Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Michael Masutha has requested an audit report on the state of Eastern Cape courts.
Masutha made the request after a closed meeting at the East London International Convention Centre with regional court presidents.
After the meeting, Masutha and his delegation undertook a surprise visit to the East London Magistrate’s Court, where the impact of the city’s growth on court facilities was highlighted.
Area court manager Khululekile Felithi told Masutha that East London’s Magistrate’s Court was one of the biggest in the province but was under staffed.
“Staff here have to work after hours and on weekends.”
Felithi said the challenges faced by staff included:
- Having to use offices as courts because of space limitations;
- Infrastructure;
- Security; and
- Lack of staff parking.
“Growth in the East London population means there is a growing demand on our courts,” he said.
Felithi said the court had six magistrates dedicated to civil matters, 12 dealing with criminal matters and four regional magistrates.
The National Prosecuting Authority was represented by Gugulethu Mampofu who told Masutha one of their problems was furniture.
“There is no way for prosecutors to keep dockets safe under lock and key. This affects their performance as they are constantly concerned about how they can secure dockets,” he said.
Masutha’s delegation included advocate JB Skosana, chief director of the department’s judicial policy development, head of court services Tsietsi Malema and chief director of programme planning and support services advocate Pieter du Rand.
Malema said while some of the challenges raised were not unique to the province, the Eastern Cape’s courts were the worst in the country.
The area head of interpreters Mzoxolo Nombewu said there were 60 cases on the court rolls that require foreign language interpreters. Cases involving foreign accused were spread out to accommodate the limited number of interpreters.
“We plan ahead for such cases. We use local foreign interpreters or source them from Johannesburg.
”The audit report would inform the department’s intervention in the province.
The Dispatch has previously written about the slow case flow, cases being postponed because of load-shedding and water problems in the court building. — siyab@dispatch.co.za
Minister calls for audit report on state of Eastern Cape courts
Masutha made the request after a closed meeting at the East London International Convention Centre with regional court presidents.
After the meeting, Masutha and his delegation undertook a surprise visit to the East London Magistrate’s Court, where the impact of the city’s growth on court facilities was highlighted.
Area court manager Khululekile Felithi told Masutha that East London’s Magistrate’s Court was one of the biggest in the province but was under staffed.
“Staff here have to work after hours and on weekends.”
Felithi said the challenges faced by staff included:
“Growth in the East London population means there is a growing demand on our courts,” he said.
Felithi said the court had six magistrates dedicated to civil matters, 12 dealing with criminal matters and four regional magistrates.
The National Prosecuting Authority was represented by Gugulethu Mampofu who told Masutha one of their problems was furniture.
“There is no way for prosecutors to keep dockets safe under lock and key. This affects their performance as they are constantly concerned about how they can secure dockets,” he said.
Masutha’s delegation included advocate JB Skosana, chief director of the department’s judicial policy development, head of court services Tsietsi Malema and chief director of programme planning and support services advocate Pieter du Rand.
Malema said while some of the challenges raised were not unique to the province, the Eastern Cape’s courts were the worst in the country.
The area head of interpreters Mzoxolo Nombewu said there were 60 cases on the court rolls that require foreign language interpreters. Cases involving foreign accused were spread out to accommodate the limited number of interpreters.
“We plan ahead for such cases. We use local foreign interpreters or source them from Johannesburg.
”The audit report would inform the department’s intervention in the province.
The Dispatch has previously written about the slow case flow, cases being postponed because of load-shedding and water problems in the court building. — siyab@dispatch.co.za
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