African National Congress (ANC) attempts to centralise government undermine the letter and spirit of the Constitution, Democratic Alliance (DA) parliamentary leader Athol Trollip said on Tuesday.
The DA would do everything in its power to prevent this, he told reporters at Parliament.
The drive to centralise power in the ANC-controlled national government — a trend begun by former president Thabo Mbeki — had accelerated since President Jacob Zuma took office.
“The thought of losing power in an open democracy is unacceptable to the ANC,” Trollip said. “Its baseless sense of entitlement to the South African polity and the governance thereof can brook no threats, even from an independent and inquiring media.
“Hence the ANC’s proposal to control the free flow of information and establish an authoritarian media tribunal, both of which are inconsistent with our basic freedoms.”
Trollip said centralisation was the result of two mutually reinforcing processes.
These were cadre deployment and a host of new legislative and policy proposals to place even greater powers of surveillance and control under the authority of the national government.
“In addition to extending the ANC’s reach into nearly all spheres of public life, these initiatives undermine the letter and spirit of the Constitution,” said Trollop.
“They reduce federalism, erode the separation of powers and weaken democracy by removing critical checks and balances and replacing accountability to people with accountability to Luthuli House.”
The centralisation of power by the ANC through legislation and policy changes constituted a multi-faceted strategy on the part of the ruling party.
It sought “to entrench its power, clamp down on dissent and ensure that its leaders could gain access to state funds unfettered by proper oversight or criticised by a free media”, Trollip said.
Recent examples of centralising initiatives and legislative proposals included the Protection of Information Bill, the State Security Bill and the Public Administration Management Bill.
Constitutional provisions
Proposals to scrap the provinces would nullify the federal aspects of the democratic dispensation and place all power in the national government of a highly centralised, unitary state.
This meant citizens in different parts of the country would not be able to opt for an alternative party to represent them at provincial level.
The measures had the potential to contravene at least seven constitutional provisions meant to protect fundamental freedoms, maintain the integrity of the criminal justice system, and ensure a public civil service run professionally.
These included freedom of expression, the property clause, powers of local and provincial government, the role of local government, the independence of the judiciary, and the impartiality of the National Prosecuting Authority.
There was no doubt that the centralisation of power by the ANC was a systematic attempt to entrench its power.
Trollip said the DA would use its role as the official opposition in Parliament by drawing attention to the detrimental consequences of these proposals in public forums.
In the case of constitutional amendments brought before the National Assembly, the DA would lobby other opposition parties to vote against centralising power to the detriment of democracy.
Constitutional amendments required a two-thirds majority — something the ANC did not have.
Where legislative proposals were inconsistent with constitutional provisions, the DA could challenge their constitutionality in court.
“The centralisation of power by the ANC represents a genuine threat to our constitutional order and the DA will use those means available to us within the framework of our constitutional state to resist its progress,” Trollip said. — Sapa