Mr Chair, in order to mobilise people we need strong and principled leadership and a clear vision. To mobilise people towards consolidating democracy and freedom, we firstly need to embrace these concepts ourselves and live in such a way that we lead by example.
In 1994, we looked forward to a life of freedom and of exercising the rights protected in the Constitution. Unfortunately, over the last few years especially, we have seen an erosion of the solid base started under the Mandela presidency.
Critical elements of a constitutional democracy are respect for the rule of law and the separation of powers. These serve as vital checks and balances and are meant to guard against the abuse of power, and enable peoples' rights and freedom to be protected. Yet these critical elements are being eroded more and more under the current government.
We have heard already that we have a President who thinks that democracy means that the majority has more rights than the minorities. We have a President who has made a career of appointing pliable cadres to vital positions in the Criminal Justice System, and our concerns in this regard have been well documented. Surely by now he should have learned his lesson, but reports in the media over the weekend speculating on his choice of the new National Director of Public Prosecutions, NDPP, indicate that he has not. And then, if this appointment is challenged, he will again play the role of a hurt victim of these terrible politicians who would just not allow him to appoint someone who is there to protect him from prosecution.
The benefits to himself of such appointments can perhaps most clearly be seen in the spy tapes case, where the National Prosecuting Authority, NPA, allowed the President's own lawyer to decide whether the tapes should be given to the DA or not, instead of taking the decision themselves as per the court order. Unsurprisingly, they decided not to, and we are going back to court again.
But the benefits for other friends and members of the ANC can be seen in other matters. In August 2011, we laid charges against Bheki Cele, Gwen Mahlangu-Nkabinde and Roux Shabangu. To date, no arrests have been made, and all we have been told is that the investigation is continuing. We laid charges against the ANC Youth League last year for their role in the death of an innocent truck driver. We have heard nothing further. The message is quite clear: If you are a crony of the dominant faction of the ANC, you will have the freedom to do as you wish. This is not the freedom we envisaged in 1994.
The promised constitutional right of equality has been subverted by the governing party into the Orwellian maxim that "some... are more equal than others". The democratic imperative of compliance with the rule of law has been subverted by a President who thinks he is the law. And the fact that the ANC has re-elected him to lead the country means that they endorse that view.
We have a number of freedoms protected in the Constitution but, when these remain in a document and are not enjoyed in practice, they mean nothing. One such right is the freedom of expression. Tell First National Bank, FNB, that they have freedom of expression, or perhaps artist Brett Murray.
And then we have Avis who dared to oppose the Gauteng e-tolls and who are being threatened by the ANC in government that if they do not show remorse for exercising their right to freedom of expression, they will lose government business. According to correspondence from none other than the Deputy President's office -
They must publicly distance themselves from Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance, OUTA, then we will be in business again. The presidency has already moved its multimillion-rand car-hire contract from Avis to a competitor.
When a government is in a position to use such bullying tactics to suppress legitimate dissent and to remain certain that they will not face any consequences as they control all the levers of power, that is the end of freedom. And we are getting closer and closer to that point. In short then, the only way we are going to be able to mobilise society towards democracy and freedom is to elect a leadership that embrace and promotes them, as the current leadership does not. Next year is an opportunity to do so.