Ramaphosa cannot unilaterally declare public holiday - expert

This comes after South Africans took to social media after the Springboks Rugby World Cup victory on Saturday, reminding President Cyril Ramaphosa not to forget his promise to declare one should we win the tournament.

Ramaphosa made the promise just a day after the 29-28 victory against France, saying he would consider a request to declare a public holiday if the Springboks win the Rugby World Cup.

The Springboks claimed a second successive Webb Ellis Cup with a 12-11 win against New Zealand on a wet and windy night in Paris on Saturday.

 But Curlewis says the president cannot unilaterally decide on a public holiday.

"Obviously, everybody is in ecstasy about the outcome of the Springboks and the promise of a public holiday. But it is impractical in any event because the matric pupils are writing their year-end exams, and it will be a conundrum if we allow a public holiday in the middle of exams.

“Although we are all eager to have such a public holiday, It is not going to happen immediately, the state president cannot unfortunately do such a thing unilaterally. Everybody must enjoy the moment, but forget about a public holiday, in any event, it is not in the interest of the economy of the country at large," he said.

Curlewis explained there are several legislative hurdles that need to be cleared before a public holiday can be declared.

"From a constitutional point of view, public holidays must be considered by Parliament. It is the highest legislative authority and these things must be debated in Parliament. The various political parties must give their input, submissions must be made, and the public at large must participate.

“So any legislation including the setting of a new public holiday must go through a long legislative process.

“It is not an overnight decision, with all due respect to Mr Ramaphosa I think he said it in the spare of the moment, maybe with a bit of twinkle in the eye.

“But from a legislative point of view, it is not going to stand scrutiny.”

Curlewis believes Ramaphosa was simply making a joke.

"It was a mere joke, we can't just have a public holiday declared every time that we are all in ecstasy about the outcome of the event in this country.

“We will have to cater to all the various sports categories in the country as well not one above the other because that could be declared some kind of discriminatory issue," he said.

At the same time, Econometrix chief economist Dr Azar Jammine says a public holiday costs South Africa's economy around R2 billion a day.

"There are many factors that go into deciding whether to have a public holiday or not. The fact is that it is an issue that is in the national interest and also needs to take into account the country's psychology.

“One would also have to weigh the costs of business having to close against the psychological benefits of an extra day, this community [business]  would not be particularly happy to have to go on holiday," he said.

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