ANC hits out at critics in Ngcobo row

The ANC has lashed out at those who challenged President Jacob Zuma’s extension of Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo’s term of office.

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The ANC has lashed out at those who challenged President Jacob Zuma’s extension of Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo’s term of office after the Constitutional Court on Friday struck down the legislation he invoked to do it.

The Presidency, meanwhile, insisted that Section 8 of the Judges’ Remuneration and Conditions of Employment Act, used by Zuma to extend Ngcobo’s term, had been valid until Friday’s judgment, which found it to be unconstitutional, and said the government would study the ruling to see what directives the Constitutional Court was giving to Parliament for remedial action.

This follows widespread condemnation of the way the matter was handled by Zuma and the ANC in Parliament, which many claimed had put Justice Ngcobo in an untenable position and forced him on Wednesday to withdraw his acceptance of the extension – rather than find himself potentially on the wrong side of a ruling by his Constitutional Court colleagues.

“The president has begun the process of appointing a new chief justice and will do so in accordance with the provisions outlined in the constitution of the republic,” Zuma’s office said.

While the ANC claimed to welcome the judgment “unconditionally”, it attacked the organisations that had taken the matter to the court and questioned their motives.

ANC spokesman Jackson Mthembu said contrary to the views of those who had brought the challenge, “we remain convinced that the extension of Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo’s term of office… was both constitutional and within the ambit of the law”.

“It should also be said that this judgment does not imply any illegal action on the part of the president.

“We are, nonetheless, perplexed and totally astonished by those who brought this matter before the Constitutional Court, totally disregarding similar extensions of terms of previous chief justices.”

Mthembu said no one had launched any court challenges when the law was passed unanimously by both houses of Parliament in 2001 and was used in respect of esteemed former chief justices Arthur Chaskalson and Pius Langa.

The party said Chaskalson would have been discharged in 2001, after he would have served seven years, but continued to serve for a period of 12 years, adding he was 73 when he was discharged from active service, while Justice Langa continued to serve as the chief justice beyond the age of 70 years.

“There has been no problem with the law in the previous extensions, until it was used by President Jacob Zuma to extend the term of office of Chief Justice Ngcobo last month.”

The constitution, legal framework and precedents set explained Zuma’s actions, said Mthembu.

Meanwhile, the chairman of Parliament’s portfolio committee on justice and constitutional development, which had been processing an urgent amendment to Section 8 to allow for Justice Ngcobo to stay on until he withdrew, said the committee had noted the judgment “and trusts that it will assist us in amending such anomalies and possibly the constitution”.

Luwellyn Landers (ANC) said the committee would “sit down” and consider whether to continue the work on the Judges’ Remuneration and Conditions of Employment Amendment Bill.

He said there was a need to look at the now invalid Section 8(a) and other sections of the act “to clear up not only that act but possibly the constitution”.

The DA said it welcomed the direction given by the court, from which “it is quite clear that any purported extension of the term of office of any individual judge of the Constitutional Court would be unconstitutional, and that all judges should be treated equally”.

DA MP Debbie Schafer said although the party supported the extension of Justice Ngcobo’s term in principle, “we did not, and do not, do so under circumstances that are unconstitutional”.

“We reiterate that the fact that Judge Ngcobo felt so strongly about that principle that he withdrew his acceptance of the president’s offer, is commendable.”

The ACDP said the main reason for the finding was that this extension resulted in an unlawful distinction being made between the chief justice and other Constitutional Court judges. - Pretoria News Weekend

Source: http://www.iol.co.za/anc-hits-out-at-critics-in-ngcobo-row-1.1108870?cache=0%3Fpage%3D2%3Fpage%3D6%3Fot%3Dinmsa.ArticlePrintPageLayout.ot%3FpageNumber%3D1%3FpageNumber%3D1

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