The election campaign for the fourth democratically elected Government and Parliament of the Republic of South Africa has been one of the most expensive in our history. As our political parties spawn new market entrants into the party political space and others grow and consolidate their financial needs magnify accordingly. In terms of existing laws and regulations, particularly the fund established in accordance with the Public Funding of Represented Political Parties Fund Act.
The Helen Suzman Foundation seeks to promote constitutional liberal democracy and human rights. As an active member of South African civil society, The Helen Suzman Foundation contributes to debates on contemporary events and institutional challenges that form part of efforts to consolidate democracy.
South Africa’s economic policy landscape has experienced one global financial crisis before. It emanated from Asia in the early 1990s, uncomfortably coinciding with our country’s transition to democracy at a time when a new administration had to win the hearts and minds, and confidence, of the global economy and international investors. The response to this crisis, the fiscal austerity of the Growth, Employment and Redistribution Strategy (GEAR) adopted by the South African government in 1996, was, and remains, a controversial policy response. It caused significant strain within the tripartite alliance, despite there clearly being very little domestic policy room amid a deepening crisis that engulfed all emerging markets and confronted a new government with no economic-policy track record with immediate and complex questions.
The longevity of founding documents, declarations and constitutions are the preserve of all citizens who care about the ethos that inspires the societies they inhabit, and it lies in a complex process of internalising the visionary values of these social contracts and acting, and structuring our actions and our words, every day, to further the ideals espoused in them.
The past year has been a challenging one for South Africa’s judiciary. It has been both the object and subject of much political controversy. Judges have been in the spotlight of controversy, senior political leaders of various affiliations have brazenly and calculatedly attacked the judiciary under the guise of legitimate criticism and judges themselves have acted in ways that have posed new challenges for the judiciary as a whole (with a judge of the High Courts and the justices of the Constitutional Court at loggerheads). The situation has furthermore posed challenges for the operation and procedures of the Judicial Services Commission (JSC) and the concept of judicial misconduct and for the manner in which the public view the judiciary, the legitimacy of the courts and the justness of rulings from the bench.
The Helen Suzman Foundation thought it prudent – with an election campaign mere months away – and the Electoral Task Teams’ call for a new mixed electoral system to be in place by 2009 to convene our second QRS this year to discuss Electoral Reform and Responsive Representation. The debate around electoral reform in South Africa has had a distinct journey with constitutional negotiators opting for a system of closed-list proportional representation at national and provincial levels of government with a mixed system at local government level.
The Fourth Estate’s freedom requires eternal vigilance. The previous year – 2007 – has become etched in the South African memory as the year the media confronted various challenges and obstacles. These ranged from the controversial Film and Publications Amendment Bill to the litigation about the Sunday Times’ coverage of the Minister of Health and its aftermath which included some concerning developments with respect to the freedom of the press. These developments included the prospect of an arrest of the Editor of the Sunday Times and/or senior journalists, the statements published by key civil servants after a court order clearly and carefully sought to balance the Minister of Health's right to privacy and the public interest raising questions about their respect for the judiciary and the threat of government’s advertising revenue being withdrawn from the Sunday Times raised by the Minister in the Presidency, Essop Pahad. All these events increased the volume on the prospect of a new statutory regulatory body to be created – a Media Appeals Tribunal (MAT). This flurry of activity also sparked more debates when Koni Media launched a bid for then Johncom Ltd. (now Avusa Ltd).
It is a great honour for us to host the last of the Helen Suzman Foundation's Quarterly Roundtable Series for 2007. We're doing it at a rather opportune time, a few days before the kick-off, no pun intended, of the Polokwane Conference. We’ve asked some of the best and brightest analytical minds in our contemporary political environment to join us in a discussion on “The Final Stretch”. We literally are in the final stretch, and there are very interesting events emerging. We have Winnie Madikizela Mandela trying to broker agreements between the Mbeki and Zuma camps.
The Helen Suzman Foundation started what has become the Quarterly Roundtable Series. The series has become quite an about a year ago in December, with our first institution, and we're very pleased Roundtable looking at the role and impact of political culture on democratic institutions.
Last year The Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF) started the Quarterly Roundtable Series. We aim to use this series to further public discourse on matters of national interest and national importance, and we have already hosted two roundtables. The first dealt with the impact of political culture on democratic institutions, and in the second, we looked at the review of Chapter Nine institutions.
The Helen Suzman Foundation launched its Annual Quarterly Roundtable Series in 2006 aimed at stimulating debate on issues relevant to the future of democracy in South Africa and to explore matters related to politics and governance of South Africa. This Roundtable on the Review of Chapter Nine Institutions, currently in progress under the auspices of a parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee on the Review of State Institutions Supporting Constitutional Democracy and the Public Service Commission chaired by Prof. Kader Asmal, MP, was convened to ensure that...
This is the first in The Helen Suzman Foundation’s new Quarterly Roundtable Series: The impact of political culture and traditions on democratic institutions and the consolidation of democracy. “There is a challenge confronting advocates of the values of tolerance and liberal constitutional democracy in all walks of life, in all political organisations and in all social movements. It is important to distinguish between those who wield political power for the common good and those who wield it for the sake of access to economic opportunity.”
The Helen Suzman Foundation hosted a lively panel discussion at the Rosebank Hotel on the 14 October 2009. Former HSF Director Raenette Taljaard chaired the discussion and the panel made up of Neren Rau (CEO Sacci); Aubrey Matshiqi (independent analyst), Azar Jammine (Econometrics) and William Gumede (independent analyst) provided thought provoking and substantive comment. The discussion covered two new Green Papers: National Strategic Planning and Improving Government Performance, submitted by Trevor Manuel and Collins Chabane respectively.
