| dc.concourt.synopsis |
As a result a previous decision, concerning a Bill passed in the Limpopo Provincial Legislature, in which the Court held that provincial legislatures do not have the authority to pass legislation in relation to their own financial management, the Court raised the need to determine the constitutional validity of similar financial management legislation in five other provinces (Eastern Cape, Free State, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, and the North West). The Court found that all the Provincial Acts were also unconstitutional, as the provinces had not been expressly assigned the power to regulate their financial affairs, nor did any provision of the Constitution “envisage” the enactment of such legislation. The Court held that although the North West Act dealt with matters significantly wider than financial management, provisions dealing with financial management could not be severed from the rest of the Act because the required severance was vast, what needed to be severed was unclear and what remained would not give effect to the purpose of the legislation. Accordingly, the North West Act too was declared unconstitutional in its entirety. The Court suspended the orders of invalidity for all five of the provincial Acts for a period of 18 months because otherwise a legislative lacuna would result, negatively impacting on the interests of good government. Further, the Court aimed to allow the parties time to consult without any interim administrative disruption. The parties were ordered to file a report by 9 September 2013 informing the Court what steps have been taken to remedy the defect. Judgment: Khampepe J (unanimous). |
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