Did you see this great read? | Rule of law gives Ramaphosa the power to right wrongs of the past
The president has an opportunity to staff his cabinet with honest and upstanding members as demanded by the constitutionOne of the first tasks that faces the victorious alliance in the wake of the May 8 general elections is the swearing in of the members of a slimmed down cabinet chosen by the state president in terms of the powers invested in him by the constitution.
Members of the cabinet are accountable, collectively and individually, to parliament for the exercise of their powers and the performance of their functions. They must act in accordance with the constitution and provide parliament with full and regular reports concerning the matters under their control. The accountability and responsibilities of the cabinet, as detailed above, all take place within the framework of the rule of law, which our constitution regards as supreme.
But what of the balance of his cabinet: how will he go about the ticklish task at hand? Unlike Roman emperor Caligula, who is famous for appointing his horse as consul, the president’s hands are tied by the tenets of the rule of law and the other limitations set in the constitution. Ramaphosa will do well to take a leaf out of the book of former president Thabo Mbeki. It will be recalled that he fired Jacob Zuma as his deputy after the high court found Schabir Shaik guilty of corrupting Zuma. There was no finding against Zuma. He simply found himself under a cloud of suspicion of wrongdoing. He was not even an accused in the criminal trial.
The minister of justice is responsible for signing off on the decapitation of the National Prosecuting Authority . Mxolisi Nxasana was illegally relieved of his post as national director of public prosecutions. This was one of the most wanton acts of state capture and so far it has gone unpunished because of the capture of the criminal justice administration by those loyal to Zuma. A criminal complaint against the minister, Michael Masutha, was laid as long ago as July 2015.
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