Chairperson, hon members, distinguished guests, comrades and friends, ladies and gentlemen, it is a great honour and privilege to address this Council today to present the Budget Vote of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development for the 2010-ll financial year.
I convey the warm regards, as well as the apologies, of the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Minister Jeff Radebe. Minister Radebe, as hon members might know, has been Acting President of the Republic since Monday.
We are pleased to address the Council during Child Protection Week, which was launched by President Jacob Zuma in Atteridgeville this past Friday. On this occasion the President called upon all South Africans to work together to ensure that children are safe and feel safe. He highlighted the serious matter of trafficking in persons and children in particular.
We are also pleased to address you the day after Africa Day, 25 May, the day on which, 47 years ago in 1963, the leaders of 30 of the 32 independent African states at the time, signed the founding charter of the Organisation for African Unity, OAU, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Hon members, in exactly 15 days, 9 hours and 40 minutes or so, the kick-off whistle will blow at Soccer City. [Applause.] It is indeed truly here and we are truly feeling it!
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is also feeling it! Last Friday, a notice was published in the Government Gazette giving details of special courts in and around the host cities. Cases associated with the World Cup, including matters affecting children, will be dealt with expeditiously. Hooligans and other perpetrators of criminal actions, whatever their nationality, will also be feeling something: the red card of the law.
The Budget Vote that we are presenting today underscores our commitment to 2010 as the year of action. It provides a clear road map with short,- medium- and long-term milestones on the road to a transformed justice system.
The constitutional mandate of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is to oversee the administration of justice in the interests of a safer and more secure South Africa. This mandate is reflected in our vision to provide a transformed and accessible justice system which promotes and protects social justice, fundamental human rights and freedom.
The successful execution of this mandate and the realisation of this vision are indispensible to the achievement of the key national priorities that we have set for ourselves as a nation. In his 2010 state of the nation address President Jacob Zuma again stressed these national priorities. They are the creation of decent work and sustainable livelihoods, education, health, rural development, food security and the fight against crime and corruption. The question of access to justice is central to the realisation of these goals.
Much of our work has, therefore, been focused on ensuring that all in South Africa enjoy access to justice. Much of this work is also focused on the fight against crime and corruption, with the objective of ensuring that all in South Africa are safe and feel safe. This work is done in the context of the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security, JCPS, cluster which is co-ordinated by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development and consists of the South African Police Service, Correctional Services, Home Affairs, Defence, State Security and Social Development.
The JCPS cluster has been able to achieve a greater degree of integration and co-ordination of the work of its constituent departments. This is evident from the significant strides with regard to the Child Justice Act, which came into operation on 1 April 2010, and the review of the criminal justice system.
The Child Justice Act enjoins the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, acting in conjunction with the Ministers of Police, Correctional Services, Social Development, Education and Health, to adopt a national policy framework relating, among other things, to a uniform, co- ordinated, co-operative approach by all government departments, organs of state and institutions in dealing with matters relating to child justice.
This morning the Intersectoral Committee on Child Justice, consisting of the directors-general of the departments of the Ministers I have just mentioned and led by the Director-General of Justice, presented a draft national policy framework to the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development. I am hopeful that this framework will reach the Council soon. I wish further to reiterate the announcement made by the Minister that the review phase of the criminal justice system has been completed and we are now moving steadfastly with the implementation of the review outcomes.
The implementation is guided by the 7-point plan approved by Cabinet, which covers the following: aligning the strategies of the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security cluster; establishing the criminal justice system co-ordinating unit; improving court performance; a case backlog reduction strategy; modernising information technology; mobilising the public to get involved in the fight against crime; and harmonising the rules of court.
Our road map to a transformed justice system is outlined in our 2010-14 Medium-Term Strategic Framework. This framework was presented to and discussed with the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development as well as this Council's Select Committee on Security and Constitutional Development. We are indebted to the members of the committee, from all parties and, should I say, provinces, for their comments and guidance.
We believe that the outputs contained in the strategy are both realistic and achievable. I would like to highlight some of the key elements of this strategy, emphasising those aspects with particular relevance to the Council.
Chairperson, allow me, firstly, to address the very important and long overdue matter of judicial reform.
During the Budget Vote debate in the National Assembly, the Minister announced that the Constitution Amendment Bill and the Superior Courts Bill had been finalised and approved by Cabinet. I wish to highlight key aspects of this legislation.
The Constitution Amendment Bill proposes to replace Magistrates' Courts with Lower Courts, fully integrating the magistracy into a single judiciary. This is more than a mere name change. The proposed court system envisages Superior Courts and Lower Courts as part of a seamless, single judiciary under the leadership of the Chief Justice.
