DOCSLIB.ORG

Civil Society Organisations Applaud Minister Xingwana's Stance That the TCB Is Unconstitutional

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Civil Society Organisations Applaud Minister Xingwana's Stance That the TCB Is Unconstitutional FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Civil society organisations applaud Minister Xingwana's stance that the TCB is unconstitutional The Alliance for Rural Democracy applauds Minister Xingwana’s submission to the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) today. The Minister stated, in no uncertain terms, that the Traditional Courts Bill (Bill) is unconstitutional in its current form. We welcome her plea to the NCOP, to not rush the passing of this Bill and to further consult rural communities - particularly women – as well as other marginalised groups such as gays and lesbians, people with disabilities, and children. Throughout the public hearings all the submissions from civil society organisations have called for the Bill to be scrapped. Community members present in Parliament, speaking from their own lived experiences, have highlighted the implications of giving more powers to traditional leaders. Thabo Manyathi, from the Association for Rural Advancement (AFRA), says that “Since 1979 we have fought against forced removals. Our struggle continues today as we still live with this apartheid legacy, which the Bill will entrench. The Bill is unconstitutional and we urge members of Parliament to consult the people, and think through how this law will impact on our lives.” William Mnyande from AFRA says, “Politicians don’t listen to people’s experiences. Their hubris is costly to ordinary people. They can go ahead and ignore us, but they do so at their own peril”. “Chief Mhinga detained people for days and nights in a cement store room. Is this traditional justice? This Bill will only strengthen the power of these brutal chiefs”, says Lamson Maluleke, of the Makhuleke community. This is just one example of the contested chieftaincies and related abuses of power that exist across the country. Recently, traditional leaders have made several calls that are unconstitutional. Amongst these are discriminatory statements against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people (LGBTI) people by some of the members of the National House of Traditional Leaders. Funeka Soldaat from Freegender says that, “As black lesbians we have heard traditional leaders speak about us in derogatory a manner. Chief Ndevu was on national television and called us Satanists, and this is happening even before the Bill has been passed. What will happen when traditional leaders have more powers?”. We also welcome the voices of other powerful women, such as Cheryl Carolus and Thandi Orleyn from Peotona, who made a submission calling for the scrapping of the Bill its entirety. We agree with Orleyn’s reading that the Bill is a “cut and paste job, and a bad one at that”. The Alliance for Democracy urges the NCOP to listen to the voices of the many people who reject this Bill, and who have come from across the country to make themselves heard. We agree with Minister Xingwana’s assertion that Parliament must not pass this Bill as it will only replace apartheid legislation with another law that is equally discriminatory. The public hearings on the Bill continue tomorrow. END 20 September 2012 For more information contact: Nomboniso Gasa: 083 451 9321 or 083 7791435 Sizani Ngubane: 073 8405151 Mbuyiselo Botha: 082 5181177 The Alliance for Rural Democracy (ARD) is a cross-section of civil society organisations sharing a common concern about the detrimental effects that the Traditional Courts Bill will have on the rural constituencies they serve and support. The ARD includes the following organisations: Association for Rural Advancement (AFRA); Centre for Human Rights, University of Pretoria; Community Law Centre, University of the Western Cape (CLC);Corruption Watch; Co-operative Policy Alternative Centre (COPAC); Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC);Democratic Governance and Rights Unit, University of Cape Town (DGRU); Embrace Dignity Campaign; Empilisweni AIDS Education and Training Centre; Greater Rape Intervention Programme (GRIP);Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR);Justice and Women (JAW); Land Access Movement of South Africa (LAMOSA);Law Race and Gender Research Unit, University of Cape Town (LRG); Lesbian and Gay Equality Project; Masimanyane Women’s Support Centre; Open Democracy Advice Centre (ODAC);Rural People’s Movement; Rural Women’s Movement; Section 27; Sonke Gender Justice; South African Constitutional Literacy and Service Initiative (CLASI); Students for Law and Social Justice (SLSJ); Thohoyandou Victim Empowerment Project (TVEP);Treatment Action Campaign (TAC);Triangle Project; Tshwaranang Legal Advocacy Centre (TLAC); Unemployed People’s Movement; Women's Health Research Unit in the School of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town; Women’s Legal Centre Trust. The Legal Resources Centre (LRC) acts as legal advisor to the Alliance. .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Trekking Outward
