Minister Thembi Simelane: Justice and Constitutional Development Dept Budget Vote 2024/25

Honourable Chairperson
Honourable Members of the Portfolio Committee
Deputy Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development, Mr Andries Nel Chairpersons and Heads of departmental Entities
Director-General of the DoJ & Constitutional Development and the Team Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen Good afternoon

Exactly 73 years ago, on this day, the then National Party government gave effect to the Bantu Authorities Act No 68 of 1951, the very first piece of legislation introduced to support the government’s policy of separate development.

An inhumane and backward piece of legislation which heralded a balkanization of South Africa and divided the people of this country according to their ethnic groups.

Honourable Chairperson, this year marks 30 years of our liberation from the yoke of tyranny, injustice, and separate development. The commemoration of the 30th of our constitutional democracy presents us an opportunity to reflect on the journey we traversed over the years and the significant milestones we achieved since our first non-racial democratic national elections.

Honourable Chairperson, Ladies and Gentlemen, one of the aspirational goals of our Constitution is to heal the divisions of the past and establish a society based on democratic values, social justice and fundamental human rights, significant strides have been made to that effect.

Access to Justice in a constitutional democracy

Globally, access to justice is widely used to define measures undertaken by States to improve the lives of the most vulnerable communities, in particular the poor and the indigent and denotes a commitment by such States towards the attainment of universal human rights and justice.

Access to justice is defined in the context of programmes undertaken by States to promote equality, eradicate poverty, improve literacy, and empower vulnerable communities as part of the initiatives which seek to promote and enhance access to justice.

As part of the 30 -year review, a constitutional compact will be developed. The compact will over the year bring various think tanks and stakeholders together in reviewing the constitution and tracking the implementation of constitutional judgements.

Supporting the Rule of Law and democratic governance, the department supports, notwithstanding their independent mandates, the South African Human Rights Commission, and the Office of the Public Protector.

Until human rights and constitutional literacy is improved, participatory democracy and social cohesion will be limited and as important, people will not be well positioned to defend and protect their rights. Given the historical past, the ravages of apartheid remain all too pervasive.

Access to Justice

A significant amount of work has been done in the 30 years of democracy and freedom to expand access to justice to the majority of South African through the construction of a brand new court facilities, renovation of existing courts, increasing the number of interpreters, making our buildings disability friendly, as well as the rationalisation of magisterial districts to ensure that communities are served by the court nearest to them.

In March 2024, the long awaited multi-million-rand Port Shepstone Magistrate’s Court was officially opened and handed over by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure to the Department in the presence of the community of Port Shepstone. This new court consists of 16 courtrooms – a high court, district courts, regional courts, sexual offences courts, civil courts, family courts and an equality court. There is also parking for 255 vehicles, for use by both staff and visitors. This court was built following concerns that the old court was inaccessible to the public.

Now, the new court is a one-stop shop because it brings together a variety of services within the justice realm. We have also seen the launching the newly revamped Polokwane Magistrates Court as well as the Chartsworths Magistrates courts in our quest to bring justice services closer to the people.

The expungement of criminal records is one of the most important service delivery initiatives by the Department. Through expungements, members of society who have been prosecuted and served their sentences can apply for their criminal record to be removed. This enables rehabilitated individuals to be reintegrated into communities and work towards making a positive contribution to society away from a life of crime.

Notably, in 2023/2024, the Department issued 19 747 expungement certifcates. Given the high number of expungement applications, the Department is building more capacity to simplify and expedite the application process. The Department has designed and piloted the digitisation of the expungement register and online application system.

The Criminal Procedure Act has been amended by the Judicial Matters Amendment Act 2023. This section provides for the automatic expungement of all criminal records relating to in terms of Covid-19 regulations (Disaster Management Act 2002).

In the past three years, 214 courts have been upgraded to provide disability-centric support services. The Department will accelerate this work in the current financial year, with the upgrading of an additional 68 courts.

The Department continues to explore various initiatives to maximise access to justice to all people in South Africa. In pursuit of this objective the Department will convene a Symposium on Access to Justice in September 2024 that will consider issues relating to the impediments hampering access to justice and explore enduring solutions.

Implementation of Court Infrastructure and Security Access

Ensuring robust security at our courthouses is a top priority. It is our considered view that, any perception of an unsafe court environment would severely undermine the integrity and efficiency of our judicial services.

