LETTER: RET faction wants rule of law replaced by rule of man
SA has long been colonised and debate about it is fruitless
31 January 2022 - 14:12
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Firefighting at parliament in Cape Town. Picture: MARYAM ADAMS
Christmas Mafe, accused of setting fire to the parliamentary buildings, said in the dock that parliament was not serving the people. He is not alone in his misgivings.
Lindiwe Sisulu and others from the radical economic transformation (RET) grouping within the ANC regard our constitutional order and independent bench as disposable, having been inequitably imposed on us.
These should be dispensed with if they prove to be “colonial” (for which, read Western). After all, how can Western values and the Western concept of the rule of law benefit Africa?
It is true that a Western ethos is not embedded in all African countries to our north. It would be fair to say the rule of law has not prevailed over the rule of man. Battle is still joined, albeit that the evinced aspirations of bodies such as the AU, and also some heads of state, tend towards democracy and the rule of law.
Presumably, the RET grouping would weigh in on the side of the rule of man. The RET eminence grise, Jacob Zuma, is on record stating that he has difficulty feeling himself bound by unelected judges, who sometimes cannot reach a unanimous decision... They must surely be inferior in power to an elected head of state!
But SA has a highly developed formal economy. The great majority of employed black people and minorities work in the formal sector. There is no way formal sector companies or other institutions can operate, let alone thrive, without a consistent body of law stipulating and undergirding property, contractual and personal rights.
The “debate”, therefore, as to whether our constitutional order is too “colonial” belongs in Alice in Wonderland, at the Mad Hatter’s tea party. SA does not have the option of reverting to an informal subsistence economy, which would be the ultimate consequence should we dispense with the rule of law and an independent judiciary.
SA has long been colonised, if by this is meant that we form part of the global constitutional order.
Willem Cronje Cape Town
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
LETTER: RET faction wants rule of law replaced by rule of man
SA has long been colonised and debate about it is fruitless
Christmas Mafe, accused of setting fire to the parliamentary buildings, said in the dock that parliament was not serving the people. He is not alone in his misgivings.
Lindiwe Sisulu and others from the radical economic transformation (RET) grouping within the ANC regard our constitutional order and independent bench as disposable, having been inequitably imposed on us.
These should be dispensed with if they prove to be “colonial” (for which, read Western). After all, how can Western values and the Western concept of the rule of law benefit Africa?
It is true that a Western ethos is not embedded in all African countries to our north. It would be fair to say the rule of law has not prevailed over the rule of man. Battle is still joined, albeit that the evinced aspirations of bodies such as the AU, and also some heads of state, tend towards democracy and the rule of law.
Presumably, the RET grouping would weigh in on the side of the rule of man. The RET eminence grise, Jacob Zuma, is on record stating that he has difficulty feeling himself bound by unelected judges, who sometimes cannot reach a unanimous decision... They must surely be inferior in power to an elected head of state!
But SA has a highly developed formal economy. The great majority of employed black people and minorities work in the formal sector. There is no way formal sector companies or other institutions can operate, let alone thrive, without a consistent body of law stipulating and undergirding property, contractual and personal rights.
The “debate”, therefore, as to whether our constitutional order is too “colonial” belongs in Alice in Wonderland, at the Mad Hatter’s tea party. SA does not have the option of reverting to an informal subsistence economy, which would be the ultimate consequence should we dispense with the rule of law and an independent judiciary.
SA has long been colonised, if by this is meant that we form part of the global constitutional order.
Willem Cronje
Cape Town
JOIN THE DISCUSSION: Send us an email with your comments to letters@businesslive.co.za. Letters of more than 300 words will be edited for length. Anonymous correspondence will not be published. Writers should include a daytime telephone number.
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