The reality is that even though significant strides have been made in ensuring access to justice for all, much more can be done to ensure a transformed justice system that serves all our people, said the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Adv Michael Masutha, during his department’s Budget Vote debate.
The department’s theme: “Towards a Transformed and Accessible Justice System for All” is an embodiment of the objectives it is striving to realise, said the minister. “Despite the fiscal constraints our country is facing, we should be able to deliver on our broad mandate with the allocated budget totalling R18.927bn.”
One of the department’s priorities in this financial year is to conclude its mainstreaming of Single Person Identifier and Person Identification Verification Application (Piva), which will bring about the Integrated Justice System (IJS), he said.
“The department is on course to implement the IJS. The IJS will allow for the establishment of a unique Single Person Identifier and Person Identification Verification Application to assist with the tracking of an individual in the Criminal Justice System through biometrics. This system will ensure electronic information exchanges between the South African Police Service, National Prosecuting Authority and the Department of Justice & Constitutional Development. These integrations are connecting 1 150 police stations linked to 509 courts across all nine provinces.”
Of its various units, the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) continues to be the department’s arsenal against the scourge of corruption, he said. “By the end of March 2017, the AFU’s recorded recoveries will stand in the amount of R685m in respect of corruption cases. By the end of December 2016, the SIU recovered R126m.”
One of the major overhauls in the department’s approach is encapsulated in its renaissance project which intends to, among other things, review the languages used in our courts with a view to enhancing the right of access to justice, said the Minister. “The department has started working on a discussion document that will propose amendments to the language provisions in the Magistrates Courts Act, and call for some changes in the curriculum of the LL.B degree programme to incorporate African languages.”
He said the major and critical allocations of the R18.927bn of the current Budget Vote are as follows: R1.754bn goes to Legal Aid, R301.1m to the Public Protector, and R173.4m to the Human Rights Commission.
The Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services, Dr Mathole Motshekga, supported the call for the review of the languages used in courts. “One or the other indigenous African language must be compulsory for law and social sciences students to ensure that lawyers and social workers – including psychologists and psychiatrists, are able to communicate with all South Africans who require their service.”
The South African Judiciary has to transform to embrace both the letter and spirit of its Africanness, the Chairperson said. “South Africa cannot continue to assume the position of being an outpost of Europe. South Africa is an African country at the southern tip of the continent. The majority of the litigants and accused persons are African people. Why are all our courts, even in rural areas, are conducted in English and Afrikaans. Why is African Customary Law not made a compulsory subject for all law students as is the case with Roman-Dutch Law and English Law, otherwise known as “Anglo-Dutch Law.”
What is of serious concern 23 years into our democracy, is a Judiciary that still remains largely untransformed, said Mr Nthako Matiase. “This has a direct consequence in how judges and magistrates rule, with many Africans getting harsher sentences compared to their white counterparts.”
Transformation is this department’s buzzword, said Prof Christian Msimang. “Transformation is an imperative given the central position of the department as an instrument of securing justice by addressing the inequalities and divisions in our society.”
He decried the delays in the revision of the Traditional Courts Bill. “This is a demonstration of the low regard with which the institution of traditional leadership is held in this country.”
Of concern is the pace with which land claims are settled by the department, and if they are not addressed expeditiously, this has a potential to tear our social fabric, said Prof Nhlanhlakayise Khubisa. “Land restitution, or lack thereof, is fast becoming a dangerous flash-point in the political arena. And it has a potential to tear the social fabric of this country apart if it is not addressed with the urgency it deserves.”
“Given the state of our society, it clearly needs a ‘Reconstruction and Development Programme of the Soul’,” said Mr Steven Swart. “We need revival, we need reformation. The church has a key role to play in this regard because there is a growing trust deficit in our society.”
By Abel Mputing
19 May 2017
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