The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is expected to host a national conference on the Constitution next week.

South Africa’s Constitution was signed into law by Former President Nelson Mandela in Sharpeville in December 1996 and took effect in February 1997.

According to the department, the conference will be held under the theme “Reflections on the Constitution: Rule of law, accountability, social and economic justice”.

“The South African nation will get an opportunity to reflect and dialogue on the past 25 years of the Constitution, Nation Building, Gender Equality, Youth Economic Empowerment, as well issues of Service Delivery and Social Stability to chart a way forward on the path towards building on the gains of democracy.

“There has been a robust debate amongst South Africans as to whether the Constitution has really achieved what it was intended for or not. The national conference intends to broaden the discourse on the Constitution and encourage members of the public to join and participate in the conversation on constitutionalism and the current state of democracy in our country,” the department said.

The conference will focus on areas including:

• Transforming and building an independent and resilient judiciary.
• Transforming and growing the economy as a constitutional imperative.
• Progress on land reform: restitution and distribution.
• Governance and electoral reform.
• Effectiveness of constitutional and independent statutory bodies in strengthening constitutional democracy.

“The conference will be attended by prominent figures of South African society including academics, members of legislatures, constitutional and independent statutory bodies, mayors, political parties, youth, students, business leaders, religious leaders, legal fraternity, traditional leaders, media and others,” the department said. – SAnews.gov.za