President Cyril Ramaphosa’s letter to the National Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, seeking clarity on the three additional names to the list of SABC Board candidates is unlawful.
That is according to the independent legal opinion that Parliament has sought on behalf of the Communications Committee.
Ramaphosa also said that the matter should be referred back to the portfolio committee.
One of the 12 recommended board candidates Frans Kruger has already withdrawn from the list.
Parliament’s legal adviser Andile Tetyane briefed the Communications Sub-Committee.
“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. ”
“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,” adds Tetyane.
Live stream of the subcommittee meeting on the SABC Board vacancies:
