Marion Edmunds
POLITICAL parties will scrum down to the debate that=20 everybody has been waiting for — the federalism debate=20 — next week at an all-day meeting of the=20 Constitutional Committee.
Federalism is the crunch constitutional debate, the one=20 that will decide the shape of future South African=20 governments. It was the key point of disagreement in=20 the multi-party negotiations; it has resurfaced in the=20 dispute over international mediation, it is still to be=20
The submissions by the various political parties=20 reflect at least 12 major areas of disagreement.=20
They include, among others, the powers of the=20 provincial governments, the role, power and composition=20 of the Senate and the control of local government.
Its not expected that the 50-person Constitutional=20 Committee will wrap the debate up on Friday. In fact,=20 Friday’s meeting will probably be a showcase for party=20 views while the real negotiations on this issue will=20 take place in a much smaller and more subtle committee,=20 which has been created specifically to resolve drawn- out arguments over important constitutional points.
This committee has been nicknamed the “drain unblocking=20 committee”, although it is generally known as the=20 “suitable committee”. It is to meet on Mondays and=20 Thursdays as well as over weekends, when the pressure=20 for agreement is on.
The decision to bring contentious issues to a small=20 committee of top negotiators, rather than to let them=20 loose on the 490-strong Constitutional Assembly,=20 reflects a new way of thinking in the CA. Suddenly, in=20 a bid to meet deadlines, moves have been made during=20 the recess to nip and tuck what was becoming a flabby=20
The timetable for completion has been shuffled around=20 slightly, but the final target dates have remained in=20 place. The CA has cut away phases that were considered=20 unneccessary. For example, the draft final constitution=20 will no longer have to be certified by the=20 Constitutional Court before being put out to the public=20 for comment.=20
The draft final constitution, however, must be drafted=20 by mid-September and will then be distributed in a=20 staggered manner until the end of the year.=20
The plan is then to have a media blitz from mid-January=20 until about March to get public comment on the final=20 constitution. Public reponse is to be digested, changes=20 made and all being well, the final constitution should=20 be adopted by May.=20
The Constitutional Committee will also discuss=20 “academic freedom” and the definition of a secular=20 state on Friday.
Parliamentary business is to be put on hold for the=20 first two weeks of August, to allow the Constitutional=20 Assembly and its many committees to speed up the=20 process of writing the final constitution.=20