    TREKKING OUTWARD A CHRONOLOGY OF MEETINGS BETWEEN SOUTH AFRICANS AND THE ANC IN EXILE 1983–2000 Michael Savage University of Cape Town May 2014 PREFACE In the decade preceding the dramatic February 1990 unbanning of South Africa’s black liberatory movements, many hundreds of concerned South Africans undertook to make contact with exile leaders of these organisations, travelling long distances to hold meetings in Europe or in independent African countries. Some of these “treks”, as they came to be called, were secret while others were highly publicised. The great majority of treks brought together South Africans from within South Africa and exile leaders of the African National Congress, and its close ally the South African Communist Party. Other treks involved meetings with the Pan Africanist Congress, the black consciousness movement, and the remnants of the Non-European Unity Movement in exile. This account focuses solely on the meetings involving the ANC alliance, which after February 1990 played a central role in negotiating with the white government of F.W. de Klerk and his National Party regime to bring about a new democratic order. Without the foundation of understanding established by the treks and thousands of hours of discussion and debate that they entailed, it seems unlikely that South Africa’s transition to democracy could have been as successfully negotiated as it was between 1990 and the first democratic election of April 1994. The following chronology focuses only on the meetings of internally based South Africans with the African National Congress (ANC) when in exile over the period 1983–1990. Well over 1 200 diverse South Africans drawn from a wide range of different groups in the non- governmental sector and cross-cutting political parties, language, educational, religious and community groups went on an outward mission to enter dialogue with the ANC in exile in a search to overcome the escalating conflict inside South Africa.
    [Show full text]
  • Objecting to Apartheid
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by South East Academic Libraries System (SEALS) OBJECTING TO APARTHEID: THE HISTORY OF THE END CONSCRIPTION CAMPAIGN By DAVID JONES Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS In the subject HISTORY At the UNIVERSITY OF FORT HARE SUPERVISOR: PROFESSOR GARY MINKLEY JANUARY 2013 I, David Jones, student number 200603420, hereby declare that I am fully aware of the University of Fort Hare’s policy on plagiarism and I have taken every precaution to comply with the regulations. Signature…………………………………………………………… Abstract This dissertation explores the history of the End Conscription Campaign (ECC) and evaluates its contribution to the struggle against apartheid. The ECC mobilised white opposition to apartheid by focussing on the role of the military in perpetuating white rule. By identifying conscription as the price paid by white South Africans for their continued political dominance, the ECC discovered a point of resistance within apartheid discourse around which white opposition could converge. The ECC challenged the discursive constructs of apartheid on many levels, going beyond mere criticism to the active modeling of alternatives. It played an important role in countering the intense propaganda to which all white South Africans were subject to ensure their loyalty, and in revealing the true nature of the conflict in the country. It articulated the dis-ease experienced by many who were alienated by the dominant culture of conformity, sexism, racism and homophobia. By educating, challenging and empowering white citizens to question the role of the military and, increasingly, to resist conscription it weakened the apartheid state thus adding an important component to the many pressures brought to bear on it which, in their combination, resulted in its demise.
