Chairperson, at the heart of the criminal justice system is our courts and this is the core business of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.
A recent report by the Public Service Commission found that access to the courts is still unsatisfactory. The majority of court users lack basic information and processes are not explained. In addition, the condition of many buildings is poor and more than half of the 780 courts around the country are still not electronically connected or properly secured.
More than 200 prosecutors' posts are presently vacant and there are large backlogs of cases at all levels of the courts, which are not meeting their targets. Clearly the performance of our courts is below par and the Minister's much vaunted Re Aga Boswa campaign has not delivered.
Whilst there are some centres of excellence in the department, such as the asset forfeiture unit and the Scorpions, events in the department during the past year have raised serious concerns about sound administration, managerial and human resources capacity and procedural correctness. These are just some of the reasons why the DA cannot support the Budget Vote this year.