Former president FW de Klerk warned President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday against changing the Constitution to enable the national government to rein in the powers of the provinces.
”I emphasised the necessity, which I firmly believe, that we should not in any way undermine the historical compromise which is encapsulated in our Constitution,” he told reporters after a private meeting of more than an hour with Zuma at Tuynhuys.
De Klerk said he had raised the issue of the Constitution 17th Amendment Bill, which controversially gives national government far-reaching powers to intervene in municipalities.
Critics say this will in effect severely undermine the power of provinces as set out in the Constitution.
”We struck a balance between becoming a federalised state and a centralised one. There is a hybrid somewhere in between a federalised state and a centralised state, and I believe it is very important that delicate balance should not be disturbed.”
The FW de Klerk Foundation has sharply criticised the Bill, as has the Democratic Alliance, which described it as an attempt to ”entrench the hegemony” of the African National Congress across South Africa.
The Bill was approved by Cabinet on the eve of the April elections.
De Klerk said he and Zuma had discussed ”a number of issues that are burning at the moment, but that remain between us”, and had agreed on the need to work to alleviate the plight of the poor.
”We must address the lot of the almost 50% of our population who are suffering, who live on or below the breadline.”
Zuma said the ”warm and friendly” discussion had taken place at De Klerk’s request and he would be happy to meet with him again.
Meanwhile, commercial farmers will ask Zuma to clarify what he meant in his latest comments on the willing-buyer, willing-seller principle in regard to land reform, AgriSA president Johannes Moller said on Tuesday.
He was reacting to Zuma’s comments that the government was seeking a more ”pragmatic” formula for land redistribution, and, to move forward decisively, ”significant changes will have to be made to the willing-buyer, willing-seller model”.
”If the president meant to develop more pragmatic models for land reform we are eager to work together. However, if it means price manipulation and entrenched nationalisation we would have a definite problem with the approach,” Moller said in a statement. — Sapa