Memorandum of understanding entered into between:
THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS
(ANC)
THE AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS YOUTH LEAGUE
(ANCYL)
THE JUSTICE AND EQUALITY FUND
(JEF)
MILLS & LOMBARD ATTORNEYS
(MLA)
NONGOGO NUKU ATTORNEYS
(NNA)
PREAMBLE:
A. Internationally there is an upsurge in violence in the Middle East, North Africa and several nations in Europe. These are just a few examples. This violence can very easily erupt in the Garden Route, as it erupted in Johannesburg recently.
B. The violence in Tunisia and England started with one “small incident”. All that is needed is one tiny match in one of our towns.
C. The underlying reason for all of these instances of violence is the bottled up frustration of people who believe that their basic human rights are being violated, and the inability to have their grievances effectively heard and properly addressed. Due to the lack of means, and the financial inability to approach the courts, which has become the exclusive privilege of the elite and the rich, their frustrations boil over and the only way they can express their dissatisfaction is by way of violence and destruction.
D. The current frustration in the Garden Route is directly caused by the Democratic Party (“DA”) by way of the following actions which were taken by them since they took control of the political arena in the Garden Route in the 2011 elections:
- Cadre deployment on an unprecedented scale.
- Mass unlawful dismissals.
- Mass political purging in all DA led municipalities.
- Victimization of all municipal employees who are suspected of not being loyal to the DA.
- The total disregard shown for municipal legislation regarding procurement of goods, administration, council meetings, etc.
- The ungrounded and brutal attacks on individual officials via press statements and the media. This has reached an unacceptable level to even the most callous politicians, and officials are not political bearers.
- Stopping all funding to AIDS organizations, Red Door, Youth Centers, and Educational grants for the poor.Unlawful interference by the Western Cape Provincial Government into the affairs of Local Municipalities, and the list goes on.
E. DA Councilor Johann Brummer, who is the speaker of the Bitou Council, and the official spokesperson for the Bitou Municipality, openly and unashamedly accused an attorney who dared challenge some of the above mentioned practices of “law fare”, a term used by the USA George W Bush regime to brand and attack any attorney who brings legal action against them (usually on behalf of human rights groups), with the intention of challenging their decisions to wage war on other nations and war related policies. The Bush regime argued that the purpose of this “law fare”, according to them, was to make it impossible for a state to wage war in anything but the traditional method. Thus Brummer made it crystal clear that they are currently waging war, and will use any means available to them in order to crush any possible resistance.
F. The frustration is further fueled by the perception that the media is largely the mouthpiece of the Democratic Party (“DA”), and unbalanced and biased media reporting is the order of the day. The Herald is the main culprit in this regard.
WHEREFORE IT IS AGREED AS FOLLOWS BY THE PARTIES:
1. The only way to achieve justice and equality for the people of the Garden Route is to challenge the unlawful actions by way of litigation and thus testing the lawfulness thereof in our country’s Courts and Tribunals.
2. For this purpose JEF was established. All sectors of society will be asked to give financial support to this fund, which will be utilized to pay for litigation and the lodging of complaints so that all alleged transgressions and infringements of rights may be legally and orderly tested in a court of law or tribunal.
3. JEF will be properly managed in accordance with all legislation in terms of attorneys trust accounts, and all fees and expenses will be open and transparent to any funder, and all fees will strictly comply with the fee structure and guidelines as stipulated by the Cape Law Society.
4. Complaints will be lodged to the Media Ombudsman regarding all malicious, irregular, unprofessional, unbalanced or biased media reporting.
5. A collective legal front will be in place in order to combat any unlawful actions, and challenge such actions in the applicable court or forum, in a professional, effective and coordinated manner.
6. The merits of each matter submitted to JEF will be carefully evaluated before any legal action will be instituted. Attempts will be made to negotiate amicable settlements where possible before any court action is considered.
7. No frivolous cases will be permitted.
8. The whole region will make use of the legal firms MLA and NNA.
9. A panel of five highly experienced and respected advocates will be briefed exclusively by MLA and NNA:
10. The objective of the legal team is to avoid, as far as it is humanly possible, political arguments in all the matters which are pursued, and rather to focus on clear legal principles.
11. The ANCYL and ANC agree to accept the outcome of such litigation in our courts and tribunals, and will unconditionally abide thereby.
12. The leadership of the ANCYL and ANC will do everything within their power and influence to prevent the spreading of violence and damage to property from Gauteng to the Western Cape.
13. All marches lead by the ANCYL and/or ANC will be legal and without any transgression of the laws of our country.
14. MLA and NNA shall continue to represent their clients for as long as sufficient funding is available in JEF, and for as long as all the parties hereto honor the terms and conditions contained in this agreement.
15. Any dispute between the parties hereto regarding the alleged breach of any term and/or condition hereof and/or interpretation thereof, will be refereed by a panel of three referees, which decision shall be final and binding on the parties, and who will be appointed from the following organizations:
- African Enterprises, as nominated by the Chairperson of the Board at the time.
- The ANC Veteran League as nominated by the Chairperson of the ANC Western Cape Region at the time.
- Senior Advocate (SC) as nominated by the President of the Cape Bar Council at the time.
YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE SIGNED DOCUMENT HERE.
“If you want to be more affective connecting with people, make it your goal to understand them.” – John C Maxwell
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