Judiciary filling void
THE judiciary branch should never be attacked or insulted for filling the void left by our Parliament. The judiciary feel that the void left by Parliament is by default left to them, and they feel obliged to “save” the country.
While we strongly condemn attacks by opportunists on the judiciary, it is also important to note that the judiciary has entered the political sphere. This is so because our Parliament has been turned into the State Theatre and it is now the capital of South African entertainment, instead of fulfilling its role of guarding the people and maintaining proper checks and balances. It is a maker of laws, which means that it is entitled to initiate, amend or annul laws.
Parliament has continuously failed to hold the executive to account, hence the intervention by the judiciary. This, in matters of governance, symbolises major problems in the country and we should view these in a very serious light.
We must all accept that our Parliament has become a terrain for national comedy, where old people are publicly paid to make fun of each other by howling, mocking or teasing, while not holding the executive to account.
The courts have also lost hope in our supposed Parliament, hence they play an active role in the leadership void left by Parliament.
Parliament is where the powers and duties of the incumbent president are supposed to be reviewed, but this is not being done. Instead, those in Parliament are singing their national anthem of “Zuma-Must-Fall”.
We are very disappointed not only at the deteriorating decorum of our Parliament but also its incapacity to deal with immediate and important national and international matters.
It had recently met concerning economic cluster issues, but no mention was made of Vuwani, Ennerdale or Eldorado Park, where people are crying out loudly for aid.
The executive leg of government has also lost political direction, hence its under-performing departments. The Parliament responds by howling, instead of exploiting parliamentary routes to discipline those who are incompetent and have not met their constitutional obligations.