Cape Town - President Cyril Ramaphosa says he is applying his mind to the recommendations of the Judicial Service Commission on the appointment of the new Chief Justice.
The JSC has recommended Supreme Court of Appeal Judge President Mandisa Maya after four candidates were interviewed for the top job in the judiciary early this month.
While Ramaphosa has not said exactly when he will make the appointment, he has said he will make the decision soon.
“As I said I have received the report, I am going through the report and I will go through it before I finally say what I thought of it,” Ramaphosa said.
He said he watched portions of the interviews as they took the whole day to grill one candidate.
The other people who were interviewed for the job were acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, Gauteng High Court Judge President Dunstan Mlambo and Constitutional Court justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga.
Maya was the second candidate to be grilled by the 23 commissioners.
“As I said I am going to give attention to what they have recommended. The Constitution allows the president to decide, so they recommend. It’s very clear in terms of the Constitution. Let’s leave it there until the president has exercised his mind and has decided,” Ramaphosa said.
In a reply to the debate on the State of the Nation Address earlier Ramaphosa denied that he has centralised power in his office.
The EFF, ATM and other parties have accused the president of sidelining some of his Cabinet ministers and consolidating power in the Presidency with the appointment of advisers and task teams.
Ramaphosa also said he was dealing with the tensions between Police Minister Bheki Cele and national police commissioner Khehla Sitole.
Cele this week accused EFF leader Julius Malema of plotting to remove him from office with Sitole.
He said Malema had met with Sitole in Pretoria in December 2020.
But Cele has since withdrawn his statement after he was forced by Deputy Speaker Lechesa Tsenoli as he had not tabled a substantive motion on the matter.
siyabonga.mkhwanazi@inl.co.za
POLITICAL BUREAU