
SA's transformation laws can't be changed because other parties disagree
Babalo Ndenze 29 May 2025 | 13:36
FILE: Deputy President Paul Mashatile addressed the National Council of Provinces in Parliament, Cape Town. Picture: @PresidencyZA/X
CAPE TOWN - Deputy President Paul Mashatile said that the country's transformation laws must be implemented and can't be changed because some parties disagree.Mashatile said that changes to the laws that were passed by both houses of Parliament had to go through the same process.
On Thursday afternoon, Mashatile responded to questions in the National Council of Provinces on a range of issues, including transformation and threats to social cohesion.
Mashatile was asked whether he had considered implementing measures to ensure that the emerging attacks on the country's transformation agenda would not lead to further regression of social cohesion.
Some of the transformation laws in question include Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) and other redress policies like the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act, which are being opposed by the Democratic Alliance (DA).
But Mashatile said that the laws weren't about to change.
"There are those who seek to undermine transformative pieces of legislation that have been passed, particularly by the previous administration. But the government is quite resolute that those laws that were passed by the previous administration must be implemented."
He said that if any party wanted to make changes to the existing laws, they must go to the Cabinet before going back to Parliament.
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As the Constitutional Court stated, 'the right to privacy is singularly important in South Africa's constitutional democracy.' The world is waiting for South Africa to demonstrate its commitment to constitutional democracy — something that is urgently needed in the current global context. DM Hinako Sugiyama is a public interest lawyer licensed in both Japan and New York, USA, specialising in issues related to surveillance, human rights, and democracy. She currently supervises the work of the International Justice Clinic at the University of California, Irvine School of Law.