Chairperson, hon Minister, hon members, the past year in justice and constitutional affairs has been far from illustrious. There have been many major public sagas, such as the disbanding of the Scorpions, which fell under the National Prosecuting Authority, NPA.
The NPA itself was dragged into allegations of spying, conspiracy and ruling party in-fighting. Without even taking a stance on the specifics, it can be safely said that its credibility took a serious hammering and this is not the end of negative publicity for the judicial system.
The matter of Judge Hlophe continues without any resolution in sight. In fact, one would not be exaggerating if one were to claim that the case may very well rock the entire judicial and constitutional dispensation to its core. The longer the matter drags on, the deeper the damage that is being done to the image of the judiciary as independent, respectable and rational.
In this context, due to the above-mentioned issues, the department and the Minister are faced with major policy challenges. Allow me to highlight the two biggest challenges: Firstly, poor delivery of justice and the massive overcrowding of prisons caused by awaiting- trial prisoners. The priority must be to reduce case backlogs and conversely increase the rate at which cases are completed. Secondly, the rate of conviction for serious crimes, like rape, is a cause of great concern and national shame.
According to conservative statistics, 99 women and children are raped each day, yet our courts only convict a tiny fraction of the perpetrators. [Time expired.] The UDM supports the Budget Vote. Thank you. [Applause.]