A recent Pretoria High Court judgment declared the regulations under South Africa’s lockdown alert levels 3 and 4 invalid and unconstitutional. This case may well be overturned on appeal, but provides a critical opportunity for government to redirect and base its decision-making processes on transparency and participation.
A heavy onus rests on our leaders to see us through the COVID-19 pandemic, yet this pandemic also calls on all of us to be active participants during this state of disaster and beyond. This includes making sure that constitutional rights are not disproportionately eroded in the process, writes Ektaa Deochand and Mbalenhle Baduza.
On 10 December 2017 the Constitution Hill Trust marked the 21 years since the signing of our Constitution by holding a lekgotla in the foyer of the Constitutional Court. Present were a rare combination of judges, former judges, lawyers (past present and future), politicians, activists and school children. On a stormy Highveld afternoon, in the shadow of the Johannesburg version of the Arch for the Arch, they debated the achievements and failings of the Constitution, as well as our relationship with it. Below is an edited version of comments made by Mark Heywood, the Director of SECTION27.
