JOHANNESBURG - The ANC said it’s concerned that the Constitutional Court may have overstepped into Parliament’s domain in the Phala Phala Farm matter.
The party has commended Chief Justice Mandisa Maya’s conduct in delivering the judgment ordering Parliament to establish an impeachment committee.
But ANC Secretary-General Fikile Mbalula said he fears the lines between the judiciary and the legislature may have become blurred.
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Last week, the Constitutional Court ordered the National Assembly to amend the rule Parliament used when it rejected the Section 89 panel report.
The Court has ruled that Parliament’s Phala Phala vote was invalid and unconstitutional.
“We’re worried about encroachment and separation of powers, that our judges have got to be alive to that, dictating to what Parliament must do.
"We’re not making an issue of it, we’re examining that particular issue, and we’re still looking into this judgment in relation to the separation of powers.
"Because we believe to a certain extent, when the court sits down and designs rules for Parliament, it’s an encroachment on the separation of powers. Of course, it's debatable, in this particular instance, but we’re not making an issue about it at the present moment as the ANC,” he said.
Mbalula also said the ANC’s National Executive Committee (NEC) unanimously backed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to take the Section 89 panel report on judicial review.
When eNCA asked Mbalula whether the concealment of foreign currency inside furniture at the President’s farm, while South Africa is under constant scrutiny by the Financial Action Task Force over money laundering and terror financing concerns, was aligned with ANC values.
Mbalula said, "ANC values do not say people must steal. Has the President stolen? He didn’t steal; people stole from him.”
Mbalula, who insists the Constitutional Court made no adverse findings against the President, said ANC MPs who’ll serve on the impeachment committee will execute their responsibility with dignity and diligence.