Addressing the media after official bilateral talks with his Spanish counterpart, President Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, at the Union Buildings on Thursday, Ramaphosa was asked what lessons could be learnt from Spain and other countries on the management of coalition governments.
The question came a few days after the high court declared invalid and unlawful Phalatse’s removal through a motion of no confidence and the subsequent election of the ANC’s Dada Morero as mayor last month.
TimesLIVE reported that Phalatse was removed by an ANC-led coalition with the help of the EFF and the Patriotic Alliance.
The coalition had earlier installed Cope’s Colleen Makhubele as the speaker who scheduled a council sitting two days later that effectively removed Phalatse and installed Morero.
The high court declared the sitting unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid.
Without directly mentioning Johannesburg, Ramaphosa said many lessons could be learnt from various countries that have been “well-steeped in democratic parliamentary systems” over time.
“Spain and a number of countries have a lot of lessons that they can offer us and we can learn from the very positive things that they have done, and from their mistakes.”
This, said Ramaphosa, is underpinned by the rule of law.
“In a number of cases, initiatives or interventions that have been embarked upon have been subjected to our law and constitutional processes. Some of them have been deemed unconstitutional and invalid and we abide by that, confirming that South Africa is not only underpinned by human rights but also by the rule of law.
“As we traverse this journey, we are learning from others as well as ourselves.”
When the constitution, was drafted, Ramaphosa said, leaders took time look at other constitutions.
“Some provisions in our constitution were learnt from other countries,” he said.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
'Let democracy be at play,' says Ramaphosa on coalition governments
Image: Supplied/ GCIS
President Cyril Ramaphosa has weighed in on a high court ruling which led to the reinstatement of the DA's Mpho Phalatse as Johannesburg mayor, saying SA was learning from its mistakes.
“As we also traverse our way through managing coalitions, we are also learning from our own errors and own positive steps, and so let democracy be at play,” said Ramaphosa.
Addressing the media after official bilateral talks with his Spanish counterpart, President Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón, at the Union Buildings on Thursday, Ramaphosa was asked what lessons could be learnt from Spain and other countries on the management of coalition governments.
The question came a few days after the high court declared invalid and unlawful Phalatse’s removal through a motion of no confidence and the subsequent election of the ANC’s Dada Morero as mayor last month.
TimesLIVE reported that Phalatse was removed by an ANC-led coalition with the help of the EFF and the Patriotic Alliance.
The coalition had earlier installed Cope’s Colleen Makhubele as the speaker who scheduled a council sitting two days later that effectively removed Phalatse and installed Morero.
The high court declared the sitting unlawful, unconstitutional and invalid.
Without directly mentioning Johannesburg, Ramaphosa said many lessons could be learnt from various countries that have been “well-steeped in democratic parliamentary systems” over time.
“Spain and a number of countries have a lot of lessons that they can offer us and we can learn from the very positive things that they have done, and from their mistakes.”
This, said Ramaphosa, is underpinned by the rule of law.
“In a number of cases, initiatives or interventions that have been embarked upon have been subjected to our law and constitutional processes. Some of them have been deemed unconstitutional and invalid and we abide by that, confirming that South Africa is not only underpinned by human rights but also by the rule of law.
“As we traverse this journey, we are learning from others as well as ourselves.”
When the constitution, was drafted, Ramaphosa said, leaders took time look at other constitutions.
“Some provisions in our constitution were learnt from other countries,” he said.
TimesLIVE
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending
Related articles
Latest Videos