#HistoryinPublications

Religion, Education and Constitutional Law

This paper outlines the basic principles concerning the relationship between religion and the state, the role of religious bodies and the vexed issue of religious education in schools. It is a transcription of a lecture, delivered by Albie Sachs at the Institute for Comparative Religion in Southern Africa (UCT) in November 1992. It starts with a fascinating anecdote about how the format of CODESA was adapted to, for the first time accommodate multiple religions and how discomforting this was for the National Party government.

A Children's Rights Research and Advocacy Project Discussion Paper

This collection of essays is located in the reality that, in the words of Dullah Omar's preface, "children have assumed positions, that would be unbearable even by their elders, in prisons, courtrooms and workplaces". It discusses discrimination against children, violence against children, the position of children with disabilities and the earliest proposals for reforms to juvenile justice. It contains contributions by Dullah Omar, Brigitte Mabandla, Michelle Morris, Colleen Howell and Vuyo Mahlati.

Chieftancy, the Ethnic Question and the Democratisation Process in South Africa

This paper examines the institution of traditional leadership in South Africa. It details the abuse of chieftaincy as an instrument in exploitation in Africa and focuses on how chieftaincy played an crucial part in implementing the bantustan policy. Zola Skweyiya warns, though, against being blind and insensitive to the influence and authority of traditional leaders in South Africa. He discusses chieftaincy and local government and ultimately asks the question as to whether traditional leadership can be "moulded to entrench, stabilise and legitimise democracy, especially at local level". Zola Skweyiya went on to become a Minister of Public Administration (1994 - 1999), Minister of Social Development (1999-2009) and High Commissioner to Great Britain.

Affirmative action and black advancement in business

In this paper, written in 1992, Albie Sachs sketches the grossly uneven patterns of ownership and opportunity in business, created by apartheid. It includes an anecdote of the humiliation inflicted on Ismail Mahomed, who was to become Chief Justice, when he argued his first case in the Appellate Division. Albie Sachs discusses Nationalisation, Africanisation and quotas in business. He argues pointedly: “[I]t is not that we wish to Africanise the economy, we wish to South Africanise it”. He maintains strongly that non-racialism may not become the instrument for protecting racial advantage. He then proceeds to discusses the proposal made by the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce (NAFCOC) to demand the "3, 4, 5, 6..." targets for representation, equity, supply and management of JSE-listed companies. He concludes with suggesting seven criteria to govern the application of affirmative action. This paper was published under the auspices of the SA Constitution Study Centre, which was based at the Community Law Centre.

Community Voices on Policing in Transition

This paper deals with the transformation of the South African Police Services (SAPS) during the transition to democracy. It presents the views of 45 people who all had been involved in the struggle for democracy and were affected by the actions of SAPS. They were interviewed to give their views on the role of SAPS in the democratisation of South Africa and to canvass suggestions for the reform of the South African Police Services during the transitional period. The respondents saw SAPS as a central pillar of apartheid, fundamentally racist and created to maintain law and order in an oppressive state. It was not going to be easy to put it to the service to dismantle apartheid. However, the respondents offered many suggestions. Embedding SAPS in a legitimate state was a precondition but other suggestions were, such as offering extensive training for SAPS officers, reducing the power of independent police units, ensuring independent oversight, bringing in greater community liaison and many more.

Increased Awareness by Women of their Rights

The paper examines the promotion of women's rights and is located in the context of the ongoing negotiations in CODESA. Brigitte Mabandla focuses on the lack of awareness of women's rights. She discusses various features of the women's movement in South Africa as well as the challenges of engaging urban and rural women's groups on rights issues. She discusses the campaign for a women's charter including the question as to whether it should be part of the Bill of Rights.

Seeking Justice for the Children of South Africa

The preface for the book is written by Dullah Omar. He introduces the Centre's Children's Rights Project as a project that promotes the rights of children who suffered and still suffer as result of apartheid. The book contains a comprehensive overview of the abuses suffered by youth at risk or in trouble with the law at the hands of a cruel criminal justice system. Furthermore, it makes important recommendations for a more rights-based approach to dealing with children in conflict with the law. The various chapters, put together with the help of UWC Law students, discusses the powers of the police, pretrial detention, recommendations for diversion, children in court, legal representation for children, alternatives to punishment and rebuilding family life.

Rooting Democracy on African Soil

Zola Skweyiya presents a comprehensive vision for a future South Africa, broken down in sections dealing with African independence, the legacy of colonialism, the crisis of legitimacy in the South African political system. He also discusses the role of the state in development and critiques the economic policies of the De Klerk government. He advocates for higher levels of participation in the economy and proposes a "social system which consciously limits the gross disparities in income and wealth" . He warns against ignoring ethnicity in the quest towards national unity and reflects on the role of civil society in democratisation. Finally he presents proposals for post-apartheid constitution based on key values such as constitutionalism, women rights and separation of powers. Zola Skweyiya went on to become a Minister of Public Administration (1994 - 1999), Minister of Social Development (1999-2009) and High Commissioner to Great Britain.

Does a New South Africa Need Regions?

The future structure of the South African state was a major negotiation point during CODESA. Bantu Holomisa discusses the advantages and disadvantages of unitary and federal options for South Africa. He favours a unitary system that uses regions as an administrative structure and warns against experimenting with a system of federalism "which has not succeeded anywhere in Africa". He warns against regionalism based on ethnic division and favours objective criteria for the delineation of regional boundaries. At the time, Bantu Holomisa was the Head of the Transkei Government. He went on to become a Member of Parliament and co-founder and President of the United Democratic Movement (UDM).

Constitutional Structures: Fundamental Differences Between the Proposals of the South African Government and the African National Congress

Arthur Chaskalson compares various proposals made by the National Party government and the ANC during the negotiations towards the 1993 Constitution. He discusses government's proposals with respect to constitutional structures such as Parliament and the Presidency. He reflects on the bicameral system, presidential executive systems and parliamentary executive systems as options for a future South Africa. At the time, Arthur Chaskalson was Direction of the Legal Resources Centre and member of the ANC Constitutional Committee. He went on to become a Constitutional Court Judge and Chief Justice.

The Situation of Women in a Changing South Africa

In this paper, delivered to the United Nation’s Centre for the Development and Advancement of Women in Geneva, Brigitte Mabandla provides an overview of the state of women’s rights in South Africa in 1991. She explains how women are organised and discusses the launch of the ANC Women’s League and other organisations promoting women’s rights. She also explains how the ANC underwent a change internally, coming to terms with understanding race, class and gender struggles. She discusses the role of Universities (the University of the Western Cape in particular) in conceptualising gender oppression. Finally, she provides an overview of those provisions in the ANC's draft Bill of Rights (1991) that protect women’s rights, ranging from equal rights, affirmative action and the ‘right to a home’.