Latest news with #ConstitutionalAmendmentBill
Eyewitness News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Eyewitness News
ActionSA's Trollip: Deputy ministers are redundant doormen and doorwomen for their ministers
CAPE TOWN - ActionSA said the country could save more than R1 billion of taxpayers per annum if President Cyril Ramaphosa could get rid of all deputy ministers in his Cabinet. The party has announced a Constitutional Amendment Bill to change the size and structure of the Cabinet. Among other things, the party wants all 43 deputy minister posts scrapped. This follows the president's decision to place Police Minister Senzo Mchunu on special leave for alleged interference in police investigations. President Cyril Ramaphosa has appointed Professor Firoz Cachalia as acting minister, despite there being two deputy ministers in the portfolio. ActionSA MP Athol Trollip said this makes their case. "There's absolutely no executive authority that a deputy minister has, so I'm saying they're redundant doormen and doorwomen for their ministers. In fact, all we've seen in this new GNU government is that deputy ministers spend most of their time travelling abroad and have spent nearly R200 million between them on travelling abroad. If they had so much to do at home in their departments, they wouldn't be overseas so much."
IOL News
4 days ago
- Politics
- IOL News
ActionSA tables bill to slash bloated Cabinet, wants deputy ministers out
A year into South Africa's Government of National Unity, political compromise remains elusive, raising concerns about gridlock, infrastructure decay, and coalition fragility amid hopes for economic reform and unity. Image: Supplied ActionSA has launched a scathing critique of South Africa's bloated executive, announcing a bold Constitutional Amendment Bill that seeks to overhaul the size and structure of Cabinet, starting with the complete abolition of all 43 Deputy Minister posts. In a statement on Sunday, ActionSA MP, Athol Trollip, described deputy ministers as a 'financial waste,' arguing that their inability to act in the absence of ministers renders them functionally redundant. 'If deputy ministers cannot step in during a crisis, what purpose do they serve beyond being instruments of cadre deployment?' he asked. This move comes amid renewed scrutiny of President Cyril Ramaphosa's cabinet management following a series of high-profile missteps. The most recent being the suspension of Police Minister Bheki Cele, referred to erroneously in ActionSA's release as Senzo Mchunu, amid allegations of interference in investigations. Despite the presence of two deputy ministers in the police ministry, Ramaphosa opted to appoint an outsider, Prof. Firoz Cachalia, as acting minister. Until Cachalia is sworn in, Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe holds the role in a temporary capacity. Trollip also cited the controversial appointment of Thembi Simelane—implicated in the VBS scandal—as Minister of Justice before a midnight portfolio switch with Mmamoloko Kubayi. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ ActionSA has since laid criminal charges against Simelane. ActionSA's Constitution Twenty-Second Amendment Bill proposes four key reforms, including abolishing all deputy minister roles, introducing parliamentary vetting for all ministerial appointments, empowering parliament to remove individual ministers through motions of no confidence and expanding non-MP appointments, allowing up to four ministers to be selected from outside parliament to attract technical expertise. These constitutional changes form part of ActionSA's broader 'Cabinet Reform Package,' first unveiled in March 2025. A companion bill, the Enhanced Cut Cabinet Perks Bill, has also been formally tabled. It seeks to strip the President of unchecked power over the Ministerial Handbook and impose tighter scrutiny on perks and privileges. ActionSA said the reforms could save taxpayers R1.5 billion annually, funds it believes should be redirected to public services and infrastructure instead of sustaining what it calls 'an overstaffed, underperforming executive.' With 75 ministers and deputies, South Africa's executive remains one of the largest in the world—a structure critics argue is unsustainable amid sluggish growth and a deepening fiscal crisis. IOL Politics
Malaysiakini
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Malaysiakini
After 'mother of all judicial scandals', Latheefa wants PM's powers stripped
Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) co-founder Latheefa Koya has urged the government to urgently table a Constitutional Amendment Bill to strip the prime minister and the executive of all influence in the appointment of judges. 'It is a simple amending bill, it can be brought and passed in the session of Parliament commencing in a few weeks' time.
Malaysiakini
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Malaysiakini
After 'mother of all judicial scandals', Latheefa wants PM's powers stripped
Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) co-founder Latheefa Koya has urged the government to urgently table a Constitutional Amendment Bill to strip the prime minister and the executive of all influence in the appointment of judges. 'It is a simple amending bill, it can be brought and passed in the session of Parliament commencing in a few weeks' time.
