MINISTRY

JUSTICE AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA

Private Bag X276, PRETORIA, 0001 ● Momentum Building, C/O Prinsloo and Pretorius Streets, PRETORIA ● Tel: (012) 315 1761/2/3, Fax: (012) 315 1708 ●

Private Bag X256, CAPE TOWN, 8000 ● 120 Plein Street, CAPE TOWN ● Tel: (021) 467 1700, Fax: (021) 467 1730 ●

BRIEFING BY MS BRIGITTE MABANDLA, MP, MINISTER FOR JUSTICE AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT, TO THE SELECT COMMITTEE

ON SECURITY AND CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS,

ON TUESDAY, 11 JUNE2007,

PARLIAMENT

Chairperson, Kgoshi Mokwena,

Deputy Minister, Johnny De Lange;

Honourable Members of the Select Committee,

It is once again a pleasure to have this welcome opportunity to interact with the Select Committee.I also wish to extend my appreciation for the excellent interaction with your Committee in the past year and I trust that we will continue to work closely together during this year.

Officials from the various units of the Department have already briefed the Committee in detail about our work and budget. I will therefore be brief in my presentation to you and rather focus on issues raised.

Budget Allocations

Chairperson,

R8, 541 billion is allocated to the Department for the 2007/08 financial year. Of this allocation:

  • R838 million is for Administration;
  • R2, 9 billion for Court Services;
  • R415 million for State Legal Services;
  • R1, 8 billion for the NPA and;
  • R925 million is for the Chapter 9 institutions (and other public entities).
  • R1, 263 billion is allocated as a direct charge against the National Revenue Fund for the salaries of judges and magistrates.

Honourable Members,

ACCESS TO JUSTICE

Infrastructure

R308 million in our capital works programme was spent during 2006/07 on the construction of new courts and additional court rooms to existing courts. The capital budget will also be utilized for completion of the following major projects in 2007/08:

CENTRE

Daveyton Branch Court (Benoni)

Tsakane Branch Court (Brakpan)

Madadeni

Motherwell

Sekgosese

Port Elizabeth (Youth Justice Centre)

Polokwane (Circuit for High Court)

Stanger (additions)

Mitchell’s Plain (additions)

The following major capital works will be completed in 2008/09:

*Supreme Court of Appeal Bloemfontein (additions)

*Colesberg New Magistrate’s Court

Improving security at our court buildings was a particular focus of the Department’s reprioritisation process during the 2005/06 financial year. 50 X-ray machines and 200 walk-through metal detectors were procured and deployed to high-risk court buildings. In addition, burglar proofing and perimeter fencing were installed at all court buildings.

An amount of R467 million has been allocated for Facilities Management (capital works, day-to-day maintenance and repair and upgrading) in the 2007/08 financial year. The funds will mainly be used for the continuation of construction work of 11 major projects and for the planning and construction of new court in Katlehong, Garies, Bityi, Ntuzuma, Soshanguve, Lutzville, Ashton, Bredasdorp, Sundumbili and Galeshewe.

The Department plans to begin construction of new High courts in Limpopo and plan for a new High court in Mpumalanga in the 2007/08 financial year. Of the amount of R467 million, R333 million will go towards the building of these new courts and additional accommodation. The rehabilitation of the existing court infrastructure will be looked into as well and is expected to cost R71 million.

Major infrastructure planned for the MTEF is a Justice Precinct, JusticeCollege and the Judicial Training Institute. The Justice Precinct project will bring together on a single campus all the justice offices in Pretoria. In this regard I can mention that a public private partnership has been registered with National Treasury and that four sites have been identified. Suitable sites are being sourced for the Judicial Training Institute and Justice College.

However, it must be appreciated that the Department is seriously constrained in that the available office space is insufficient to accommodate a growing Department. To address this need, additional accommodation will be leased. Thirty five (35) mobile courts have been procured in 2006/07 and more will be procured should the need arise. We are also deploying mobile units to sites where periodical courts are currently held in police stations.

A major drive in the new financial year will be to ensure that our facilities are accessible for the disabled. An amount of R120 million is being committed in the current financial year (from reprioritised funds) towards making 36 court buildings accessible for the disabled. This amount is in addition to the existing provision on the programme of the Department of Public Works.

Improved service delivery

Honourable Members,

Court Services and the National Prosecuting Authority have received a substantial additional allocation of R425 million over the MTEF in order to address criminal case backlogs. In addition the Legal Aid Board has received an allocation of R140 million over the MTEF period to increase its capacity. An integrated approach between these role players and our partners in the CJS cluster is required and project plans are being finalised.

Maintenance beneficiaries are also benefiting from another initiative – the Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) project. As at 28 February 2007, 12 720 beneficiaries at 58 offices received their maintenance directly in their bank accounts. An amount of R26 million has been channelled to the beneficiaries directly. We are particularly proud that this initiative has introduced some of these beneficiaries to the formal banking sector for the first time. Obviously this empowers such beneficiaries to use other financial services.

Improved service delivery continuously remains high on our agenda. The Masters’ Office is streamlining its operations by automating and centralising high volume back office functions. In so doing it will free capacity to deal with front-line issues. In this regard, it is interesting to note that the number of section 18(3) matters in our Master’s Offices has increased by about 10% per annum. Section 18(3) matters relate to smaller estates (less than R50 000) and competent staff should be made available to minimise the risk for beneficiaries and ensure the protection of the rights of the vulnerable.

ENHANCED ORGANSATIONAL EFFICIENCY

Honourable Members, as mentioned earlier, the Department has put in place the necessary building blocks to ensure its organisational efficiency is enhanced. These achievements include:

  • The DNS roll-out to over 500 sites of the departmental computer network (DNS III);
  • The Digital Court Recording project where all court rooms are to be provided with digital court recording equipment by July 2007;
  • The roll-out of the E-scheduler solution to 333 sites as at the end of February 2007. Here I am proud to announce that the Department is ahead of schedule for targeted completion by June 2007 and that the Limpopo province is the first to be covered fully.
  • The E-scheduler statistics are being incorporated into the Justice Management Information Solution (JMIS). This system will be rolled-out during the next three months to all area court managers, regional heads and identified staff at the Regional Offices and national office.
  • The Justice Deposit Account System (JDAS) is targeted for roll-out by end of June 2007;
  • A document scanning solution is being developed. This solution will be integrated into the case management solution;
  • Bids have been received for the Monies-In-Trust Public Private partnership on 5 February 2007. The evaluation of these bids is taking place and should be finalised soon.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, I would like to thank the Honourable Members of the Committee for this opportunity to interact with you this morning.

Thank you.

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