In democracies, law is important but politics is decisive

THE constitution and the law are there to ensure that democratic politics happens within agreed rules — not to make politics go away. One result of Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s Nkandla report is debate among lawyers — and political parties — on her powers. One side of the argument insists that she can only recommend and cannot tell the government what to do. The other, which includes Madonsela, relies on a clause in the constitution that says the office can take “remedial action” to argue that it can order government to act. The dispute may be headed to the courts…..more