Recognising the paramount importance of security, we are committed to establishing an integrated interdepartmental court security infrastructure. This coordinated mechanism will proactively assess, evaluate, and analyse potential risks, ensuring the safety of our infrastructure, personnel, and the justice process.

Office of the Master of the High Court Turnaround Plan

The Masters Office serves the public during their most vulnerable moments, offering support when they are dealing with grief or when children who need money from their deceased guardian’s estates to fund their education.

The Department continues to implement the Masters turnaround strategy which will be inclusive of internal improvement of business processes, improved stakeholder collaboration and improved customer services delivery model.

In this regard, the Department is currently undertaking a benchmarking exercise to learn from best practices from other government institutions such as the South African Revenue Service and the Department of Home Affairs from their efficient online systems that our department can learn from.

We remain committed to cleaning up the scourge of corruption within the Masters Office. Testament to this are the findings of an audit report commissioned by the Department as well as a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) report which investigated the financial affairs of the Masters Office.

These measures led to the Department placing 13 senior managers and other officials on precautionary suspensions pending the outcome of investigations into allegations of financial irregularity and maladministration in the affairs of the Office of the Master of the High Court and Family Law Services.

Ending the scourge of Gender-Based Violence and Femicide

The scourge of gender-based violence and femicide continues to cast a dark shadow over our nation and I wish to reiterate the call for all sectors of society to join hands in bringing it to an end.

The Department continues to strive to improve ease of access to justice for victims of domestic violence. To make the process related to application for protection orders more accessible, we have introduced an online application service of domestic violence protection orders. Those who feel threatened with domestic violence may now apply for protection order wherever they are through their smartphone.

Following an online application, the clerk of the court must serve the protection order on the respondent via email within 24 hours. With this intervention, victims of domestic violence receive speedy protection, which may significantly reduce the risk of domestic violence escalating to an incident of femicide and domestic homicides.

In line with the Presidential Summit on Gender-Based Violence and Femicide, 2022 Resolutions, the Department is finalising the development of a Femicide Watch to collect data and monitor GBVF incidents and trends.

This national repository will provide data on GBV-related femicide cases, assisting the government and partners in creating informed interventions. This year, we aim to finalise Phase 7, capturing and analysing live data from SAPS and Department.

Parliament has recently passed the three GBV Amendment Acts, significantly changing the legal framework in the GBVF sector. Our Department bears the responsibility to ensure the multisectoral implementation of these laws nationwide and to create a compliant court system.

Modernisation of the criminal justice system

Through modernisation of our systems, the Department ensures that services are more accessible to the public, particularly in remote and underserved areas. By embracing modernisation, we seek to transform the criminal justice system and make it more accessible, efficient, responsive, and user-friendly. Through modernising and digitalising South Africa’s courts, applications for services will be initiated, processed, and tracked through these online channels without the public having to physically visit a service point.

In the current financial year, the Department will embark on a network improvement project to ensure that there is an uninterrupted network services in our courts and service points.

Turning the tide Against Corruption

Honourable Chairperson,
We will continue to redouble our efforts in the fight against corruption. Thus, we have established a permanent prosecution-led unit, within the NPA, the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC), with criminal investigative powers through newly enacted legislation to address complex corruption and state capture-related crimes.

Despite initial resource and capacity limitations, the IDAC has grown impressively, now boasting over 100 highly skilled employees. To date, the IDAC has authorised 117 cases, involving 212 individuals and 68 entities, with 78 cases under active investigation and 39 cases enrolled. The implementation of IDAC will further enable us to recruit essential expertise to bolster our efforts against intricate criminal activities and corruption linked to state capture.

In our continued commitment to integrity and accountability within the NPA, we have launched the Office for Ethics and Accountability (OEA) to foster ethics, integrity, accountability, compliance, and good governance within the prosecuting authority.

The NPA has adopted a Corporate Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) policy, driven by international best practices, to resolve cases involving corporations accused of serious corruption through alternative means, rather than relying solely on criminal prosecution. This innovative approach has already yielded significant results, including R2.68 billion in punitive reparations and R770 million in recoveries for serious crimes committed at Eskom during the state capture period.

The Department, through its entities, will continue to pursue an anti-corruption agenda and ensure that a legal and regulatory framework is in place in the fight against anti-corruption.

