What we have today is a progressive Constitution underpinning an increasingly weak government. It is no coincidence that politicians around the world, facing a decline in electoral support on the back of service delivery failure, have also been tempted to interfere with constitutional arrangements. The difference is that in South Africa, we will never allow this to happen.
Those who are tempted not to stay the course with our Constitution should remember that change is difficult. Progress can be reversed. Societies can - and they sometimes do - fall apart. We do not have to look far.
Finally, it is ironic that while our human rights-inspired Constitution is being talked down at home, it is being talked up abroad. In a recent interview with Al Hayat television in Egypt, United States Supreme Court Justice Ruth Ginsberg, America's second female chief justice, advised:
I would not look to the US constitution if I was drafting a constitution in the year 2012. I might look at the Constitution of South Africa.
HON MEMBERS: Hear, hear!