NATIONAL ASSEMBLY
QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY
PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1281
DATE OF QUESTION: 21 APRIL 2011
1364. Mrs D A Schäfer (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and
Constitutional Development:
Whether a Chief Master of the High Court has been appointed; if not, (a)
for how long has the position been vacant, (b) what are the reasons for the
position not being filled and (c) what steps are being taken to ensure that
the position is filled as soon as possible; if so, (i) when has the person
been appointed and (ii) who was appointed?
NW1364E
REPLY:-
I wish to inform the Honourable Member of the following:
(a) The post has been vacant since 31 August 2007.
(b) The reasons for not permanently filling the position were due to the
possible restructuring of the Masters Branch. The restructuring process
was completed and the Department undertook several unsuccessful attempts to
fill the position culminating in the last advertisement in October 2010 and
the headhunting process in January and February 2011.
(c) Interviews were conducted on 15 April 2011.
(c)(i) The successful candidate will be announced after competency
assessments and vetting has been completed and the prescribed Cabinet
process for appointment of Heads of Department and Deputy Director-Generals
has been followed. It is envisaged that the appointment process will be
concluded by the end of May 2011 and the incumbent may be able to commence
duties in July/August 2011.
(c)(ii) It is envisaged that the Cabinet will announce the appointment in
June/July 2011.