    [Show full text]
  • Facing the Challenges of the 1990S. Organising for Democracy in the Western Cape
    DOCUMENT RESUME ED 396 127 CE 071 845 AUTHOR Mackenzie, Liz, Ed. TITLE Facing the Challenges of the 1990s. Organising for Democracy in the Western Cape. Conference Proceedings (Bellville, South Africa, November 17-19, 1989). INSTITUTION University of the Western Cape, Bellville (South Africa). Centre for Adult and Continuing Education. REPORT NO ISBN-1-86808-043-9 PUB DATE Nov 89 NOTE 86p.; Co-hosted by the Centre for Development Studies, University of the Western Cape. AVAILABLE FROMCentre for Adult -2nd Continuing Education, University of the Western Cape, Private Bai X17, Bellville 7535, South Africa. PUB TYPE Collected Works Conference Proceedings (021) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC04 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Adult Education; Adult Literacy; Black Education; Blacks; Citizen Participation; Citizenship Education; Community Development; Community Organizations; Computers; Conferences; Cultural Awareness; Cultural Education; *Democracy; Demography; Ecology; Economic Development; *Educational Needs; Educational Strategies; Educational Trends; Foreign Countries; Health Promotion; Literacy Education; *Political Socialization; Poverty; *Public Affairs Education; *Role of Education; *Strategic Planning; Welfare Services IDENTIFIERS African National Congress; Popular Education; *South Africa (Western Cape) ABSTRACT This document contains selected papers and findings of a conference that was held at South Africa's University of the Western Cape to discuss strategies to organize for democracy in the Western Cape. Presented in section 1 are the opening remarks of Bulelani Ncguka, Jakes Gerwel, Shirley Walters and the following papersi "South Africa from the 1980s into the 1990s: Organising for Democracy" (Murphy Morobe) ;"Overview of the Western Cape" (Graeme Bloch); "Summary of Report-Backs from Theme Workshops" (Trevor Manuel); "State Strategy" (Andrew Merrifield); "Negotiations" (Tony Karon); "City Politics: Soweto" (Kehla Shubane); "Constitutional Guidelines" (Willie Hofmeyer); and "Labour and Economic Alternatives" (Howard Gabriels).
    [Show full text]
  • Ÿþm Icrosoft W
    V V Tilden J. LeMelle, Chairman Jennifer Davis, Executive Director 198 Broadway * New York, N.Y. 10038 * (212) 962-1210 After Sanctions - What Next? Report on Meetings arranged by The Africa Fund for the African National Congress led Delegation October 4-6, 1993 "I am writing to ask you to prepare for the lifting of sanctions in the cities and states of the U.S.A.... We hope that the cities and states that were the firm backbone of the anti-apartheid movement in the United States will commit themselves to actively supporting re-investment in the South African economy in a socially responsible manner which will help address the devastating legacy of apartheid." Nelson Mandela Letter to Jennifer Davis, July 27, 1993 "We trust that governments around the globe, that have been so central in the effort to defeat the system of apartheid, will do what they can to help us ensure the upliftment of our people. A similar appeal extends to the millions of people organized in the broad non-governmental antiapartheid movement themselves to remain involved in the continuing struggle for a democratic South Africa and to add to their programs the extension of all-round development assistance from people to people." Nelson Mandela Address to the United Nations September 24, 1993 Summary Days after Nelson Mandela called for the lifting of economic sanctions at the U.N., The Africa Fund hosted a series of meetings to enable the African National Congress and its allies to explain to key legislators, institutional investors and investment advisors post-sanctions policy towards foreign investment.
