Tuesday, 25 August
24 Aug
Celebrating 30 years since the adoption of the Constitution is a moment to reflect on how far the country has come, but also to acknowledge how much still needs to be done.
This was the general consensus – or shall we say “sufficient consensus” to stick with the theme – of the speakers at the Centre of Constitutional Values’ (CCV) event to celebrate the Constitution’s 30th anniversary at Cape Town City Hall on Monday.
Holding a copy of the Constitution aloft, CCV executive director Edward Shalala said it was no small feat to hold such a celebration, given the conflict the country came from.
“Much has been advanced in the last 30 years, but much, much more needs to be done,” he added.
Shalala said everyone had a responsibility and obligation to implement the Constitution.
READ | Analysis: The Constitution at 30: An unfulfilled promise in an age of democratic uncertainty?
Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis added that constitutional democracy was not sustained by the words of the document; it depended on institutions, which in turn depended on people of integrity to run them.
He said the Constitution called on the government to account for whether people were living with dignity and whether those who have been excluded could see a better life, adding that was what the city was trying to achieve.
“We are not there yet,” Hill-Lewis added.
National Assembly Speaker Thoko Didiza said the world was surprised when the country refused international mediation and drafted the Constitution by itself.
She added that this should be remembered when South Africans grappled with the challenges the country now faced.
Didiza said 30 years later, the state had made “tangible progress”, but in some cases it had stalled or even reversed.
She added that it was essential that this was addressed; people would lose trust in democracy.
READ | Pierre de Vos: The Couch, the Court, and the Constitution: SA’s impeachment reckoning
Former Constitutional Court Judge Albie Sachs said the Constitution came about through a difficult process in which the liberation movements had to negotiate with what they had initially considered their enemies.
He added that he could not sleep the night before the first day of the negotiations, concerned that they would let down their slain comrades at the negotiation table.
“It was tough, it was tough, it was tough,” Sachs said.
24 Aug
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