Africa-Press – South-Africa. Political parties say the country is still not where it should be as both houses of Parliament marked the 30th anniversary of the country’s Constitution.
Members from all parties represented in Parliament took part in the debate to mark the occasion, but feel more could have been done since the Constitution’s adoption.
But members have reaffirmed the importance of the Constitution as the country’s supreme law.
The South African Constitution was adopted by the Constitutional Assembly on 8 May 1996 after a series of negotiations following the 1994 democratic election.
On Thursday, members gathered to reflect on three decades of Constitutional democracy in a rare joint sitting with both the assembly and the National Council of Provinces.
Deputy Justice Minister Andries Nel opened the debate and reminded everyone of how the constitution belongs to all.
“It is not the property of government, it is not the property of Parliament, it is not the property of lawyers and judges. It is the collective covenant of the people of South Africa.”
But ANC NCOP delegate, Mwelo Nonkonyana, said the country is not yet where they want it to be.
“While we are not where we were in 1996, we are also not where we want to be.
FF Plus MP Corne Mulder, who took part in the Constitutional Assembly from 1994 to 1996, said the Constitution was not created by just one party.
“The Deputy Minister of Justice spoke this morning about the origins of the Constitution and he almost created the impression that the ANC did it all by themselves. He knows that’s not true.”
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