Law and Civil Society

An issue that has particularly gripped our country over the past few weeks concerned the charges brought against Minister of Finance Pravin Gordhan by the National Prosecuting Authority. Serious concern was expressed over the timing and motivations behind this move, and no doubt we have not seen the end of the story, despite the case having now been formally withdrawn.

On being approached for comment, the Board said that it echoed and endorsed the many statements that have been made in support of Minister Gordhan from across the political spectrum. Minister Gordhan, we said, is “a public servant of outstanding integrity, dedication and expertise”, and we salute him for the outstanding work he is doing in addressing the many complex challenges facing our country’s economy”.

In the end, the outcome can be seen as having been another demonstration of the supremacy of the rule of law ,  the strength of our civil society and the role and importance of our free and independent media The SAJBD has  absolute faith in our democratic institutions and importantly in our judiciary’s ability to protect our constitutionally enshrined democratic rights and  freedoms. These have been left standing tall in the wake of the Gordhan affair, and as a result South Africa is a much better place than it was six weeks ago. 

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The South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) on Sunday issued a travel advisory urging South African citizens in Iran to exercise caution and register with the South African Embassy in Tehran. It is outrageous that DIRCO did not offer similar assistance or services to its citizens in Israel. With the Advisory the Government and DIRCO have clearly shown disinterest and abandoned the many South Africans, be they Christian, Jewish or Muslim who are stranded in Israel. The Government's stance on this current situation confirms once again its lack of concern for not only the citizens of Israel, but its own citizens in Israel.

​DIRCO supports terror regime once again

DIRCO supports terror regime once again

South Africa’s expression of concern and condolences for the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran serves once again to show their decision to always side with dictators, terror organisations and human-rights abusers. DIRCO supported the Assad regime in Syria, Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, Omar Hassan Ahmad al-Bashir in Sudan, Sadam Hussein in Iraq, Hamas in Gaza and now Ali Hosseini Khamenei in Iran. All these dictators have a strong history of oppressing their own people and exporting terror.