BL Premium reports that Justice & Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola says 18 superior courts, including the Supreme Court of Appeal, high courts and the Constitutional Court, have had generators installed to mitigate against load-shedding.
Lamola, who was presenting the Office of the Chief Justice’s budget in the National Assembly on Tuesday, said equipping magistrates’ courts with generators was also ongoing. However, the DA’s Glynnis Breytenbach said Lamola had “failed ... dismally” in combating load-shedding. “Too many courts ... are unable to function for a full court day, or sometimes at all. Particularly hard hit in this regard are the courts in smaller towns and centres, where the majority of South Africans must go to access justice,” she complained. Breytenbach said it was a “disgrace” that cabinet members were protected by generators, but essential services such as courts were not. She also expressed “deep concern over Lamola’s lack of support” for the Office of the Chief Justice. This had resulted in a lack of appointments to vacant judicial positions, leading to “delays in the resolution of cases, and denying justice to many South Africans”. Courts were also underresourced, lacking not only judges, but also staff and infrastructure. The budget Lamola tabled comprised R1.3bn for voted funds and “a further direct charge to the National Revenue Fund” of R1.125bn for judges’ remuneration.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tauriq Moosa at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
- Lees ook, Appèl teen beurtkrag-uitspraak ‘verraai’ SA’ners, by Maroela Media
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page