Cape Town — New political party, uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) wants to see change in the country in the form of a revision in the constitution and a change in the current voting system.
MK spokesperson, Nhlamulo Ndela, said the constitution is need of a serious change, as it is not a reflection of the people, adding that the reason SA is facing tough economic times as a country is because the constitution overlooks traditional leaders and the important role they play.
“This current constitution is not reflective of the people, this current constitution is not reflective of the traditional leaders, are who the actual owners of this land, This current constitution is not reflective of the traditional leader and civil society ,and that is why we find ourselves in the position we find ourselves.” he said.
“The economy straightjacketed small business as it is. The constitution has to change, it has to change to reflect the people of the country. My 2nd point is load shedding is crippling this economy, that has to dealt with as a matter of priority, because from there, it is a domino effect in terms of job creation.” he told eNCA.
uMkhonto weSizwe Party wants the constitution to change. MK says the document is not a true reflection of the people. Spokesperson Nhlamulo Ndlela said we’re facing tough economic times as a country because the constitution overlooks traditional leaders and their important role.… pic.twitter.com/se3xlvvgeL
— eNCA (@eNCA) January 24, 2024
Ndela said further that the constituion doesn’t currently fit the need s of the people, as it gives too much power to the judiciary, not the traditional leaders, as reported by The Citizen.
“A traditional leader, for instance, if there’s a situation – whether it is criminality or gender-based violence – and you need to take a decision, you have to first wait for the courts. The wheels of the courts can be very slow. So we need to extend the powers to traditional leaders,” Ndlela said.
Ndela also took issue with the country’s current voting system, saying it is not a true reflection of democracy, especially looking at the end results, saying the viting system does not cater to people in rural areas.
Thokozile Madonko, a researcher managing the Public Economy Project of the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies at Wits University, said there was no need to change the constitution.
“In fact, what we need to do is make sure that South Africans are aware of the rights enshrined within the constitution. We need to invest more time in educating people about the purpose and the progressive nature of our constitution,” she said.
Ndela added that former president Jacob Zuma had on numerous occasions in parliament called for the change of the constitution, arguing that the country’s constituion and economy is not structured to the resources we have.
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
