Annual Report 2004/5 Cover and artwork on cover

448 Pages·2014·4.33 MB·English

Annual Report
2004/05
Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
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Department:
Justice and Constitutional Development
REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
Constitutional Court Trust Artwork
During the period covered by this Annual Report, South Africa celebrated the
anniversary of its first decade of democracy. The Constitutional Court, the highest
court in the land, has played a particularly significant role in giving life to the
fundamental human rights enshrined in the Constitution. As such it is a living symbol
of our vibrant and evolving democracy. It is with this in mind that the Constitutional
Court Trust’s collection of artwork was used as a design element in this publication.
These artworks, which depict various aspects of the struggle for freedom and equality
in South Africa, were collected by Justice Albie Sachs over a period of ten years.
While some artworks were donated by artists, others were bought with funds raised
both locally and overseas.
Some of the artists whose works are displayed at the Constitutional Court include
Gerard Sekoto, Marlene Dumas, Dumile Feni, John Baloyi and William Kentridge.
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is sincerely grateful to
the Constitutional Court for allowing us to use these artworks in our Annual Report.
Cover:
Artist Orlando Almeida’s
depiction of protestors toyi-toying
Page
Part 1 General Information 1
Part 2 Programme Performance 8
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Part 3 Report of the Audit Committee 74
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Part 4 Annual Financial Statements 77
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A DOJ & CD Financial Statements (excluding NPA) Vote 24 78
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B NPA Financial Statements Vote 24 e 130
C Consolidated Financial Statements (DOJ & CD and NPA) 164
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Part 5 Human Resource Development 183
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On the legislative front, various Bills aimed mainly at women and vulner-
able groups are in advanced stages of being passed. The Criminal Law
(Sexual Offences) Amendment Bill and the Child Justice Bill will have sig-
nificant impact on their lives. In a further effort to rid our statute books of
discriminatory legislation, a Bill to repeal the Black Administration Act of
1927 is being prepared.
The rights and responsibilities flowing from legislation obviously need to
be concretised in our courts. The Re Aga Boswa (“We are rebuilding”)
project aims to modernise and streamline our court administration to such
an extent that the principles of Batho Pele (“People First”) become the driv-
ing force behind our courts. However, it is a sad reality that lower courts in
general lack the necessary resources, both human and financial, to make
this objective a reality. The capacitation of our courts, specifically those in
previously disadvantaged areas, remains one of our biggest challenges.
Hand-in-hand with this challenge - and with a view to empowering our
people - goes the need to educate communities on their rights and re-
sponsibilities. We have therefore focused our efforts in this regard on de-
velopmental communication, such as outreach campaigns on the Service
Charter for the Victims of Crime and the Truth and Reconciliation Commis-
sion (TRC) reparations.
The transformation of the Judiciary remains at the heart of our drive to-
wards an equitable, accessible Justice System. A fundamental change to
the composition of the Bench is required in this respect. It is notable that for
the first time in South Africa’s history, both the Chief Justice and the Deputy
Chief Justice are black. While several Judges President are also black, we
are yet to see a woman fill one of these positions. We therefore need to
remove barriers in the way and stereotypes of women in the Judiciary.
Foreword by Minister Mabandla
During the past year my Department has welcomed a new Director-Gen-
eral, Adv Menzi Simelane, as well as Dr Khotso De Wee, appointed in the
Since taking office in the Justice and Constitutional Development portfolio
newly created position of Chief Operations Officer. We trust that the skills
in April 2004, my challenge has been to lead my Department towards our
they bring will benefit the Department and facilitate the achievement of
goal of delivering accessible, speedy and cost-effective quality Justice ser-
our goals.
vices. Although the obstacles have been numerous, I would like to touch
on a number of achievements that serve to illustrate our progress during
this period under review.
One of the areas which in the past has proved most problematic, is that of
the insolvency industry. I thus saw it fit to appoint a Committee of Inquiry
to investigate aspects such as the appointment of liquidators, the need to
regulate the industry, alleged corruption and “fronting”, as well as various
factors impeding the transformation of the liquidation industry. Cabinet will
be advised on the most suitable policy to implement in this regard. Indeed,
the Masters’ functions as a whole are in the process of being streamlined,
MRS B S MABANDLA, MP
e.g. through the implementation of IT solutions.
Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development
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Part 1:
General Information
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1 .1. To Mrs B S Mabandla, MP, Minster for Justice and Constitutional lives of millions of citizens. Constitutional Development, State Attor-
Development neys and State Law Advisers render attorney and advocacy services
to the state, as well as advisory and legal drafting services, to assist
I have the honour of submitting the 2004/05 Annual Report of the in the transformation of state and society; they are also of critical im-
Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, in terms of portance in advancing the notion of cooperative governance – one of
the Public Finance Management Act, 1999. the central pillars of the Constitution.
1.2. Introduction by the Director-General, Adv Menzi Simelane A prerequisite for the success of the transformation process is the
simultaneous transformation of the Department’s key partners. The
Upon joining this Department at the conclusion of the period under considerable effort put behind transforming prosecution and allied
review, it struck me that I had become part of an institution undergoing services into a prestigious professional force, in accordance with the
significant changes with a view to transforming Justice. Constitution, is paying off handsomely. It is imperative that the Ju-
diciary should benefit likewise from a broad transformation process,
Serving a developmental state, the Department is needs-focused, starting with making it more representative in terms of gender, race
striving to provide simpler, faster and cost-effective quality Justice and cultural traditions of our society. A gauge of the success of such a
services to all, including the poorest of the poor and the vulnerable. transformation process is the emergence of a jurisprudence that is in
In order to attain this goal, the Department has been modernising at a keeping with both the African Renaissance and the democratic values
rapid rate. embodied in the spirit and letter of our Constitution.
This modernisation entails many facets, among them working within The transformation of Justice is also interlinked with the transforma-
the Integrated Sustainable Rural Development and Urban Renewal tion of the legal profession and legal scholarship. The Department, in
Strategies to bring Justice physically closer to all our citizens. The partnership with law schools, has already transformed the curriculum
Department has also provided leadership in adapting the e-Govern- of the basic law degree to bring it in line with modern best practices.
ment Strategy into an e-Justice Strategy. This entails harnessing This innovation needs to be reviewed to assess whether it meets the
technological innovation, rationalising and streamlining processes intended goals of the Justice Sector Labour Market demands and
and procedures and serving through a diverse and multi-skilled work- whether it promotes legal scholarship. In addition to encouraging law
force. This provision of integrated simpler, faster and cost-effective schools to widen access to students from previously disadvantaged
quality services will enable the Department to deal vigorously with all communities, these institutions will be encouraged to forge linkages
its backlogs – be they in the financial, the judicial or the administrative with prominent leading law firms, with prominent practitioners and
sphere. with relevant international organisations.
In addition to its role as an enabler, the Department acts as a trans- For the second year in a row, my Department attained an unqualified
forming agent for the state, working in partnership with other organs audit report on the Vote Account. This I am particularly proud of, as it
of state and civil society. As such it operationalises the notion of is the result of diligent and coordinated work by all in the Department.
citizenship and redefines Justice for a 21st Century South African It is indicative of our future approach to matters financial and also
democratic society. This is a radical philosophical departure from the signals that we are unified in the attainment of all our goals.
apartheid notion of Justice that was predicated on the citizen as an
obedient subject of the state. An enabling and transforming Depart- The Department has seen many successes since the advent of our
ment of Justice and Constitutional Development also concerns itself new democratic dispensation. However, we still have a challenging
with issues of crime. It recognises the major threats to democracy road ahead towards realising our goals. In the years to come, it is
that are posed by various forms of crime. imperative that we go beyond policies and programmes, and imple-
ment! The principles and objectives of Batho Pele (“People First”) and
One of our biggest challenges is that of operationalising our consti- programmes such as Re Aga Boswa (“We are rebuilding”), need to
tutional values and ensuring inclusivity of all South Africa’s citizens. produce tangible results to the benefit of all communities. To this end,
The various services of the Department demonstrate the need for a my management team and I look forward to a productive working re-
balanced approach to Justice. The National Prosecuting Authority lationship with the Minister and Deputy Minister.
