Chairperson, the Deputy Minister Mr Nel, hon Deputy Minister Ms Mkhize, hon members of the House and guests, I'm honoured to be taking part in this debate today, a day after we have celebrated Africa Day. Yesterday reminded me that we are still going to celebrate these milestones as a developing nation that has all it needs at its disposal to ensure a brighter future for generations to come.
Within no time we will be celebrating the 55th birthday of the Freedom Charter, a charter which the late president-general of the ANC Oliver Tambo referred to as the people's document. This document has proved over decades and from generation to generation that it indeed embraces the interests of all South Africans, hence I quote what our forebears proclaimed:
All shall be equal before the law!
It has been 16 years since we entered the corridors of power as the ANC. In these 16 years we have done many things in an attempt to fulfil the dreams of our forefathers and mothers, which were articulated in 1955. However, more needs to be done to eradicate the apartheid legacy.
Building a society founded on democracy and human rights; protecting people against violence and intimidation; and ensuring equal justice for all, especially those from previously disadvantaged communities, will not be an easy task. The slow pace of legal reform and transformation in the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development confirms the latter. For example, the proposal on child justice, which was made in 1994, only came to fruition 16 years later when the Child Justice Act came into operation on 1 April 2010.
The transformation of the Bench to be more representative in terms of race and gender remains a challenge.
Ngokuphathelele kulo mba, siyiANC siyancoma xa kusithiwa iijaji ezingoomongameli ezisuka eRhini mazithunyelwe eBhisho. [With regard to this issue, we the ANC commend the decision that judge presidents from Grahamstown must relocate to Bhisho.]
It is in line with the Polokwane resolutions when we said ...
... ezi Nkundla ziPhakamileyo kufuneka ziye kubekwa apho iintloko-dolophu zamaphondo zikhoyo. [... that these High Courts must relocate to the provincial capitals.]
It is evident that the Deputy Minister was there in Polokwane; he did not run out of the conference. [Applause.]
More needs to be done to ensure that more female and black candidates are appointed to the judiciary. We welcome the appointment of South Africa's first female judge president on 5 May 2010. We further welcome the intentions by the department to establish at least one Small Claims Court per magisterial district. This will ensure greater access to justice, especially in rural Mpumalanga, Limpopo and the Eastern Cape.
Sihlalo, xa abantu baseKokstad befuna ukufikelela kwiiNkundla eziPhakamileyo eMpuma Koloni kufuneka bahambe umgama ongangeekhilomitha ezingama-800 ukusuka eKokstad ukuya eBhisho. Kanti abaseMonti xa besiya eRhini kwiNkundla ePhakamileyo kufuneka bahambe iikhilomitha ezingamakhulu amabini anento.
La Nkundla iPhakamileyo iseRhini ibiyiNkundla ePhakamileyo yeMpuma Koloni endala eyayiphantsi kweriphabliki. Le iseBhisho yayiphantsi kukarhulumente waseCiskei nowaseTranskei ababeyinxalenye yoorhulumente ababesakubizwa ngokuba ngoorhulumente abayiTBVC. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraphs follows.)
[Chairperson, when people from Kokstad want to access the High Courts in the Eastern Cape, they must travel a distance of approximately 800 km from Kokstad to Bhisho. Meanwhile, those who reside in East London must travel more than 200 km.
That High Court in Grahamstown was a High Court of the old Eastern Cape which was under the republic. The one in Bhisho was under the Ciskeian and Transkeian governments which were formerly known as the TBVC states.]
So the legacy of apartheid is still there after 16 years. It is for this reason that we welcome this move by the department ...
... yokutshintsha ukucwangciswa kweza nkundla eMpuma Koloni, eLimpopo nakuzo zonke ezi ngingqi. [... to transform the courts in the Eastern Cape, Limpopo and all the other regions.]
We understand that many people are going around campaigning that the court in Grahamstown must not be moved. Such people are sowing seeds of confusion among our people ...
... ngoba akuhanjiswa nkundla. [... because the court itself is not moved.]
No jobs are going to be lost. What is being undertaken is the rearrangement of the justice system so that it is able to deliver justice to our people. While the justice service is to be increased, the quality of that service will not take us to the realisation of our goal of "All shall be equal before the law!", if the language used in these courts is not the one that is used by those communities.
Ukuba uza kuthatha umlungu umenze ijaji, umantyi, itoliki, igqwetha okanye umtshutshisi, ngaloo ndlela uzakuba uvimba aba bantu ithuba lokuba bakwazi ukuzithethela kwaye bafikelele kubulungisa ngendlela eyiyo. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.) [If you are going to take a white man and make him a judge, a magistrate, a court interpreter or a prosecutor, that way you are depriving these people of the opportunity to defend themselves and receive the justice they deserve.]
So the issue of language in these courts is very important. If gender representation in those courts does not reflect the demographics of the victims ...
Ukuba amagosa kwezi nkundla iza kuba ngamadoda - oko kukuthi umantyi, umtshutshisi, ipolisa elikhwaza umntu, namagqwetha - babe abantu abaninzi abaze kufaka izimangalo ingoomama; naleyo ayisoze isincede. Kuza kunyanzeleka ukuba siqiniseke ukuba kwezi nkundla - ukuba sithetha ngokufikelela kubulungisa - zonke izini zimelwe. Oomama kufuneka bakwazi ukubhekisa kubantu ababaqondayo njengoomama. (Translation of isiXhosa paragraph follows.)
[If officials in these courts are going to be men - meaning that the magistrate, the prosecutor, the police officer who calls the accused and lawyers are all men - whilst the majority of the people who have laid charges are women, that will never help us. It is imperative that we ensure that in these courts - if we are talking about accessible justice - all genders must be represented. Women must be able to speak to people who will understand them as women.]
We also need to address the issue of race, as I have mentioned. We are only at the beginning of a long journey to a truly united, democratic and prosperous South Africa in which the value of all citizens will be measured by their humanity without regard to race, gender and social status.
As a developmental state, South Africa's acceleration of transformation of the entire court system will go a long way to further improve the confidence of the people of South Africa in our criminal justice system.
This budget and its intentions reflect the resolutions taken at the 52nd national conference of the ANC in Polokwane. It is evident that the Minister and the Deputy Minister didn't run away to Cope in Bloemfontein when they couldn't cope inside the hall!
Indeed, their intentions and those of the department as a whole are echoing the voices of those fathers and mothers who clenched their fists and raised their voices in Kliptown in 1955 and loudly proclaimed: "All shall be equal before the law!"
In conclusion ...
... masivakalise iminqweno yokuba aBafana Bafana bakwenza ubulungisa ngomhla we-11 kuJuni eSoccer City eRhawutini ... [... let us convey our wishes that Bafana Bafana will do justice on 11 June rise to the occasion at Soccer City in Johannesburg ...] ... where they will deliver to the Africans the African century.
Sihlalo, iANC iyayixhasa le Voti yoHlahlo-lwabiwo-mali. [Chairperson, the ANC supports this Budget Vote.]
We further conclude by echoing the words expressed by the current President Jacob Zuma, when he declared this year the year of action. The call he made that we must act harder, smarter and faster should be a constant reminder to this department that we are behind schedule. Thank you. [Applause.]