THE recent finding by the Constitutional Court that both President Jacob Zuma and Parliament failed to uphold and defend the constitution has highlighted a crisis of legitimacy for two critical arms of the state. It is a situation that should not be allowed to continue.The judgment said this of the office of our president: "He is the first citizen of this … The promotion of national unity and reconciliation falls squarely on his shoulders … the nation pins its hopes on him to steer the country in the right direction."Delivering the judgment, Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng said the National Assembly "is the voice of all South Africans, especially the poor, the voiceless and the least remembered. It is the watchdog of state resources, the enforcer of fiscal discipline and cost effectiveness…."A critical assumption in our constitutional architecture is that Parliament shall always be in a position to hold the executive to account. This assumption is no longer true, and the adverse findi...
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