The Judicial Service Commission (JSC) went beyond what was expected of it when it recommended a single candidate — Supreme Court of Appeal president Mandisa Maya — to be the next chief justice, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Wednesday in an hour-long engagement with the media.
His comments indicate that he in no way feels bound to accept the JSC nomination but will exercise the power vested in him by the constitution.
The engagement, which covered a wide range of topics such as reform for state-owned enterprises (SOEs), changes to the security cluster, the role of his advisers in the presidency and how to deal with anti-foreigner sentiment, followed Ramaphosa’s reply to the debate on the state of the nation address in the Cape Town City Hall.
Ramaphosa said the JSC was only required to advise on the suitability of the four candidates for chief justice proposed by an expert panel. They were Maya, acting chief justice Raymond Zondo, Gauteng judge president Dunstan Mlambo and judge Mbuyiseli Madlanga.
“They went over that and nominated a person,” Ramaphosa said, adding that this did not detract from his role in making a decision after consultation with the JSC and political parties that was set down in the constitution. He said he was considering the matter and would make a decision soon.
In the past, the JSC would be given one name and would advise the president on the suitability of the candidate.
Questioned whether he would not be criticised if he decided against Maya, who would be the first female chief justice in SA, Ramaphosa said any decision he took would be criticised by one or other quarter. Maya was nominated by the JSC after a controversial process in which Mlambo was subjected to questioning about unsubstantiated rumours of sexual harassment.
Ramaphosa elaborated on his announcement in his state of the nation address that consideration was being given to a centralised SOE holding company that would own all SOES and would provide co-ordination over their management.
A holding company would ideally provide better oversight of SOEs and would also provide an early-warning system of key failures so the state could intervene timeously.
He said such a structure would lessen the involvement of the executive in the operations of SOEs, which came under strong criticism by the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture, which revealed how ministers were involved in the appointment of inappropriate boards of directors.
The executive would be limited to policy matters, Ramaphosa said.
The state would remain the main shareholder of the companies but private shareholders could take a stake in the underlying subsidiaries.
Ramaphosa said the current system was very disaggregated, with SOEs having different remuneration policies. Corporate governance was not streamlined and oversight was disconnected.
The model of a central holding company has been proposed by the presidential SOE commission and benchmarked against what other countries such as China and Singapore did to manage their SOEs. The proposal “would, if implemented, enhance the operation of our SOEs in more ways than one”.
It still has to go through government processes and legislation must be drafted.
“What is clear to me is that we have to reposition our SOEs”, Ramaphosa said as some had enormous balance sheet challenges, such as Eskom, while others like Transnet had operational challenges.
On the much criticised structure of the presidency, which some regard as a parallel government, Ramaphosa said his phalanx of advisers knitted together the work of government. The presidency provided a nerve centre for government as a whole and allowed all departments to work together. Outside advisers were brought in to deal with specific issues like the climate, bringing in fresh blood.
The government was keeping a “watchful eye” on the way South Africans respond to people from other countries living and working in SA. It was aware of some pockets trying to foment negative feelings towards people from other countries. The security apparatus is prepared to deal with this.
On the security cluster, Ramaphosa said the final Zondo report would highlight what was wrong with the security cluster, but it was clear from the report compiled by presidential security adviser Sydney Mufamadi and the expert panel on the July looting and rioting that there were operational and personnel challenges that needed to be dealt with.
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