Cape Town – Sixteen new small claims courts have been set up since April last year, bringing the total number of such courts rolled out since April 2010 to 67, said the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Jeff Radebe.
Small claims courts, which handle civil matters where the claim is less than R12 000, allow the public easier access to justice.
Responding to a written question in the National Assembly by an ANC member on whether the minister intends to continue setting up small claims courts with easy access to the poor, Radebe said earlier this week that his department aims to establish a small claims court in each of the country’s 387 magisterial districts.
Currently, the country has 263 functional small claims courts.
“This is a strategic approach we embarked on several years ago and it has been very successful in extending access to justice to all the people in South Africa – even those in remote rural areas,” he said, adding that 77% of small claims courts have been set up in rural areas.
The new small claims courts are Victoria East (Eastern Cape), Koster (North West), Fort Beaufort (Eastern Cape), Westonaria (Gauteng), Motherwell (Eastern Cape), Ntuzuma (Kwazulu-Natal), Glencoe (Kwazulu-Natal), Brandfort (Free State), Alfred (Kwazulu-Natal), Northam (Limpopo), Kirkwood (Eastern Cape), Carolina (Mpumalanga), Aberdeen (Eastern Cape), Jagersfontein (Free State), Wakkerstroom (Mpumalanga) and Malamulele (Limpopo).
Radebe said the Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Andries Nel recently approved the establishment of new small claims courts for Elliot in the Eastern Cape and Ngotshe in KwaZulu-Natal.
Nel is currently considering small claims courts for Madikwe, in North West, Middledrift (Eastern Cape) and Msinga (KwaZulu-Natal).
Since April 2010 a total of 67 new small claims courts have been set up.
These include 26 new small claims courts set up between April 2010 and March 2011 – including seven in Mpumalanga, six in the Free State, four in Gauteng, three in the Northern Cape, two each in KwaZulu-Natal, the Eastern Cape and the Western Cape.
A further 25 small claims courts were set up between April 2011 and March last year – with five in the Eastern Cape, four each in the Free State and the Eastern Cape, three each in Gauteng and in KwaZulu-Natal, two each in Mpumalanga and North-West and one each in Limpopo and the Northern Cape.
Radebe said the department is engaging with role players through community outreach activities, imbizos and similar events at local level in conjunction with local authorities, as well as media and community radio services to educate the public about the small claims courts. - SAnews.gov.za
