Hon Chairperson, hon Minister and Deputy Minister, hon members, distinguished guests, we join in the outpouring of tributes to Mama Albertina Sisulu. May her values and achievements long be remembered.
In his speech at the Joint Sitting of Parliament that was called to bid farewell to former Chief Justice Pius Langa and to welcome new Chief Justice Sandile Ngcobo, our hon President said, and I quote:
Our government must ensure that even the poorest of the poor have access to the courts, that they receive quality justice, and that they attain relief speedily. The task of the women and men on the bench is to ensure that the supremacy of the Constitution and the rule of law prevail at all times.
In his keynote address to the second judicial conference for South African judges at Kievits Kroon Conference Centre in Pretoria, our hon President further pronounced:
Let me from the onset state that the transformation of the judiciary should be advanced and undertaken without interference with the principle of judicial independence. An independent judiciary is one of the cornerstones of any democracy. As the executive, we respect without reservation the principle of judicial independence and the rule of law.
Flowing from these cardinal principles outlined by our hon President, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development appropriately elected as its vision and mission the delivery of accessible and transformed judicial services. Accordingly, such services would be the outcome of the nexus between access to justice for all, especially the poor and vulnerable in our townships and rural areas; enhancing organisational efficiency and the integration of quality justice services to make them simpler, efficient, faster and cost-effective; and transforming justice, state and society in line with the democratic values of our Constitution.
Chairperson, hon Minister, it remains our goal to fulfil the mandate of the ANC's 52nd National Conference, which is to establish a single, integrated, accessible and affordable court system; to position the Constitutional Court as the country's apex court for all matters, constitutional and nonconstitutional; to rationalise the High Court system into a single High Court; and to align our traditional courts with our new constitutional dispensation and pay particular attention to the incorporation and development of our indigenous law. The department's budget must speak to all these matters. During the Budget Review, the Justice and Constitutional Development portfolio committee had recommended that the department receive additional funds. In its budget report, the portfolio committee noted with appreciation the additional funds that were allocated to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development for accommodation, specifically to build a High Court in Nelspruit, Mpumalanga, and to address related infrastructure needs such as the maintenance of courts and other buildings.
The department had reported to the portfolio committee that it needed R224 million for the building of new courts and for additional accommodation. To this end, additional amounts of R240 million in the 2012-13 financial year and R250 million in the 2013-14 financial year are allocated for the construction of new courts.
Moreover, the department had also sought R150 million for the replacement of obsolete ICT equipment and for the expansion of its network. To this end, additional amounts of R100 million in 2012-13 and R110 million in 2013- 14 have been allocated.
Whilst the department and the portfolio committee did not receive all they had asked for, the portfolio committee welcomes these additional allocations because they will go towards improving the effectiveness and efficiency of our justice system.
The Justice and Constitutional Development portfolio committee has taken careful note of challenges relating to financial management, internal processes and controls, and customer and people-related issues. However, we remain optimistic that the department will succeed in addressing and resolving these challenges through its three-pronged strategy, which seeks to achieve a no-audit qualification in the year 2013, service turnaround in child maintenance services and service turnaround in the Master's branch, as alluded to by the hon Minister in his introductory speech.
Poor court performance continues to be a source of concern despite the department's many initiatives to improve the situation. However, we are encouraged by the judiciary's agreeing to the introduction of performance targets in our courts. We are spurred on by the fact that our Chief Justice has taken on the responsibility of performance monitoring in all courts, including magistrates' courts.
Hon Chairperson, hon Minister, we must register our disappointment at the ongoing delays in giving effect to the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. The gravity of this matter obtains from the fact that, after the system of apartheid had brutalised our people, we consciously chose the path of restorative justice over retribution.
We concerned ourselves less with punishment and more with the spirit of ubuntu and with the healing of breaches, the redressing of imbalances, and the restoration of broken relationships. We dare not forget that the effect of amnesty is as if the offence, the crime, the brutality never happened, since the perpetrator's court record relating to that offence becomes tabula rasa. This means that the victim loses the right to sue the perpetrator for civil damages in compensation.
We have all agreed that this is a high price to ask the victims of apartheid crimes to pay, but it is a price that those who negotiated our relatively peaceful transition believed our people had to ask of victims. So these delays merely add insult to the injuries already suffered by the victims.
There is an imperative to transform our country's legal practice and render it more accommodative, contextual and accountable. And so we welcome the hon Minister's announcement with regard to the Legal Practices Bill and its proposed tabling in Parliament. Hon Minister, we need not remind you that this Bill emanates from a long-standing resolution of the ANC. The Bill's provision will greatly strengthen our justice system and we appeal to you to hasten its introduction to this Parliament.
We would be remiss if we did not refer to progress made by the Minister and his staff in ensuring a revamped and truly integrated criminal justice system. His achievements so far are the following: the White Paper on Awaiting-trial Detainees is being drafted; a regional court screening protocol that specifically deals with screening mechanisms and trial readiness of cases has been finalised and is currently being piloted in the Western Cape; bail protocol has been drafted and is being consulted on; a protocol on service requirements and procedures to be followed in utilising the Department of Health's forensic chemistry laboratories has been developed; and a protocol on the classification of offenders is being drafted.
In the light of these and other achievements referred to by the hon Minister, we must also congratulate him and the justice, crime prevention and security, JCPS, cluster in general on the successful launch of the audio-visual remand system that took place at the Mitchells Plain magistrate's court yesterday. I had the privilege and honour to be present and observed the official launch of this system. It will be cost-effective and efficient and seek to eliminate security risks.
In conclusion, the transformation of our judiciary remains a challenge. Since 1924, the ANC has called for the right to equal justice in our courts of law. In 1989, the Harare Declaration stated:
South Africa shall have a new legal system which shall guarantee equality of all before the law; South Africa shall have an independent and nonracial judiciary.
We are convinced that the Justice department is on track in realising these noble aspirations of our forebears and therefore we support this Budget Vote. I thank you. [Applause.]