DoJ&CD & Chief Justice 2024/25 Performance Plan & Budget; with Ministry

Video Justice and Constitutional Development     Office of the Chief Justice The Committee continued its engagement with the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ & CD) on its Annual Performance Plan (APP) for the 2024-2025 financial year. The Department reported that one of its key targets this financial year was to resolve many of the challenges faced by the Master of the High Court (MHC), so that it can better serve citizens. In addition, it has targeted submitting 3 bills that will repeal colonial/Apartheid-era legislation. Members wondered why the department could not submit more bills to repeal this legislation in this financial year. The overall budget allocation amounts to R24.1 billion for 2024-2025. This is expected to increase by 4% to R25.1 billion in 2025-2026, and 4.6% in 2026-2027 to R26.3 billion. The biggest expenditure item for this financial year is the compensation of employees, which sits at R12.5 billion, followed by goods and services at R5.2 billion. Members were united in their belief that the department had set unrealistic targets for the financial year, considering the many challenges it still faces internally. They argued that the department should look to getting the basics right first before setting ambitious targets that it was aware it could not achieve at the moment. In her opening remarks, the Minister told Members that the department was looking at creating ways to generate additional income to mitigate against the impact of the budget cuts on the department’s performance. The Committee Chairperson agreed with the Minister that the budget cuts would seriously impact the department’s work, and he called for Parliament to play a role in ending budget cuts to government departments. He indicated that the Committee would soon consolidate the entire framework of the budget cuts in all of the department’s entities and, after doing so, arrange an engagement with both the department and the Minister of Finance on its findings. The Committee repeated its ongoing concerns about the poor state of the courts’ infrastructure across the country and asked whether the R535 million set aside for facilities management was enough to address the problem. Whilst it was pleased to announce that the Potchefstroom Magistrates Court roof repair process was almost complete, the department admitted that its limited budget would prevent it from carrying out maintenance on all of the courts. In addition, Members pointed out that the department had to work on procuring backup power generation systems for the courts to mitigate against the current load reduction being implemented by municipalities. They reminded the department that it previously highlighted the need for it to procure water tankers for some of the courts where there were water shortages. Another issue raised by Members was the large backlog of cases at the State Attorney's Office and the lack of staff personnel. During oversight visits last year, Members were informed that in the Mpumalanga province, the State Attorney’s Office was said to have had a backlog of 7000 cases, with only three officials working in the office. They asked when the department would deal with these issues. Members also heard that the department was looking to establish a school of prosecution in the newly refurbished Justice College, which would include the aspirant prosecutor programme. In her closing remarks, the Minister admitted that the department’s challenges prevented it from ensuring justice for all citizens. However, she was comforted that the Committee would work with it in addressing them. She assured the Committee that her department would be transparent in its work and would always cooperate with the Committee. After the engagement with the department, the Committee considered and adopted its report on the Office of the Chief Justice’s Budget Vote.