PUB2604 EXAM PORTFOLIO 2021.

PUB2604 EXAM PORTFOLIO 2021. Primary characteristics on the South African Constitution One of the key aspects of the constitution of this country is all the rights that people, animals and institutions have, these are contained in the Bill of Right that forms part of the constitution. Human right and equality is enforced through the constitution and this is in my opinion the most important considering the history of the country for government of the day to build a non-racial, non-sexist and free nation. Our circumstances as a country has left a lot of inequality economically, there is a huge gap between the rich and the poor but most people remain poor and through the constitution, even the poorest of the poor have a right to basic needs, right to vote, the right to freedom of movement and a right to dignity as human beings and the government must ensure this always. It is not only people that must respect each other’s right but even the government must be seen to be upholding these rights in the communities, courts, institutions and in service delivery. Everybody must be equal and receive equal opportunities per the laws in place. Another right that is vital is the right to life, it doesn’t matter who the person is if they are a natural person they have the right to life and therefore security from the government and it is the government’s responsibility to persecute those who infringe on that right to life by taking away someone’s life. The right to freedom of expression whether religiously, politically or even sexual is also a very important one in a country with such diverse people. With all the rights contained in the constitution is also the responsibility of each inhabitant of the country to adhere and uphold the law. The constitution regulates the conduct in parliament which falls under national government, it outlines how laws should be made, how elections are to be held and even how political organizations must conduct themselves. It is the constitution that allocates the appropriates powers to the president and the cabinet and have institutions that evaluate and ensure that these powers are not abused. It also outlines powers of the different courts of the country, to ensure we know which court deals with which matters and the structure levels of the courts. All these institutions are subject to the constitutional court. In the same way, the government departments and institutions such as the Human Rights Commission, Electoral commission, the auditor general and public protector are all in place to ensure the constitutional laws are upheld and that all people in the country adhere to the laws, these institutions are also subject to the constitution and they ensure in their respective areas that the constitution is upheld. This study source was downloaded by from CourseH on :50:09 GMT -05:00 This study resource was shared via CourseH Page 3 of 7 The security of the people and all security agencies from the police to the defence force are also regulated by the constitution, the level of protection the government is to provide the inhabitants is outlined in the constitution. Intelligence and their conduct is also regulated by the constitution to ensure that no information is obtained illegally or used to harm anyone unfairly or through abuse of power. The constitution also regulates issues of trade, international agreements and outlines the rights of foreign individuals within our borders. Due to the government uplifting society through encouraging employment the constitution also regulates how business is to be run, how workers are to be treated, the fair labour practises and prohibits slavery. It also makes provision for trade unions, how they are to conduct themselves and the right for workers to join, start and participate in trade union activities. The constitution recognises the traditional leaders and their structures as well as their role in society, traditional leaders have an influence on their communities due to their positions and the cultural background of society and the constitution acknowledges and makes provision for their role as leaders in society and their power and how they are to conduct themselves as well as their rights as leaders. The constitution also outlines the power and responsibilities of different levels of government, local government, provincial government and national government respectively as well as their accountability to the people and their transparency and fairness in delivering services to the nation. The structures each of these spheres are accountable to and the nations right to access any information that could affect them that any of these structures might have. No institution is to withhold information due to the citizens or inhabitants, that might affect them. The constitution also outlines the powers and responsibility as well as accountability of the finance, treasury and the reserve bank. There is a Financial and Fiscal Commission which plays the role of advising and monitoring how government revenue should be divided between local, provincial and national government. The government does not always satisfy all the needs due to the scarce resources, however they need to ensure the scarce resource are not misappropriated to ensure satisfy the many critical or most basic needs. Available resource determines the measure of service delivery, this also ties back on the people’s responsibility to pay the necessary state bills, i.e.: tax, rates, duties and fines. The constitution also makes provision for public services, indicating the importance of the basic needs for the whole nation, especially those who need it most, the constitutions regulates how services should be delivered through government institutions like the Department of Welfare which ensures the support of children who are in need through social grants, the support of the elderly though pension, the support of orphans through the projects the government runs, it also includes the social responsibility funds used to support different charities. There is an independent body that monitors and evaluates public services to ensure transparency, efficiency and fairness as per the values of the constitution. Every civil servant is serving the community and advancing the plan of government to meet their social contract and they do this observing the constitution, it is also a guide on how to deal with matters in the field, for every situation that might arise there is a legal This study source was downloaded by from CourseH on :50:09 GMT -05:00 This study resource was shared via CourseH Page 4 of 7 route or provision in the constitution that guides the state, the citizens and the different courts and institutions on the right course of action. The constitution seeks to protect and promote freedom, equality, human dignity and security of every inhabitant of the country this includes, children, women, men and even prisoners. 3. Constitution: Service Delivery in local government: Local government is the sphere where the community has direct contact and can communicate with the politicians and civil servants directly. The ward councillors and their committees, are better equipped to know the needs of their communities because they live within the community, they are aware of the conditions in their communities. The constitutions apply firstly in the way they serve the community they live in, they are to serve transparently and not mismanage the public funds, they are to identify and meet critical needs, they are to ensure the basic needs such as health, food, education is provided for their communities with the budget they have been allocated, they also need to build infrastructure in their communities. The heart of service delivery lies in local municipality, if this sphere of government that is in direct contact with the people does not deliver services in line with the principles and the values of the constitution it affects the objective of provincial and national government since they work as a chain and because national government is not always in the community it relies of local government to reach people with the plans, laws and legislature takes at the provincial and national sphere. If the government allocates funds to local government and they fail to identify the critical needs or to give the community equal opportunities when jobs are available and they begin to accept bribes for jobs and hire their friends and families, they are violating the constitutional right of every citizen to have access to the basic needs or be treated equally. Due to corruption, some of the services that could be reaching the communities are abandoned and the funds are used to enrich corrupt politicians, this adversely affects the delivery of service to the people as they must wait long for services and at times not get services at all. The reluctance of civil servants to serve the community with excellence also affects the delivery of service, the roads are built but because of their bad quality and shoddy work their need amending in a few months. The local government is in the community and can usually influence the activities of the community through the developmental projects and ensuring the hire the right people for the job. Activities such as community policing, involvement of communities in health care initiatives or programmes, if well-coordinated they can improve the communities in which they live and affect positive change, however where they fail to deliver services to the communities there arises protests, looting and violence which destroys the very same structures the government have built for the betterment of communities. The local government cannot prohibit anyone from the rights enshrined in the constitution, right to education, the right to health care, the right to freedom of movement in fact they must uphold these rights and provide these services in their communities. No child is to stay out of a government school because they do not have funds. Local government implements the work of the municipalities, after the planning and budgeting has been done it remains with local government to deliver. The council approve laws and policies and must also ensure that such laws and policies does not contravene the constitution. If the Mayoral committee and the municipal manager and the staff are effective the results are visible in the development of their community.