The Round Table on Health Reform, part of the HSF’s Quarterly Round Table series held in association with the Open Society Foundation For South Africa, was attended by some one hundred and sixty members of the public, health practitioners, government officials, financial analysts, bankers and members of the insurance industry. Headline presenters Tebogo Phadu of the ANC policy unit and Alex van den Heever, an independent health economist led the discussion. Francis Antonie chaired the Round Table and Jonathan Broomberg, Chris Archer, Trevor Terblanche, Joe Veriava and Hein van Eck were discussants.
The Foundation’s liveliest roundtable to date was held at the Johannesburg Country Club, 10 March 2010. The varied panel comprising Antjie Krog (Begging to be Black), Eusebius McKaiser (columnist and blogger), William Gumede (political analyst) and Ivor Chipkin (Do South African’s Exist?) provided provocative, contrasting and stimulating presentations.
The Helen Suzman Foundation in association with, the Open Society Foundation For South Africa, hosted another Quarterly Roundtable on Sport, Nation Building and Development. It was held at the Country Club Johannesburg in Auckland Park on Monday 31 May 2010. The Roundtable was attended by a cross section of the public and people currently working within the field of sports development research and community sporting initiatives.
T he Helen Suzman Foundation, in association with The Open Society Foundation For South Africa, hosted a roundtable discussion on Wednesday 18 August 2010, entitled Of Strangers and Outsiders: Overcoming Xenophobia. The debate was lively and the event was attended by around 160 people.
This is the second in a series of three symposia on practical aspects of the justice system in South Africa. This symposium seeks to explore and inform discussions around the enhancement of criminal justice in South Africa. It features: Adv Menzi Simelane, Judge Azhar Cachalia, Judge Thami Makhanya, and Prof Stephen Tuson.
This is the first in a series of three symposia on practical aspects of the justice system in South Africa. This symposium focuses on the delivery of justice in the civil litigation system. It features: Judge Murray Kellam, Prof Laurence Boulle, Adv Nazeer Cassim, Prof Cathi Albertyn, and Judge Dennis Davis.
The Helen Suzman Foundation, in association with its partner the Open Society Foundation For South Africa, hosted its first QRS of the year. The QRS explored South Africa’s Debt Trap against the background of the National Credit Act, and the responses to this Act from the Banking sector and Micro Finance Industry.
As the state of South Africa continues its search of efficient and effective resolutions to the energy dilemma and strives to meet the country’s long term demand, The Helen Suzman Foundation took the opportunity to host a roundtable discussion on this issue. The theme of the discussion, The Energy Mix: Electrifying South Africa, has its roots in the government’s expressed commitment to expand the country’s energy mix and to move beyond fossil-based fuel sources.
Francis Antonie, Director of the Helen Suzman Foundation and Chair for the evening, began by noting that as the evening’s roundtable takes place on the eve of the Municipal Elections, questions around the efficiency, effectiveness and the role of local government are up for discussion. He laid the foundation for the discussion by outlining several questions to frame the debate. These included questions around the capacity of local government, funding issues, the appropriateness of the structures of local government for dealing with corruption, and the susceptibility of the administrative structures to pressures from economic and political elites. He ended by posing the question, “Have we not set local government up for failure?”
This particular Roundtable emerged out of ongoing discussions held with the Oppenheimer Memorial Trust (OMT) and with Business and Arts South Africa (BASA). Given the importance of the Arts in uniting, enlightening, and developing a rich and vibrant South African society, the Roundtable discussion explored how funding of the Arts can become more streamlined, co-ordinated and effective in order to enhance the sustainability of the Arts sector.
South Africa’s Constitution is one of the most liberal and inclusive in the world. In particular, the Bill of Rights, Article 9 (3), guarantees that, “No person may unfairly discriminate directly or indirectly against anyone [on the grounds of] gender, sex, [or] sexual orientation.” Since the Constitutional dispensation, gay rights victories have been achieved in many areas: same-sex civil unions; same-sex adoption; same-sex spousal benefits; etc.
This is the third in a series of three symposia on practical aspects of the justice system in South Africa. This symposium examines the appointment process of judges and seeks to understand the accountability of judges. It features: Sir Jeffrey Jowell QC, Judge Pius Langa, and Ms Carmel Rickard.
This Roundtable examined the current relationship between government and the private sector in South Africa with a view to determining what role business itself should be playing. Specific questions addressed by the four panelists include: how does the strained relationship between government and business undermine South Africa’s ability to overcome its domestic challenges; what role do the various business organisations play in influencing the policy debate in South Africa; what role do the various business organisations play in influencing the policy debate in South Africa; and should the business sector engage publically with government about contentious issues or should they do it behind closed doors?
The Helen Suzman Foundation, in association with the Open Society For South Africa, hosted a QRS dealing with prisoners in remand and human rights. The aim of the QRS was to explore the issues currently faced by people who are placed in remand detention pending the finalisation of their court case. These issues include overcrowding, court delays, excessive time spent in remand, and an inability to qualify for bail amongst others.
This Report provides an overview of the issues that were raised in three distinct areas of South Africa’s justice system (civil litigation, criminal law, and constitutional law) and places them against the backdrop of the growing tension between the executive and judicial branches of government.
"Corruption and misadministration are inconsistent with the rule of law and the fundamental values of our constitution. They undermine the constitutional commitment to human dignity, the achievement of equality and the advancement of human rights and freedoms. They are the antithesis of the open, accountable, democratic government required by the Constitution. If allowed to go unchecked and unpunished they will pose a serious threat to our democratic state." - Judge Arthur Chaskalson, President of the South African Constitutional Court, 2000.
Issue Eleven - April 2009 - Paying the Piper: Regulating Party Funding in South African Politics