    [Show full text]
  • Education Pathfinders: a Short History of the Joint Education Trust
    EDUCATION P A T H F I N D E R S A short history of the Joint Education Trust JOINT EDUCATION TRUST EDUCATION P A T H F I N D E R S Published by: Joint Education Trust 3rd Floor, Braamfontein Centre 23 Jorrisen Street, Braamfontein, 2001 PO Box 178, Wits, 2050, South Africa, Tel: +27 (0) 11-403-6401 Fax: +27 (0) 11-403-8934 E-mail: [email protected] ISBN: 0-620-2818182-0 Copyright: © David Robbins 2001 Cover photograph: Paul Weinberg Sub-title page photograph: Jodi Bieber Photographs: South Photographs, The Joint Education Trust Production management: DGR Writing & Research Design & typesetting: JBP Pictures & Design CTP and printing: Colourpress (pty) Ltd 6 prop Street, Selby Ext 11 Johannesburg 2029, South Africa EDUCATION P A T H F I N D E R S A SHORT HISTORY OF THE JOINT EDUCATION TRUST from the contribution of the South African corporate sector in the early 1990s to the emergence of a unique education development agency a decade later DAVID ROBBINS JOINT EDUCATION TRUST 'We welcomed the formation of the Joint Education Trust in 1992 ... which has facilitated a practical programme within a common vision for peace, prosperity an opportunity for all South Africans' CONTENTS Foreword 1 Mike Rosholt Origins 5 Early years 15 Accountability 23 Transformation 29 The new JET 35 Factors for success 41 A ministerial view 46 Some JET voices Cheryl Carolus 13 Chabani Manganyi 21 Michael O'Dowd 27 Aubrey Matiole 33 Naledi Pandor 39 Margie Keeton 45 Appendices 48 Mr Mike Rosholt, Chairman: JET board of trustees FOREWORD This is the story of a remarkable partnership which was set up in 1992, a time in South Africa's history when such associations were to be vital in the country's quest for a workable democracy.
    [Show full text]
  • LEARNING from LEADERS CISSIE GOOL, CHERYL CAROLUS, DESMOND TUTU and NELSON MANDELA Cover Image: © Rashid Lombard
    GRADE 4 LEARNING FROM LEADERS CISSIE GOOL, CHERYL CAROLUS, DESMOND TUTU AND NELSON MANDELA Cover image: © Rashid Lombard 2 City of Cape Town LESSON PLAN OVERVIEW: FOR THE EDUCATOR Lesson plan title: Learning from leaders Learning area: Social Science (History) Grade: 4 Curriculum link: Learning from leaders Learning outcomes (LO): These outcomes are Assessment standards (AS) drawn directly from Curriculum Assessment according to CAPS: Policy Statements (CAPS) LO 1: The learner will be able to use inquiry skills AS 2 and 3 to investigate the past and present. LO 2: The learner will be able to demonstrate AS 2 historical knowledge and understanding. LO 3: The learner will be able to interpret AS 3 aspects of history. CONTENT LINKS Looking back at: Current: Looking ahead to: Grade 3: Work Grade 4: Learning Grade 5: Heritage trail covered in Life Skills from leaders Grade 9: Civil resistance Grade 11: Segregation as the foundation for apartheid, and the nature of resistance to apartheid Context: The activities are designed to give learners without (and even those with) access to additional history materials an overview of local leaders of the liberation struggle. The activities will help learners understand what it means to be a good leader. The source material explains that history is not simply about ‘great’ men or women. The content also addresses bullying and children’s rights. The activities and associated source material introduce learners to new concepts and ideas. Educators should determine the time required for learners to complete activities. ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES Activity aims: Learners will be able to make reasonable conclusions about leaders from reading source material, and draw reasoned conclusions about what constitutes good leadership qualities.
    [Show full text]
  • Premier of the Western Cape – Ebrahim Rasool
    Premier of the Western Cape – Ebrahim Rasool List of Honourees receiving Provincial Honours 2004 1. Commander of the Order of the Disa awarded to Nelson R. Mandela As a young man, hearing the elders’ stories of his ancestors’ valour during the wars of resistance in defence of their fatherland, Nelson Mandela dreamed also of making his own contribution to the freedom struggle of his people. He served articles at a law firm in Johannesburg where years of daily exposure to the inhumanities of apartheid, where being black reduced one to the status of a non-person, kindled in him a courage to change the world. On joining the Youth League of the African National Congress, Nelson Mandela became involved in programmes of passive resistance against apartheid’s denial of political, social and economic rights to South Africa’s black majority. In the revolution led by Mandela to transform a model of racial division and oppression into an open democracy, he demonstrated that he did not flinch in the face of adversity. As the world's most famous prisoner, leader, teacher and man, he exemplifies a moral integrity that shines far beyond South Africa. 2. Commander of the Order of the Disa awarded to F.W De Klerk When F.W de Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC and other organisations in 1990, he set in motion a new era of transformation in South Africa. This end to apartheid and South Africa’s racial segregation policy paved the way for negotiations, resulting in the release of Nelson Mandela and culminating in the first ever racially inclusive elections in South Africa in 1994.
