s constitutional democracy, he must consider the immense damage that his battle to stay out of the dock is doing to this 20 year-old project.
He must also ask himself if these acts by him, the head of state, are consistent with his pledge “to protect, promote and defend our democracy and all institutions of democracy”.
Mondli Makhanya is the former editor of the Sunday Times
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