Cape Town – President Cyril Ramaphosa acted “unlawfully” when he wrote a letter to the National Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, seeking clarity on the three additional names to the list of SABC Board candidates, Parliament’s legal advisers said on Friday.
According to SABC, Parliament’s legal adviser Andile Tetyane, who assessed the letter that Ramaphosa wrote to on 9 March, briefed the Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Communications and Digital Technologies.
“The letter by the president is not only unprecedented, but it is grossly unlawful. The letter of 9 March has got no basis in law.
“The President … is enjoined by the Constitution not to define or second guess the will of the people. Parliament needs wisdom [to] constitute the will of the people. The President is constitutionally bound, to appoint as per the resolution of the National Assembly.
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“If the President, for whatever reason feels that what Parliament directed him to do is unlawful, the President has got one option. He has got to approach a competent court chair. The President cannot take the law (into) his [own] hands, our Constitution is not self-executing. The President cannot adopt a self-help constitutional style,” Tetyana said.
Ramaphosa wrote to Parliament to seek clarity on the shortlisted names, which included a “reserve pool” of three extra names in addition to the 12 who would ultimately serve on the board, EWN reported.
This, the report said, has further delayed the appointment of the board at the public broadcaster, which has been without one for five months.
Included in this list was a reserve pool of candidates that could be considered should one of the recommended people be unable to take up their position on the board, according to News24.
Ramaphosa raised concerns about the unavailability of one of the recommended candidates, Professor Franz Krüger, the report said.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
