Hon Chairperson, the answer to the question asked by the hon Worth is yes. The SAPS is involved in a joint effort with the mining industry and other role-players in the Free State to combat illegal mining in that part of our country through well-planned and co-ordinated police operations.
A permanent task team was established on 1 June 2009 to combat illegal mining. It consists of members of the force, particularly the Hawks. In addition, the assistance of other role-players, such as the prosecuting authority and the Department of Home Affairs, is sourced as and when required. Illegal mining is also addressed through court-directed investigations.
Illegal immigrants are dealt with in close co-operation with the Department of Home Affairs. They are the responsible line function department, according to normal procedures laid down in immigration legislation.
Monthly meetings are held with stakeholders in order to co-ordinate actions. I thank you.
Hon members, you will remember that the Deputy Chair, during her opening remarks, made reference to Rule 246(4). So, we will jump Questions 13, 14, 15 and 16 and proceed to Question 17 by the hon Van Lingen to the hon Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development.
Measures taken to address levels of communication and co-operation between SA Police Service and prosecutors in rural areas, and appointment of sheriffs in each rural local municipality
17. Mrs E C van Lingen (DA) asked the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:
(1) Whether his department has taken any measures to address the levels of communication and co-operation between the SA Police Service and prosecutors in rural areas; if not, why not; if so, (a) what measures and (b) what are the further relevant details;
(2) whether any sheriffs are appointed in each rural local municipality; if not (a) why not and (b) what action is being taken to address this matter? CO77E
Chairperson, as part of the initiatives of the criminal justice system review, a protocol in respect of the management of the investigation and proper screening of cases countrywide is poised to be concluded.
This protocol, already operational in several provinces, facilitates the restructuring of the investigation and court processes in order to ensure that courts are focused on trials, rather than administrative matters, such as postponements.
It creates integrated SAPS, NPA, provincial management structures and local detective, prosecutor and screening mechanisms, the latter at each seat of the regional courts in the country. The local screening mechanisms are responsible for the investigation and management of all cases enrolled in the courts that are not trial-ready. They issue instructions for further investigation, follow up on progress and ensure that dockets are properly managed right through to the finalisation of the investigation.
At a provincial level, the responsibility for the management of investigations and the screening of cases is assigned to a suitably experienced investigating officer designated by the SAPS, just below the rank of provincial commissioner - if the Minister were here I would ask him whether that should be a lieutenant general - and a suitably experienced prosecutor designated by the NPA, just below the rank of Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions.
Together these persons are responsible for the management of investigations and the screening of cases. They are also responsible for the establishment of local screening mechanisms, as well as the supervising, overseeing, directing and guiding of these processes.
The local screening mechanisms consist of a detective, court case officer or officers designated by the SAPS and a screening prosecutor or prosecutors designated by the NPA. The local screening mechanism is responsible for the management of the investigation of all cases enrolled in the courts that are not trial-ready, and should, where possible, manage the decision dockets requiring further investigation.
A closer interaction between the SAPS and the NPA is fostered, with a particular focus on the more serious cases which are to be heard in the regional courts. This protocol applies across the entire country, including rural areas.
Secondly, and this is quite a different aspect of the question, in terms of section 2 of the Sheriffs Act, a sheriff needs to be appointed for every court. Consequently, all rural municipalities form part of a magisterial district covering that particular area. However, the department has experienced challenges in attracting suitable persons for the appointment of sheriffs in the small rural areas due to the economic nonviability of these areas.
People are discouraged by the low volume of the court processes and the vast distances to be travelled from the local court to serve court processes. Of the 366 magisterial districts covering the entire geographical area of the Republic serviced by sheriffs, 30% are regarded as economically nonviable and process less than 500 court processes and generate less than R150 000 gross income per annum. The economically nonviable offices are located mainly in the poor rural areas of the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and Northern Cape provinces.
Several interventions were taken to address the problems to ensure that communities in these areas have equal access to justice. The past interventions included the possible combination of a number of small areas into two or more areas to increase the size of the service area for which a sheriff is appointed. This is with a view to make them more economically viable for the incumbents.
This intervention has had its own downside as one sheriff still has to service a vast area and is often not accessible to a community living in some of the combined areas. As part of the several initiatives being undertaken by the department to transform the sheriffs' profession, legislative amendments to the Sheriffs Act have been proposed to provide for the appointment of state officers as sheriffs in small rural villages which are incapable of attracting suitable candidates for appointment as sheriffs.
The proposed amendments have been included in the Judicial Matters Amendment Bill of 2010, which was published on 15 February 2010 for public comment. Pending the enactment of this legislation, ad hoc arrangements have been put in place in terms of which the clerk of the court will appoint a neighbouring sheriff to serve court processes in the villages where a sheriff has not been appointed. Thank you.
Chairperson, hon Deputy Minister, I don't know if they mentioned in my question the origin or the municipality that I am referring to. However, I am specifically talking about the Baviaans municipality in question (1) and (2) where too many cases, in spite of the screening process, are dropping off the table between the police, the magistrates and the prosecutors. We find that the magistrate is blaming somebody else. They are all shifting the blame instead of, as the hon Deputy Minister said, them working on an outcome basis and trying very hard to get through the poor case preparation.
However, when we were in the Sekhukhune District Municipality in Limpopo we came across the very same problem with regard to stock theft, where people said they go and lay charges because their animals are stolen. And some offences happen over the weekend, the police come and arrest people, and somehow there would be no charges laid against the criminals. The next day the same criminals are roaming the streets again.
So, in Afrikaans sou ons s, die pap val op die grond. [In Afrikaans we would say, we have dropped the ball.]
We need to address this because the people are really desperate and they actually want to take the law into their own hands. Thank you.
Chairperson, hon member, there were no specific details attached to the question, so it would be difficult for me to comment specifically on the situation in the Baviaans Local Municipality. What I will undertake to do is to look at the specifics of that situation and to come back to the member on that.
If I can just say to the hon member and all members of this House that it is questions of this nature that we appreciate very much, because they provide the kind of oversight that is necessary for us to make sure that the policies and the mechanisms that we devise at a national level are indeed being implemented as we would want on the ground level. So, thank you very much for that information.
Secondly, on the matter relating to stock theft in Sekhukhune, again I would have to come back to the member on the details, but I can say that the Ministry of Police and I were both present on Monday at the AgriSA conference on rural crime. The issue of stock theft was discussed extensively.
We had present with us the person in the office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions who is the liaison person dealing with stock theft. We were able to interact extensively and very positively with AgriSA on refining those measures which are already in place to combat stock theft and other forms of rural crime. Thank you.
Details regarding policy of department on officials who have been declared medically unfit being employed by other security services
18. Mrs E C van Lingen (DA) asked the Minister of Correctional Services:
Whether her department has a policy on officials who have been declared medically unfit being employed by other security services; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?