As Ramaphosa tabled the draft before Parliament, he paid tribute to those who had died since the beginning of colonialism. He remarked on the long journey that the country had travelled since the first Union Constitution was passed before the House of Commons in 1909. He described the new Constitution as ‘the birth certificate of a nation’. Thabo Mbeki added that this Constitution was not an ANC constitution but a ‘South African Constitution’. It meant that ‘the immense sacrifices of so many people for freedom were not in vain.’ Other parties also welcomed the tabling of the draft.

For two days, the CA debated the text. Amendment after amendment piled up. The CA approved the bill two days later but at the same time handed the Constitution Committee a document with 298 pages of amendments. Many, but not all, were technical in nature. It was agreed that issues of contention should be debated in the various sub-committees.

The mounting pressure was intensified when COSATU announced that it would start a mass action campaign to protest against the labour provisions on Friday 26 April. Opposition parties and the business community were outraged by COSATU’s decision. They believed that the union had had ample time to make submissions along with everyone else and resented what they saw as undue pressure being exerted on the negotiators.