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BL Premium reports that President Cyril Ramaphosa is facing legal action to increase magistrates’ salaries by 34%, forcing him into the awkward position of balancing judicial independence against the risk of triggering hikes across the entire public office payroll.
In court papers filed at the South Gauteng High Court, the Association of Regional Magistrates of Southern Africa (Armsa) argues that magistrates’ workloads and responsibilities have ballooned since 2008, yet their pay, capped at R1.16m a year, lags behind last October’s recommendation by the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers. The court is due to hear the case on Tuesday. Armsa paints the case as a defence of judicial independence. “Adequate remuneration that is reflective of magistrates’ responsibilities in the law is a crucial aspect of judicial independence,” Hein Rudolf, chair of Armsa’s salaries committee, says in court papers. The commission recommended that magistrates currently earning R1,161,674 annually be paid R1,561,876, namely a 34% increase. It recommended increases for senior magistrates from R1,256,919 to R1,735,417, for regional magistrates from R1,516,364 to R1,908,959, and for regional court presidents from R1,689,981 to R2,082,501. Ramaphosa has had the review report for almost 10 months. Rudolf argues the president failed to make a determination on the report within a reasonable legal time frame and “breached a written undertaking to make a determination by June 21 2025”.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Sinesipho Schrieber at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
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