TRC Prosecutions

A dedicated team of sixteen TRC prosecutors and thirty-four investigators is currently handling 137 ongoing investigations, with 24 cases concluded. The National Prosecuting Authority appointed Adv Dumisa Ntsebeza SC, to review whether the measures put in place by NPA to address the issue of TRC prosecutions are adequate. The Ntsebeza SC report was shared with this office and its findings are under serious consideration as we consider these matters to be of great importance.

Dealing with Organised Crime

The NPA has achieved an impressive 93.4% conviction rate in prosecuting organised crime cases. We have developed an extensive Organised Crime Strategy, demonstrating our commitment to combating and reducing organised crime. This strategy involves close collaboration with key partners such as the SAPS, the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, and the South African Revenue Service. We are also enhancing our internal analytical capabilities to effectively address both current and emerging types of organised crime.

Aspirant Prosecutor Programme

In May 2023, the NPA welcomed 700 young professionals through the Aspirant Prosecutor Programme, marking the largest intake since the programme’s relaunch. While financial constraints prevented a new intake for 2024, there are plans for a smaller intake in 2025, ensuring the continuous infusion of fresh talent into the NPA.

Strengthening the capacity of the criminal justice system

In our unwavering commitment to justice and the rule of law, I am proud to announce the relaunch of the Brigitte Mabandla Justice College and the creation of the Anti-Corruption and Cyberforensic Academy, along with new Schools of Prosecution, Leadership, and Business Application. These initiatives mark significant progress in our effort to promote integrity and improve the skills of our legal professionals, the JCPS, and the public sector.

The Anti-Corruption Academy will specialise in training individuals in the latest methods of detecting, investigating, and preventing corruption, thus equipping our public servants and law enforcement officers with essential skills to combat corruption at all levels of government.

Repealing apartheid era Legislation

In commemorating our 30 Years of our Constitutional Democracy, one of the central pillars in reshaping and strengthening our constitutional democracy is the review and repeal of apartheid legislations, which is the significant task we are undertaking as the department.

Departmental budget

The overall departmental allocation for the year 2024/25 stands at R25.164 billion. This allocation will support critical operations across our department, including court services, state legal services, the National Prosecuting Authority, and our auxiliary and associated services.

A significant portion of our budget, R4.233 billion, is allocated to Cost of Employment (CoE) adjustments, addressing the vital cost of living increases for our dedicated staff.
Additionally, R628 million is earmarked for implementing the crucial recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the Zondo Commission, ensuring we continue to enhance our justice system’s integrity and effectiveness.

Our strategic focus over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period centers on improving service efficiencies through digital transformation and modernization.

In the new financial year, the department received a baseline increase of R1.321 billion on the compensation of employees to fund the carry-through costs for the Cost-of-Living Adjustment (COLA).

This adjustment will relieve financial pressure on the department’s compensation of employees (COE) budget in the current financial year, as there was no additional budget allocation previously provided to fund the same. On the other hand, a budget reduction of R1.586 billion as implemented as part of National Treasury’s drive to manage the State debt.

Conclusion

As we present this Budget Vote a day before we celebrate the International Mandela Day, we are reminded of the philosophical expressions of Nelson Mandela, the iconic father of our rainbow nation, when he opined that, "No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, or his background, or his religion. People must learn to hate, and if they can learn to hate, they can be taught to love, for love comes more naturally to the human heart than its opposite." Instructively, this quote underscores our commitment to foster social cohesion, nation-building, and democratic participation as outlined in the Statement of Intent of our Government of National Unity.

Our efforts are cantered on strengthening law enforcement agencies to tackle crime, corruption, and gender-based violence, while enhancing national security capabilities.

Concurrently, we strive to eradicate racism, sexism, tribalism, and all forms of intolerance through collective action and common programmes.

By upholding these values and honouring Nelson Mandela's vision, we aim to build a South Africa where justice, equality, and human dignity flourish.

Lastly, I want to thank the honourable members of the portfolio committee on Justice and Constitutional Development, and the Deputy Minister, Mr Andries Nel, for his continued support in leading the programmes in the administration of the justice portfolio, Director- General, Advocate Doc Mashabane, the management team, and staff in the justice family for their tireless efforts. A special word of thanks also goes to Heads and Chairpersons of statutory bodies, distinguished members of the legal profession and all our social partners.

Thank you!