Ngithokoze Sihlalo, ngisikima nokunilotjhisa noke, ngamakoro ngamakoro. Nangitjho njalo ngitjhobona ngenhlalo ngokulandelana kwazo. [Thank you, Chairperson. Greetings to all of you. When I say that, I mean all of you according to your portfolios.]
With protocol observed, I first and foremost want to say that I stand in support of this Budget Vote.
The history of Nazi Germany is similar to the South African history of apartheid. Germany transformed from the Nazi regime, a very sad history, to the present-day Germany and this transformation has been used as a model for transforming the South African legal system. South Africa had to move away from the conservative apartheid to democracy. The current political and social order of the Republic of Germany is founded on a constitution known as the Basic Law of 1949. Article 20(1) says, "The Federal Republic of Germany is a democratic and social federal state". Section 1 of Chapter 1 of our Constitution states:
The Republic of South Africa is one, sovereign, democratic state founded on the following values: Human dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms; nonracialism and nonsexism; supremacy of the constitution and the rule of law.
Germany thought it wise to establish a federal court, the Bundesverfassungsgericht, to be the guardian of its federal constitution. This was also the model for South Africa's establishment of the Constitutional Court as the watchdog of its Constitution. Symbolically, it was decided that this court should be situated at Constitutional Hill. I read the visitors' brochure, which had this to say about Constitutional Hill:
Nowhere can the story of South Africa's turbulent past and its extraordinary transition to democracy be told as it is at Constitution Hill. This national heritage site has witnessed a century of South Africa's history. From British soldiers who fought with the Boers at the turn of the century, to the youth caught up in the Soweto Uprising, to the dawn of democracy and the building of South Africa's Constitutional Court, Constitution Hill has witnessed it all.
In explaining the Constitutional Court, the brochure stated:
The Constitutional Court is the home of the Constitution, the highest law of the land. Like the Constitution itself, the court was designed to be open, accessible and transparent. The court is built around the remaining stairwells of the old Awaiting Trial Block. The foyer of the court is a light-filled area populated by slanting columns, an architectural metaphor for trees under which African villagers traditionally congregated to discuss with elders the matters of social importance. Any member of the public may attend court hearings or may enter the building to view the many individually commissioned artworks on display.
It is the duty of all three arms of state, namely the legislature - that is Parliament; the executive - that is Cabinet; and the judiciary to transform South African society. During its 51st National Congress, held at Stellenbosch on 20 December 2002, the ANC resolved as follows:
That the early implementation of the Promotion of Equality and the Prohibition of Unfair Discrimination Act of 2000 for the effective campaigns against racism in all areas of life and the implementation of all legislation which have a transformative element or agenda be expedited.
Clause 28 of the Stellenbosch resolution provides as follows:
... to expedite the transformation of the judiciary, to create a more representative, competent, sensitive, humane and responsive judiciary.
During the apartheid era, it was the process that created a lily-white, male judiciary. The democratic Constitution made provision for the establishment of the Judicial Service Commission to implement the provisions of a section providing for the appointment of judicial officers. Section 174, subsection 1, reads as follows:
Any appropriately qualified woman or man who is a fit and proper person may be appointed as a judicial officer. Any person to be appointed to the Constitutional Court must also be a South African citizen.
Subsection 2 says:
The need for the judiciary to reflect broadly the racial and gender composition of South Africa must be considered when judicial officers are appointed.
We are grateful for the progress that has been made so far. The hon Minister referred to the statistics.
Hon Minister, on 21 February 2012, in response to question 18, you said the following:
Section 174, subsection 5 of the Constitution creates an opportunity for the Constitutional Court to draw expertise and experience from outside the judiciary, thereby ensuring that the highest court in the land is able to attract the best legal minds to blend with the expertise already existing on the bench. Our evolving, progressive constitutional jurisprudence, which continues to build on the foundation of the first Constitutional Court judges who were drawn from diverse sectors, has proven the importance of maintaining and sustaining this principle.
Interviews before the JSC are open to members of the public, as well as to both print and electronic media. Similarly, the composition of the selection committee or short-listing committee should be transparent. Aspirant candidates should know beforehand the criteria that will be used in short-listing persons for interviews to enable them to decide whether or not to apply. The ANC commends the sterling work that the JSC is doing in transforming the judiciary. [Applause.]
Regarding the role of civil society, before the advent of democracy and in the absence of the transformative Constitution and a Bill of Rights, some non-governmental organisations, community-based organisations and other community structures were the voice of the voiceless. We commend the role played by the Black Sash, which started as a tea club of ladies and ended up fighting against influx control regulations. One also has in mind organisations like the National Institute for Public Interest Law and Research, Legal Resources Centre, Lawyers for Human Rights, Black Lawyers Association and National Association of Democratic Lawyers, to mention a few. Some of these organisations are no longer operative because overseas donor funding stopped with the advent of democracy. Although South Africa did not have a Bill of Right then, these organisations and formations busied themselves with socioeconomic and cultural rights - the "second generation rights".
Research shows that progressive governments fund those organisations whose aims and objectives are to advance the realisation of basic human rights. The ANC supports this Budget Vote. [Time expired.] [Applause.]