The Superior Courts Bill in turn provides for the Judges President to give leadership to all courts within their respective divisions. This will address certain challenges in the governance and leadership structures within the magistracy. The Council became aware of some of these challenges when the Select Committee on Security and Constitutional Development met with the Magistrates' Commission early this year to discuss some of the transformation-related challenges in the magistracy.
The Constitution Amendment Bill and the Superior Courts Bill pave the way for the overhaul of the outdated Magistrates' Courts Act of 1944, and its replacement by a Lower Courts Act which will be premised on the Superior Courts Act. We hope to finalise a draft Lower Courts Bill by the beginning of 2011.
The Constitution amendment Bill and the Superior Courts Bill were published in the Government Gazette on 21 May 2010 for comment. We are confident that this will lead to an informed and constructive public debate on the fundamental transformation of our judicial system in line with our Constitution.
We have already received views regarding the proposed relocation of the seat of the Eastern Cape High Court from Grahamstown to Bisho. Some have interpreted this to mean that the Bill seeks to relocate the High Court from Grahamstown to Bisho. The Grahamstown High Court will continue to serve the community of the area. What is envisaged is that the Judge President will perform his or her judicial co-ordination function from the Bisho High Court, located at the seat of government in the province. This process will be managed responsibly and in consultation with the judiciary.
Significant strides have been made with regard to the transformation of the race and gender profile of the magistracy. At 31 March 2010, black people in the regional courts constituted 50,66% while white people constituted 49,34%. Women represent 32% of the total establishment of the regional court. In the district courts, 57% of the district magistrates are black, 43% are white and women make up 42% of the total number.
As is the situation in the Superior Courts, there is still underrepresentation of women across the magistracy and the situation is more dire at the senior echelon of the magistracy, particularly at the Regional Court level. This is a matter that the Magistrates' Commission will have to look into.
Chairperson, we continuously strive to improve the organisational efficiency of our justice system. Especially important in this regard is the strengthening of the Office of the Chief Justice as a transitional step towards the establishment of a separate administration for the judiciary. Part of this initiative is the realignment of the court administration at regional and court levels with the envisaged court administration agency. Work is continuing in this regard and guidance will be sought from Parliament once firm proposals have emerged.
We are also strengthening our internal control mechanisms to ensure compliance with the Public Finance Management Act, the PFMA, and other prescripts in order to reverse the negative audit reports the department has received over the previous three years. To achieve this turnaround, we have enhanced our performance management system by putting stringent performance outputs in the performance agreements of senior management and staff. These outputs are in line with the performance agreement that the Minister himself concluded with the President recently.
In pursuing access to justice, we continue to commit a substantial amount of our budget to building additional courts and service delivery points for the office of the Master. We do this to ensure that we reach out to rural and remote communities. We continue to build, in ever-increasing numbers, court buildings where there were none before.
We have also improved the architecture of these courts to create spaces conducive to accessing justice in a constitutional democracy. These courts are more accessible to all people, including those with disabilities.
The construction of new and refurbished courts in Galeshewe in the Northern Cape, Ekangala in Gauteng, Colesberg in the Northern Cape and Lutzville and Ashton in the Western Cape, have been completed and the Minister will open these courts officially in the not-too-distant future.
Access to justice will also be enhanced with the completion, within the next five years, of seven courts including the High Courts of Mpumalanga and Limpopo. These courts include Hankey in the Eastern Cape; Mamelodi, Kagiso, and Katlehong in Gauteng; and Ntuzuma in KwaZulu-Natal. With regard to the High Courts, a site has been procured for the construction of the main seat in Nelspruit, while discussions with the Nkangala District Municipality for the allocation of an additional site for a local seat of the High Court in Emalahleni are at an advanced stage. This will address potential complications for communities in Mpumalanga, who are closer to the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria than they are to a High Court in Nelspruit.
Parallel to the construction of new courts, we are also correcting the old magisterial districts which are informed by the racial and geopolitical boundaries of apartheid and reflect the defunct self-governing states and homelands of the then RSA.
This two-pronged approach seeks, on the one hand, to refurbish the branch courts in the former black areas and rural villages and confer upon them jurisdiction to function as fully fledged courts and, on the other hand, to ensure the alignment of magisterial districts with municipal boundaries established under our democratic constitutional dispensation.
In this regard, 15 of the 90 branch courts were converted into full service courts in August last year. During this year a further four branch courts will be converted. The conversion of branch courts into full service courts represents a significant step in our ongoing struggle to overcome the legacy of colonialism and apartheid. Courts in many traditional black areas and rural villages only deal with the adjudication of criminal matters. Persons in these areas must often travel long distances to access civil justice services including maintenance, Small Claims Courts and deceased estates. This programme will continue until all branch courts have been converted to provide full court- related services and the last vestiges of the shameful legacy of apartheid have been eradicated from our justice system.
