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Today South Africa Parliament cannot conscientiously claim to be a representative of the ‘People’. A government qualifies to be termed responsible when it is answerable and accountable to an elected ‘Parliament’ and through it, the ‘People’.
South Africa Constitution Chapter 4, Section 42 (3): “The National Assembly is elected to represent the people and to ensure government by the people under the Constitution.”
Therefore, in an ideal South Africa, the three distinct branches of government would execute their duties without fear or favour and that is;
(1) Legislatures would enact legislation and make laws
(2) Executives would implement and execute the law
(3) Judiciary would interpret law and adjudicate on the meaning of law
The Legislatures would hold the Executive accountable and responsible, but instead we realize a paralysis in the National Assembly - Legislatures are at the mercy of a dominant Executive. On the other hand the Executive is dominated by ruling party discipline and dictates. Which implies the two supposedly most powerful branches of government (Legislature and Executive) had been relegated to be doormats and subordinates of the ruling party.
Actually, as things stand, the country is conforming to the dictates of an elective dictatorship!
Executive domination and strict Political Party discipline had immobilized the South African Parliament. That dictate of Chapter 4, Section 42(3) of the SA Constitution had proved to be a vacuous rhetoric. Both the legislative and executive bodies had been subordinates of the unchallengeable strict authority of Luthuli House.
The only branch of government still immune from the domination of the ‘elective dictatorship’ is the Judiciary. But that does not mean the overtures to subjugate the judiciary had never been part of the agenda of the ‘elective dictatorship’. In fact post 2009 we had seen a concerted effort to get the Judiciary ‘in line’ with the rest of the branches of government. So, one would be naïve to even absolve Luthuli House from ever contemplating subjugating that branch into the dictatorial fold.
The present South African parliament is 20 years old and yet most (the People) had never been interested in the daily business of Parliament. But the ignorance and arrogance of most stopped the day old ‘enemies’, Malema and Zuma collided head-on in the National Assembly.
Many in the ANC were surprised when their ‘Cult-personality’ bubble burst on that fateful as Zuma was rightfully challenged and brought back down to mortal status. It took 20 years, Parliament to come off-age. Unfortunately, that was the day Parliament also lost its false sense of sanctity!
I believe the last time the ‘People’ were that interested in parliamentary business was in 1994, the day Nelson Mandela made his maiden speech. That was the day the pride and dignity of the Africans was restored and most had the hope of a ‘better life for all’.
Instead of buying their own representation - The vote of 07th May 2014 had bought the ‘People’ front-row seats to witness, decry and ululate in response to the shenanigans happening in the Theatre called Parliament. Today, the ‘People’ tune-in to Parliament TV to witness the unfortunate drama. Parliament unplugged!
I guess the time had come for any shrewd business person to buy exclusive broadcast rights of the drama called Parliament. Then broadcasts would be shifted to prime time in order to capture the audience still watching with the ‘soapies’.
In reference to the topic of the day – All political parties represented in parliament if given a chance to ‘rule’, they are likely to behave like today’s ‘elective dictatorship’. The electoral system also guarantees absolute power by political parties over the ‘People’.
Remember, the so-called Parliamentary Peace Treaty that was supposedly attained by the leader of government business, Cyril Ramaphosa and the leaders of all opposition parties?
That so-called ‘Peace Treaty’ was never worth the paper it was written on, because it collapsed after 24 hours of its conception proving again – There shall be no Peace without Accountability.
Probably and rightfully so, Mmusi Maimane as the DA Parliamentary Leader, had depended on his discretion to arrive at an agreement with Cyril Ramaphosa. But I believe, it was contrary to something that was envisaged or sanctioned by the DA Head Office.
Again, we realize, no one is immune from the strict authority and unchallengeable strict authority of political parties’ headquarters.
The same could also be said about Cyril Ramaphosa and the Chief Whip Stone Sizane that, they in reaching the so-called Parliamentary Peace Treaty - They too had not conformed to ruling party factionalism and cult worshipping dictates.
I had said it before in the article titled “Jacob Zuma cult personality bringing Parliament into disrepute”. The chaos in Parliament had one common denominator and that was Jacob Zuma.
Jacob Zuma is the epitome of everything that is wrong with the National Assembly, today.
(1) Zuma conditionally conforms to the Constitution he swore to unconditionally uphold.
(2) Zuma in his own words, had been ignorant of most of the unsavory things happening in the country and at his infamous home, Inkandla.
(3) Zuma had also acted irrationally in the execution of his duties and a case in point was the Menzi Simelane saga.
Constitutional Democracy dictates, is ‘checks and balances’. But here we have a President afraid to present himself to Parliament to execute his mandate of being responsible and accountable to the ‘People’, State and the Constitution he swore to uphold.
The spokesperson of the ruling party in uncertain terms did say: “The President cannot be exposed to embarrassment by the opposition parties”. The majority in the National Assembly conform to the strict dictates, dominance and unchallengeable authority of the ruling party.
The members of the National Assembly are not at the mercy of the ‘People’, but their respective political parties.
South Africa Parliament has lost its Responsibility. This is an elective dictatorship!
