ConCourt move aimed at Western Cape autonomy
AfriForum is heading to the Constitutional Court in an attempt to force Parliament to change SA’s referendum legislation so as to give Premiers powers to call for a referendum.
A Cape Argus report says the move is part of the group’s plans to gain greater autonomy for the Western Cape as outlined by the organisation’s Kallie Kriel.
It comes in the wake of a Private Members’ Bill sponsored in Parliament by the DA’s Natasha Mazzone that would in essence do the same thing.
With regards to reports that AfriForum is setting up a civil society organisation to front the court bid, Kriel said: ‘It’s still early days. We are consulting with various stakeholders before we can finalise any plans. If a new organisation is needed, what its composition would be and its name is still under discussion. What I can confirm is that we do plan to take the referendum legislation to the Constitutional Court to allow a Premier to also call for a referendum as allowed for in the Constitution, but not in legislation.’
Kriel said the time frame of the court bid was still being discussed.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