    [Show full text]
  • 509 Concerns on the Political Agenda. It Has Not Proved Easy for Any
    Reviews 509 concerns on the political agenda. It has not proved easy for any gov- ernment to destroy their movement because of the international stigma which would attach if they did so: Morocco even tried to coopt the movement, but failed. The movement has had some successes, usually in relation to individuals whom they have succeeded in getting released or better treated. The notorious Tazmamart prison in Morocco, whose very existence had been consistently denied, was finally admitted to after being quietly emptied. Of particular current interest is the section dealing with the Gulf War of 1990. The human rights groups found it very difficult to know how to respond to this, feeling themselves torn in different directions. They were concerned about the plight of Iraqi civilians, aware of American double standards over Iraq on the one hand and Israel on the other, and tended to share popular resentment of the over-rich oil states such as Saudi Arabia. The Maghribi states did not all toe the same line during the crisis, nor did the human rights groups. The inci- dent highlighted the difficult and sensitive situations such groups have to find their way through. This is a study which can be warmly recommended for the depth and extent of its coverage and its thought-provoking examination of a subject of major concern in today's world. It has much to say about ethics, religion and secularist tendencies in societies not yet fully absorbed into global capitalism. Cambridge M. LOUISE PIROUET VILLA-VICENCIO, Charles, The Spirit of Freedom: South African Leaders on Religion and Politics, Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, 1996, xxxii, 301 pp., 0 520 20045 4 During 1991-92 Charles Villa-Vicencio, Professor of Religion and Society in the University of Cape Town, interviewed 21 people noted, in varying ways, for their part in the long struggle against apartheid, focusing on the connection between their political commitments and religious beliefs (if any).
    [Show full text]
  • African National Congress Statement to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission
    African National Congress Statement to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission August 1996 Contents Executive Summary ANC Statement to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission 1. PREFACE 2. INTRODUCTION 3. THE HISTORICAL AND INTERNATIONAL CONTEXT 3.1 The prehistory of colonialism, dispossession and segregation 3.2 The history of the ANC to 1960 3.3 Just struggle in the international context 3.4 Apartheid and human rights 3.5 Apartheid human rights violations in an international context 4. THE NATIONAL PARTY, APARTHEID AND THE ANATOMY OF REPRESSION, 1948-1994 4.1 The post-1948 legislative programme of apartheid 4.2 The repressive apartheid security state, 1960-1974 4.3 The institutional violence and social consequences of apartheid 4.4 Judiciary and other forms of repression 4.5 Forced removals and forced incorporation 4.6 Mass repression by the regime in response to mass protests against apartheid 4.7 The height of apartheid repression 4.8 Apartheid and the destabilisation of Southern African countries in the 1980s 4.9 Covert action and state sanctioned gross violations of human rights in the negotiations era of the 1990s 5. PHASES OF STRUGGLE AND ANC POLICY FOUNDATIONS, 1960-1994 5.1 New forms of struggle after Sharpeville and the banning of opposition groups (1960-1969) 5.2 A changing scenario and new challenges (1969-1979) 5.3 Towards "People's War" and "People's Power" (1979-1990) 5.4 The ANC and internal revolt: The role of the Mass Democratic Movement in the 1980s 6. DID THE ANC PERPETRATE ANY GROSS VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS? 6.1 The approach, standards and conduct of the ANC in relation to human rights 6.2 Armed operations and civilian casualties 6.3 Excesses in relation to state agents 6.4 ANC members who died in exile 6.5 The Mass Democratic Movement and excesses in the mass revolt of the 1980s 7.