Indian Express
30-06-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
When LS passed 42nd Amendment, Indira said: ‘Secular, socialist in Preamble echo Constitution'
In the midst of the Emergency, the Lok Sabha in October 1976 debated and passed the 42nd Constitutional Amendment, which brought sweeping changes to the Constitution, when the Opposition leaders had been in jail. On October 27, 1976, participating in the discussion on this legislation, then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi said in the House that the inclusion of the words 'secular' and 'socialist' in the Preamble of the Constitution through it was just spelling out 'what was already there in the Constitution'. 'The founding fathers of our Constitution and of our country had intended Indian society to be secular and socialist. These are not new definitions. They have guided our laws all these years. All we are doing now is to incorporate them in the Constitution itself for they rightly deserve to be mentioned there,' Indira told the Lok Sabha. Recently, RSS general secretary Dattatreya Hosabale sought a discussion on whether 'socialist' and 'secular' should continue to remain in the Preamble. Union Ministers Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Jitendra Singh have lent their weight to Hosabale's pitch, even as Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma have castigated the insertion of 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Preamble. The 42nd Constitutional Amendment was passed with a special majority by both the Houses but in 1977, when the Janata Party government came to power after winning the Lok Sabha polls, it reversed almost all the changes that this law brought into force while still retaining 'socialist' and 'secular' and fundamental duties. With the Opposition members in prison, the 42nd Constitutional Amendment got widespread support in the House, with a note of caution sounded by political scientist and Independent MP P G Mavalankar, the son of the first Lok Sabha Speaker G V Mavalankar. P G Mavalankar, who was not arrested because of the stature of his family, also criticised the Emergency. 'I ask: are there conditions conducive to a free debate today? Is there a free press? Is the public forum in continuous and free possession of the people? Are the media of radio and TV equally serviceable to differing, opposing and conflicting viewpoints and opinions? The answer is obviously and most categorically 'No'. The publicity has been almost entirely one-sided; there has been practically a one-way traffic,' he said in the House, questioning how free the debate on the Constitutional Amendment Bill could be. 'Throughout my life, I have been wedded to socialist and secular ideals,' Mavalankar said on the insertion of the two terms, 'But I want to ask you: can we change the Preamble which was passed on 26 November 1949 and that was specifically mentioned in the Preamble which says: 'We the people of India etc?' The Preamble is a part of the Constitution, not strictly; though undoubtedly it is the key of the Constitution. Therefore, if you put words 'socialist' and 'secular' in the Preamble, I am afraid a time will come when some people might say: remove the word 'democracy'. Already the substance has gone; the word may also go next time.' Notwithstanding this dissent, the changes received support from the entire House, mainly the Treasury bench MPs. 'The objectives which we had always in view, namely, socialism and secularism, which we have tried to implement, will be more and more implemented and will be more accurately and correctly reflected in a basic part of our Constitution, namely, the Preamble,' then Union Law Minister H R Gokhale said. 'Let anyone say that 'socialism' or 'secularism' is incapable of definition. Well, if that argument were to be accepted, even 'democracy' in that sense is incapable of definition because, is it not understood in different ways in different countries? But, we understand what kind of democracy we stand for. In the same way, we understand what 'socialism' stands for and what 'secularism' stands for.' CPI leader Indrajit Gupta said, 'It is very welcome also that the word 'secular' is being introduced. We want to understand what is the significance behind this. Because our State is a secular State, our State respects and recognises, and gives equal rights to people belonging to all religions or faiths or to people of no religion, in law.' Indrajit Gupta also said: 'When the government itself has come forward to add the word 'secular', particularly here, I take it to mean something; I take it to mean that the secular aspect of our democracy requires to be strengthened; otherwise it is superfluous to introduce this word here… I take it that what we want to assure the people of all faiths and communities and religions particularly the minorities is that we mean to take some further action, legislative and others, to strengthen and secularise the content of our democracy.' Supporting the Bill, Congress MP P R Shenoy dismissed as emotional the concern that sweeping changes were being made to the Constitution, with Opposition MPs in prison. 'Certain events in the country have made it necessary to lay emphasis on certain concepts like nationalism and secularism…. One of the serious objections to the Constitutional Amendment is that it should wait for certain men, men who are under detention and men who are not willing to express their views as long as there is Emergency – not that they are not allowed to express their views but they do not want to express their views until there is Emergency – and men who will occupy the seats of this House after the next elections. This objection, I feel, is more of a sentimental nature. There is no rationality behind it. In the history of a nation, time and tide wait for no man.' Then Union Minister Swaran Singh said that the inclusion of the word secular was 'very vital for our country to grow from strength to strength and to remain united and a strong nation'. He added that the word had become very popular across India. 'You may go to the Punjab, to Gujarat, even to the South; when they make speeches in their own languages they always use the word 'secular' because it has assumed a definite meaning and that meaning is that there will be equality before the eye of the law in our Constitution with regard to people professing different religions. Not only that but more than that there is no connotational element of any anti-religious feeling but it is really respect for all religions.' Taking a dig at the Jana Sangh, Congress MP C M Stephen said, 'There are people who are speaking about communal authority. Jana Sangh is going about with a sectarian point of view and a divisive philosophy. Therefore, it is necessary that the Preamble reminds the nation that the nation has been committed to secularism and there can be no going away from secularism. This is the sentiment of the nation; this is the will of the nation; this is the faith of the nation and the Constitution reflects the new found faith and the belief, commitment and promises which they are giving to themselves.' He added that this was the same Constitution that was given to the people in 1949, but with a few amendments.
