Q&A
Where does this leave your committee?
It doesn’t affect our committee in any respect at all. x
Wasn’t the purpose of your committee to decide if the constitution allows expropriation without compensation?
Correct.
Hasn’t the president now in effect said the constitution will be amended regardless?
He’s saying that’s the ANC’s view. They must be entitled to say this is their view, just as the DA, COPE, EFF or any other organisation is entitled to.
This is the president of the ruling party announcing that it has decided what will happen …
The ANC’s position is public information from December 2017 when it resolved it will go for expropriation without compensation.
Isn’t there a difference between a party resolution and the president announcing it on national TV?
The ANC’s president is entitled to his view, but it’s parliament that decides the issue. Parliament will take the final decision, and that decision will be based on a recommendation from the constitutional review committee. I am totally confident that the process will not be compromised by the pronouncement.
Hasn’t his pronouncement compromised the credibility of your recommendations?
Test the recommendations when we make them. I am confident we will be able to defend whatever decisions we take.
If your recommendations are in line with his pronouncement, people will argue they were influenced by it.
Our decisions are going to be influenced by South Africans. That’s the essence of consultation. We’re open to persuasion by any party or organisation. When we make our recommendations we’ll be able to say why.
Aren’t you concerned by the perception that the decision has been taken away from you?
Categorically, no. There are 500,000-plus submissions that we still haven’t processed … No. What is wrong with Ramaphosa saying “This is what we have decided as the ANC”? Ultimately, parliament will take a view on the decisions made by the committee. Parliament must do what it is expected to do without fear or favour.
What if your recommendations conflict with the president’s announcement and are opposed by the ANC?
It’s not going to be the ANC that opposes it, it’s going to be parliament that opposes it, or ratifies it. And after parliament it goes to the Constitutional Court. So even if my work is, hypothetically, a rubber stamp, the court, I think, is independent enough to say so and not be influenced by the head of state. So the announcement of the head of state is welcomed by me, as are announcements by the DA, COPE, EFF, AfriForum, because they all help to strengthen our final recommendation.
Should their announcements have been given the same prominence?
That is a matter for the SABC.