    [Show full text]
  • Practical Solidarity : Connections Between Swedish Social Democratic Women and Women in the African National Congress of South Africa, 1960-1994
    ORBIT-OnlineRepository ofBirkbeckInstitutionalTheses Enabling Open Access to Birkbeck’s Research Degree output Practical solidarity : connections between Swedish social democratic women and women in the African National Congress of South Africa, 1960-1994 https://eprints.bbk.ac.uk/id/eprint/40170/ Version: Full Version Citation: Lundin, Emma Elinor (2016) Practical solidarity : connections between Swedish social democratic women and women in the African National Congress of South Africa, 1960-1994. [Thesis] (Unpublished) c 2020 The Author(s) All material available through ORBIT is protected by intellectual property law, including copy- right law. Any use made of the contents should comply with the relevant law. Deposit Guide Contact: email Practical Solidarity: Connections Between Swedish Social Democratic Women and Women in the African National Congress of South Africa, 1960-1994 Emma Elinor Lundin Department of History, Classics & Archaeology Birkbeck, University of London Submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) July 2015 I declare that the work presented in this thesis is my own. Emma Elinor Lundin ABSTRACT This thesis discusses the struggle to increase women’s participation in public and political life by focusing on the activism of women within the Swedish Social Democratic Party (SAP) and the African National Congress of South Africa (ANC) from 1960 until 1994. It argues that internationalism was key to these women’s success, providing them with a source of support and funding as well as a stage to develop policies away from overwhelmingly patriarchal national settings. Creating and steering political trends and discussions in international fora, and bolstered by the approval of others in the international community, the women who feature here gained a foot in the door of power and created environments conducive to their presence, abilities and voices.
    [Show full text]
  • Democracy in Action, Oct. 1989
    Democracy in action, Oct. 1989 Use of the Aluka digital library is subject to Aluka’s Terms and Conditions, available at http://www.aluka.org/page/about/termsConditions.jsp. By using Aluka, you agree that you have read and will abide by the Terms and Conditions. Among other things, the Terms and Conditions provide that the content in the Aluka digital library is only for personal, non-commercial use by authorized users of Aluka in connection with research, scholarship, and education. The content in the Aluka digital library is subject to copyright, with the exception of certain governmental works and very old materials that may be in the public domain under applicable law. Permission must be sought from Aluka and/or the applicable copyright holder in connection with any duplication or distribution of these materials where required by applicable law. Aluka is a not-for-profit initiative dedicated to creating and preserving a digital archive of materials about and from the developing world. For more information about Aluka, please see http://www.aluka.org/. Page 1 of 23 Alternative title Democracy in action Author/Creator Institute for a Democratic Alternative for South Africa (Cape Town) Publisher Institute for a Democratic Alternative for South Africa (Cape Town) Date 1989-10 Resource type Journals (Periodicals) Language Afrikaans, English Subject Coverage (spatial) South Africa Coverage (temporal) 1989 Source Digital Imaging South Africa (DISA) Rights By kind permission of the Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA). Format extent 16 page(s) (length/size) Page 2 of 23 DEMOCRACY IN ACTIONMONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF THE INSTITUTE FOR A DEMOCRATIC ALTERNATIVE FOR SOUTH AFRICA OCTOBER 1989New mood in white communityBy Ronel SchefferOver the past two months thousands of ordinary white South Africans, fed up with apartheid and frustrated by the limitations of traditional ways of political expression, were seen actively participating in the wave of protest marches and demonstrations that swept the country.
    [Show full text]
  • The London School of Economics and Political Science
    1 The London School of Economics and Political Science Women and Citizenship Struggles: A Case of the Western Cape, South Africa 1980 - 2004 Gertrude M. N. Fester A thesis submitted to the Gender Institute of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, London, December 2007 UMI Number: U615267 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U615267 Published by ProQuest LLC 2014. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 TtteseS p »5£!ScflsSS# Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the MPhil/PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work other than where I have clearly indicated that it is the work of others (in which case the extent of any work carried out jointly by me and any other person is clearly identified in it). The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without the prior written consent of the author.
    [Show full text]