In a major bid to tackle mounting court backlogs, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has reached an agreement with National Treasury to begin the process of appointing an additional 50 new judges to increase judicial capacity.
This according to Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi who answered questions in the National Assembly on Wednesday.
In the State of the Nation Address (SONA) last month, President Cyril Ramaphosa pronounced steps to be taken to speed up the wheels of justice.
Two weeks after SONA, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana announced an additional R687 million allocation to increase capacity in the judiciary.
“Following the pronouncement by the President…myself and Minister of Finance met together with the judiciary, not only to look at the matters that relate to the specialised courts, but funding completely for the judiciary.
“We have, however, agreed that we will look in terms of administration of justice in line with the Constitution, in terms of working together with the judiciary to ensure that we build capacity.
“We have started this work to look at all of them. We have agreed with the Minister of Finance that we start with 50 judges additional to the establishment that is currently there so that we can build capacity,” Kubayi told the National Assembly.
In addition to bolstering the courts’ capacity, Kubayi also provided an update on government’s anti-corruption agenda.
She told the house that the final report of the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council (NACAC) is now being processed.
In its report, the council called for, amongst others:
- The establishment of a permanent, independent, and constitutionally entrenched anti-corruption body.
- The strengthening and coordination of law enforcement agencies, with enhanced coordination mechanisms.
- Mechanisms to prevent corruption.
- The establishment of an anti-corruption data sharing framework and strengthened whistle-blower protection measures.
“The President has directed the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development to process the recommendations of NACAC for tabling and deliberation in Cabinet. The processing of the report is underway.
“The legislation for whistleblower protection has been completed and will be released into the public domain shortly,” the Minister concluded. – SAnews.gov.za
