President Jacob Zuma must hand over all records explaining why he reshuffled the Cabinet, Judge Bashier Vally has ruled
After listening to arguments in the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on Thursday, Vally said he’d provide reasons for the ruling next Tuesday.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) had filed an urgent application with the court on 24 April to force Zuma to disclose his reasons for reshuffling the Cabinet on 30 March. In court papers, Zuma said the DA’s application was misconceived and without merit.
“It is an abuse of court process,” he said.
Protection from disclosure
Zuma argued that he was exercising his powers in terms of Section 91 (2) of the Constitution, adding that it was an executive decision that deserved protection from disclosure.
“It is even a level higher than the deliberations of the Judicial Service Committee, or just Cabinet minutes.”
Zuma’s lawyers argued that the DA had already acknowledged this and, on that basis, was therefore not entitled to any record of the decision.
However, the opposition party said it wanted the court to review and set aside Zuma’s decision to dismiss Pravin Gordhan as finance minister, and his deputy Mcebisi Jonas.
The DA said its application for a review of Zuma’s actions was unable to proceed because the president had refused to file the record and the reasons for his decision. This was “simply wrong as a matter of law”.
“The review application and the application for the record were patently urgent given the extraordinarily serious and far-reaching nature of his reshuffle,” the DA argued.
“For as long as they are not set aside, they will continue to have major prejudicial ramifications for the country.” This, the party says, was demonstrated by ratings agencies S&P Global and Fitch’s downgrading of SA to junk status.
“These downgrade decisions affect ordinary South Africans severely,” the DA added.
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Source: News24 Wire
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