Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister and colleagues, at the outset, as the IFP, we want to associate ourselves with the condolences expressed by the Minister to the two families that have lost loved ones.
I think members of the Justice committee are quite aware that I am not a member of the committee, but I participate here today as the sheriff. I am here to deliver a message, and I do hope that all of you know the song I shot the sheriff and that does not happen here today. [Laughter.]
However, my fee for the services I will render today is that I'm allowed to raise a matter about which I have been corresponding with the department for more than a year. It's quite sad to say that - I've got correspondence here - for more than a year I have been corresponding with the department on a particular request, and I still have not had a final answer to the request. I will forward these documents to the hon Minister through the service officer.
I want to proceed to outline the challenges and/or successes which my colleagues, who participate in this particular department, have identified. Firstly, the IFP joins other speakers in thanking all persons who have been involved in justice during the past year and we wish them well in the year ahead.
We must not forget that justice and constitutional development are the very pillars of our democracy in South Africa. Democracy is built and flourishes around the rule of law and the supremacy of the Constitution. The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, as custodian of these foundational pillars, must ensure that they are protected and continually strengthened. The IFP is very concerned that the department is not doing enough in this respect.
Civil justice is far too costly and unnecessarily prolonged by outmoded court procedures. In addition, many courts lack the necessary resources required in order to operate efficiently. This leads to delays and unnecessary financial burdens. These, in turn, result in justice being delayed, which is justice denied. The other day I watched on TV the hon Minister going to some courts, where he himself witnessed the way in which our people are sent back home and matters are not finalised in good time.
Criminal justice suffers from a lack of manpower, poorly trained prosecutors and court staff and, in some cases, incompetent magistrates. We hope that this was just a case of incompetence that allowed a man of certain notoriety to flee to Namibia. Hon Minister, justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done. We suggest that the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development should start to play a more active role in the judicial reform process. It seems as if this aspect of its portfolio, which is one of the department's core functions, has been left for the constitutional judges to deal with.
Regarding the implementation of new laws assigned to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development such as the Child Justice Act, we have only two words to say, "Very poor". The emphasis is not on the contents of the legislation, but its implementation. Going forward, we urge the department to plan correctly and communicate effectively with all stakeholders so that we do not have a repeat of such a situation.
The Master's Office is yet another thorn in the side of efficient civil service. Its function at best is antiquated and, for the most part, wholly unnecessary. In fact, it does not even exist in most civil law countries.
Turning to the National Prosecuting Authority, NPA, the lack of communication between the National Prosecuting Authority and the Ministry indicates to us a breakdown in the relationship between the two offices. This is not conducive to an effective department or prosecuting authority. We urge the Minister to attend to and resolve this matter forthwith.
This morning we were privileged to get a briefing from the Auditor- General's office on the annual reports of the National Prosecuting Authority. In the report of 2008-09, it was quite disturbing to note that: firstly, there are lots of vacancies that still exist within the NPA; secondly, there is low staff morale; and thirdly, and more importantly, many, if not all, Standing Committee on Public Accounts, Scopa, resolutions from the 2006-07 year to date have not been attended to. We hope that the department will look into this as a matter of urgency.
We also wish to raise the question of the 384 political prisoners. We know that there has been some progress in this regard, but there is still work to be done and we hope that the department will deal with these issues as quickly as possible, in conjunction with the office of the President.
The IFP is conscious of the fact that the Minister has inherited a flailing department from some of his predecessors. However, blaming the past is the weakest of excuses. We therefore urge the Minister and the department to seize the reigns of the department and to bring order out of this chaos. The IFP supports this Budget Vote. Thank you. [Applause.]