Our strategy provides for the establishment of at least one district court in every municipal area. A draft report regarding the alignment of the magisterial districts with municipal boundaries, which will give effect to this objective, has been completed and will be published soon for comments before it is finalised.
Chairperson, no discussion on access to justice and courts will be complete without reference to Small Claims Courts. Small Claims Courts are a powerful mechanism to provide access to justice, especially to the poor. These courts function on the basis of speed, simplicity and cost- effectiveness. These courts provide a forum for the resolution of civil claims up to R7 000, an amount determined in 2004. Consultations have started with a view to increase this amount to between R10 000 and R15 000.
Today, we have 206 functioning Small Claims Courts, five more since the Budget debate in the NA on 5 May. The proclamation of a further three is imminent. We aim to establish an additional 60 new courts by the end of the 2010 financial year, and a further 60 by the end of the 2011 financial year.
We are well on track to meet these targets. With the launch of the Small Claims Court in Alexandra yesterday, we have established 11 courts since the beginning of April this year - one sixth of our target in one sixth of a year!
Training manuals for commissioners and clerks of Small Claims Courts were launched yesterday and the first training for commissioners took place last week.
The excellent work done in these courts is done after hours on a voluntary basis, without any remuneration, by the 1 096 legal practitioners who preside as commissioners. We call on all to follow their example.
We also call upon all Members of Parliament to assist us by adopting the rallying cry: One constituency, one Small Claims Court!
Another Act aimed at increasing access to justice, which will come into operation soon, is the Jurisdiction of Regional Courts Amendment Act. The Act confers civil jurisdiction on the Regional Courts. The immediate consequences of the commencement of the Act will be the integration of the divorce courts into the regional courts. Although the divorce courts were opened to all races in 1997, they continue to operate under the old demarcations which dislocate and marginalise people on the basis of their residence.
It is ironic and illogical that the Central Divorce Court in Johannesburg does not have jurisdiction over the area of Pretoria, which in turn is served by the North Eastern Divorce Court with its seat in Durban. The new legislation will address this disjuncture which exists across all the divorce courts.
The child maintenance services at the district courts remain one of our areas of major concern. We continue to increase capacity at the courts to improve our ability to deal with the long and time-wasting queues of maintenance beneficiaries and plan to reduce the waiting time substantially.
The electronic funds transfer, EFT, project, aimed at enhancing efficiency, is still on track and it enables the department to pay maintenance monies directly into the accounts of the beneficiaries.
We are currently finalising the more comprehensive third-party funds project bid process.
We are also increasing the capacity of the Master's offices to improve the provision of services for deceased and insolvent estates, starting with extending capacity in at least one main magisterial court per district to deliver probate services to the communities nearest to them.
In respect of the Guardian's Fund, we will ensure that 80% of the beneficiaries receive services within 40 days.
Hon members, we further seek to promote access to justice through the use of indigenous languages as languages of record in our courts. The Indigenous Language Pilot Project, which is being implemented at 27 district courts countrywide, aims to enhance the status and dignity of African languages.
Since the inception of this project in April 2009, a total of 890 cases have been heard by these courts in indigenous languages. The lessons learned during the pilot project will inform the policy framework for language use in the courts envisaged to be completed before the end of this year.
Chairperson, I also wish to inform this Council of the Access to Justice and Promotion of Constitutional Rights Programme, which is a joint initiative of the department and the European Union, and is being co- ordinated by the Foundation for Human Rights. The European Union has committed E25 million - about R250 million - which will be disbursed over a period of three years.
Through this programme, 45 community advice centres will be established across the country. The primary purpose of the community advice centres will be to educate the communities on their constitutional rights, on the Service Charter for Victims of Crime in South Africa and on how to access the different courts, including the Equality Courts and the Small Claims Courts.
Another milestone in our endeavours to improve access to justice is the very important review of the civil justice system. Cabinet recently approved the terms of reference for this review. The review seeks to ensure that the civil justice system provides a speedy, effective and affordable resolution of civil disputes. We will, by the end of this financial year, submit to Cabinet and Parliament a comprehensive report on the deficiencies and shortcomings of the civil justice system. This will assist in the development of a programme of action to address the shortcomings.
Let me take this opportunity to highlight some of the important Bills that this Council will have to deal with in the very near future. These Bills are at various stages of processing either by the department or by the portfolio committee in the National Assembly.
Of these, there are three Bills that impact most directly upon our objective of ensuring that everyone in South Africa is safe and feels safe. The first of these is the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Bill, which provides for the prosecution and imposition of heavy penalties for those involved in the trafficking of persons.
Secondly ...