Zuma wrong on overreach of the courts, says Sachs

RETIRED Constitutional Court Judge Albie Sachs rejected outright President Jacob Zuma’s assertion that courts overreached or were counter-majoritarian when they made findings against the government.

Last week, Zuma told the ANC policy conference that the continual court challenges brought by opposition parties against his government were anti-democratic.

Speaking at the National Arts Festival’s ThinkFest in Grahamstown, Sachs said the opposite was true.

Court decisions, such as the judgment on the Nkandla debacle, had not weakened parliament but rather injected a new vitality and integrity into its work.

Sachs was referring to the Constitutional Court’s finding that Zuma had failed to uphold, defend and respect the constitution when he refused to comply with then public protector Thuli Madonsela’s remedial action in the Nkandla matter.

The court also ruled that members of parliament had violated the constitution and their oath of office by failing to hold Zuma accountable.

Sachs said parliament had not been diminished by the decision but had rather been empowered to improve its oversight and demand executive accountability.

He said the courts had developed the theory of rationality in the face of inappropriate appointments to positions such as the head of public prosecutions or the police.

Sachs said one could not appoint a liar or a crook to head institutions designed to catch out liars and crooks.

He said the Constitutional Court had also effectively saved the welfare programme from collapse with its decision on the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) and Cash Paymaster Services debacle.

Its intervention had been balanced, wise and pro-poor and had encouraged the Department of Social Development to carry out its work properly.