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First published in the Daily Maverick 168 weekly newspaper.
“Our democratic Constitution is the product of years of sacrifice and struggle. Many South Africans endured great pain and hardship, and many lost their lives, so that we could live in a democracy where all may enjoy equal rights. The values, principles and rights contained in the Constitution are neither trivial nor abstract.” – President Cyril Ramaphosa, President’s Newsletter, 22 February 2021.
Somewhere there is a photograph of the ANC’s Cyril Ramaphosa and the National Party’s chief negotiator, Roelf Meyer, taking a break during the constitutional negotiations, seemingly relaxed sans ties.
The picture belies the mammoth task with which they were engaged. It was essentially to make something out of nothing. For the Constitution represents South Africa’s attempt to overcome its past and deal with its present. Theirs was an unusual friendship forged around our transition to democracy and the drafting of a new Constitution. In between their shared love of fly-fishing, they got the job done. The Constitution itself bears testimony to the optimism of those early years of our democracy.

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