Appalling and decaying infrastructure in South African courts and administrative inefficiencies could result in the justice system failing or people losing confidence in it.
This was declared by the minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Advocate Michael Masutha during an inspection of the Mdantsane Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
Masutha visited the court, which is undergoing major renovations after it made headlines last year for making court staff sick following an “invasion” by pigeons that posed a serious health hazard to the more than 100 officials working there.
As a result of the pigeon invasion, 59-year-old magistrate Council Sawuti died in August last year after months of being sick from dust, droppings and feathers of pigeons in court.
Sawuti’s wife and Amalinda resident Nompumelelo Sawuti, 44, resorted to suing the department for a little more than
R2-million for loss of support as a result of the death of her husband.
Addressing staff members yesterday, Masutha said he was happy he went to the Mdantsane court where renovation work had already started.
“You know the expression ‘justice delayed is justice denied’,” he said.
“All these inefficiencies result in postponements, with matters going on to the backlog list because of all sorts of administrative inefficiencies – and that can only result in our justice system basically failing our people and causing our people to lose confidence in us.
“Here we are as public works is trying to make sure these renovations put this court in a better state so it can deliver essential services to our people in an environment that is convincing.”
The Mdantsane Magistrate’s Court, which has infrastructure dating back to the ’70s, has been causing a headache for nearby residents – underground pipelines have collapsed, causing water to flood their yards.
Court manager Zibele Sisusa said service delivery had been, and continued to be, affected by old infrastructure problems, including old generators and non-functioning air conditioners in the courtrooms.
“The magistrates are sweating, the system itself is very old as it dates back to the ’70s. So it is one of the big problems we have,” Sisusa said.
“Our generator does not supply enough power when the electricity is off, especially with load-shedding,” Sisusa also reported to Masutha.
The renovations started in April last year and were expected to be finished in May next year.
“We had a serious problem – the building was infested with birds and we found ourselves in the media. However, I’m glad to say that it is a thing of the past now. The problem has been resolved.”
Masutha said he had visited other courts around the country and found that infrastructure was a big problem. This showed the need for other stakeholders, including municipalities, to play their role in providing water, electricity and road infrastructure.
He expressed concern over safety in the courtrooms and said they were working with the police and NPA to prevent shootings, to ensure the public felt safe inside courtrooms.
He also lambasted officials who took part in criminal activities, including those taking bribes for taking dockets out of the system, and said such things discredited the justice system.
He warned that if people lost confidence in the system, they could resort to “self-help”. — mamelag@dispatch.co.za
Dire court buildings worry minister
This was declared by the minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Advocate Michael Masutha during an inspection of the Mdantsane Magistrate’s Court yesterday.
Masutha visited the court, which is undergoing major renovations after it made headlines last year for making court staff sick following an “invasion” by pigeons that posed a serious health hazard to the more than 100 officials working there.
As a result of the pigeon invasion, 59-year-old magistrate Council Sawuti died in August last year after months of being sick from dust, droppings and feathers of pigeons in court.
Sawuti’s wife and Amalinda resident Nompumelelo Sawuti, 44, resorted to suing the department for a little more than
R2-million for loss of support as a result of the death of her husband.
Addressing staff members yesterday, Masutha said he was happy he went to the Mdantsane court where renovation work had already started.
“You know the expression ‘justice delayed is justice denied’,” he said.
“All these inefficiencies result in postponements, with matters going on to the backlog list because of all sorts of administrative inefficiencies – and that can only result in our justice system basically failing our people and causing our people to lose confidence in us.
“Here we are as public works is trying to make sure these renovations put this court in a better state so it can deliver essential services to our people in an environment that is convincing.”
The Mdantsane Magistrate’s Court, which has infrastructure dating back to the ’70s, has been causing a headache for nearby residents – underground pipelines have collapsed, causing water to flood their yards.
Court manager Zibele Sisusa said service delivery had been, and continued to be, affected by old infrastructure problems, including old generators and non-functioning air conditioners in the courtrooms.
“The magistrates are sweating, the system itself is very old as it dates back to the ’70s. So it is one of the big problems we have,” Sisusa said.
“Our generator does not supply enough power when the electricity is off, especially with load-shedding,” Sisusa also reported to Masutha.
The renovations started in April last year and were expected to be finished in May next year.
“We had a serious problem – the building was infested with birds and we found ourselves in the media. However, I’m glad to say that it is a thing of the past now. The problem has been resolved.”
Masutha said he had visited other courts around the country and found that infrastructure was a big problem. This showed the need for other stakeholders, including municipalities, to play their role in providing water, electricity and road infrastructure.
He expressed concern over safety in the courtrooms and said they were working with the police and NPA to prevent shootings, to ensure the public felt safe inside courtrooms.
He also lambasted officials who took part in criminal activities, including those taking bribes for taking dockets out of the system, and said such things discredited the justice system.
He warned that if people lost confidence in the system, they could resort to “self-help”. — mamelag@dispatch.co.za
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