Hon Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, hon members, justice does not take place in a social or political vacuum. It is deeply affected by the difficulties of daily survival. In South Africa, access to justice for the majority of the poor and marginalised remains a challenge. For poor and vulnerable communities, the cost of accessing justice remains extremely high. At times, it feels as if justice is fast becoming a privilege for the select few, to the detriment of social stability and social cohesion.
Access to justice does not only mean access to institutions, but also access to fair laws and affordable and appropriate remedies in terms that conform to our constitutional values. In this regard, we welcome the department's plan to convert periodical courts into full-service magistrates' courts by 2012-13 in a bid to ensure that areas that had limited access to limited magisterial services enjoy full access.
The building of High Courts in Polokwane and Nelspruit is also a step in the right direction. However, these new institutions require management. They need people with experience to run them. We call on the department to conduct recruitment and selection in a manner that takes the transformation agenda into account. Transformation in the judiciary seems to be proceeding at a snail's pace.
While very complex in nature, the issue of the transformation of the judiciary itself is a constitutional imperative. We must build a judiciary in a way that is a response to the needs of our people. It is time for our judiciary to reflect the demographics of our country.
This is not to say that we condone the appointment of people who are not suitable for positions. We know that the naysayers will point to some of these controversial appointments as reasons for abandoning the transformation agenda. Yes, we agree that some of the appointments made recently have the potential to rock the entire judicial and constitutional dispensation to its core. The more we allow such things to happen, the deeper the damage that is being done to the image of the judiciary as independent, respectable and rational. However, the UDM has always been unequivocal in calling for transformation to be done in a manner that allows the best among us and those who have the potential to lead to rise to the top.
Another key issue besetting the department is one of the major policy challenges. Not enough resources are allocated to increase the rate at which cases are finalised and reduce case backlogs. While we are acutely aware of the fact that there has been a slight decrease in the number of case backlogs annually from 2008-09 to 2011-12, much more must be done to achieve further reductions in case backlogs. As the chairperson of the committee, hon Landers, indicated, this is the crux of the problem. It leads to the poor delivery of justice and the massive overcrowding of prisons caused by awaiting-trial prisoners.
In conclusion, the rate of conviction for serious crimes such as rape is cause for national shame. Thousands of women are raped every year, yet our courts convict only a tiny fraction of the perpetrators. The UDM supports this Budget Vote.