(NPA) concentrates on combating crime; the Legal Aid Board seeks
to ensure that access to Criminal, Civil, Economic and Social Justice
is affordable for all. The courts, through Court Services, play a very
important role in this balanced approach to Justice. The Master of the ADV MENZI SIMELANE
High Court deals with civil matters that are of critical importance to the Director-General: Justice and Constitutional Development
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1.3 Information on the Ministry
With the exception of section 34(2), which came into operation on 31
The function of the Ministry for Justice and Constitutional Develop- July 2004, the Act came into operation on 27 April 2004.
ment is to execute the powers and perform the functions assigned to
it by the President and the various Acts of Parliament. In short, the In addition to the above, the following Bills were tabled in Parliament
function of the Ministry is to establish and maintain, in the spirit of and are at different stages of the parliamentary process:
the Constitution and through a democratic process of transformation,
a legitimate administration of Justice that is efficient, accessible, ac- • Superior Courts Bill
countable, just, user-friendly and representative of the South African • Judicial Conduct Tribunals Bill
community. • Judicial Service Commission Amendment Bill
• Magistrates Amendment Bill
The following entities have been established to take care of certain ar- • Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Amendment Bill
eas within the framework of the environment covered by the Ministry: • Compulsory HIV-Testing of Alleged Sexual Offences Bill
• Child Justice Bill
• South African Human Rights Commission • Citation of Constitutional Laws Bill
• Public Protector • Judicial Matters Amendment Bill
• Commission on Gender Equality • Repeal of the Black Administration Act, 1927, and Amendment to
• Office for the Control of Interception and Monitoring of Communica- Certain Laws Bill.
tions
• Ministerial Coordinating Committee on
the Directorate of Special Operations
• Criminal Assets Recovery Committee
• Judicial Service Commission
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• Legal Aid Board
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• National Prosecuting Authority
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• Special Investigating Unit
• Directorate of Special Operations
• Asset Forfeiture Unit
• President’s Fund
• Represented Political Parties’ Fund
• Debt Collectors Council
• Rules Board for Courts of Law
• Board for Sheriffs
• Equality Review Committee Numerous sets of regulations have been prepared and are at vari-
• Rules Board for the Labour Courts ous stages of finalisation, for instance the regulations relating to the
• Public Protector promotion of equality; Administrative Justice, including a code of good
administrative conduct; the appointment of maintenance investiga-
During the period of this report, a number of Bills have been promoted tors; reparations contemplated in the Promotion of National Unity and
in Parliament. In particular, the following legislation was approved by Reconciliation Act, 1995; the promotion of access to information; debt
Parliament and has already been implemented: collectors; and allowances payable to judges and pension benefits
payable to spouses and partners of deceased judges.
The Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, 2004 (Act
12 of 2004) was approved by Parliament in 2004. The Act, among Guidelines required by the Protected Disclosures Act, 2000, explain-
others, aims to provide for the strengthening of measures to prevent ing the application of this Act, have also been finalised. The Depart-
and combat corruption and corrupt activities; the establishment and ment was involved in the extension of the application of the statutory
endorsement of a Register in order to place certain restrictions on provisions dealing with minimum sentences for a further period of two
persons and enterprises convicted of corrupt activities relating to ten- years. It has furthermore played a major role in the implementation of
ders and contracts; and to place a duty on certain persons holding a the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of
position of authority to report certain corrupt transactions. Communication-related Information Act, 2002.
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1.4 Vision and Mission statement
Vision: Accessible and transformed Justice services committed
to the promotion of constitutional values for all.
Mission: Together we provide accessible, fair, speedy, cost-ef-
fective and quality Justice for all.
1.5 Legislative mandate
The core function of the Department of Justice and Constitutional The activities of the Department are organised into five pro-
Development is to give effect to the constitutionally mandated grammes. Administration provides for the overall policy and
requirement that South Africa must have a fair, equitable and organisational management of the Department. Administration
accessible Justice System. In addition, the Department provides of Courts establishes and maintains the system of courts and
certain legal services to government. supports their management and administration. State Legal Ser-
vices provides legal and legislative services to government and
This mandate has been translated into five organisational objec- facilitates constitutional amendments, as well as the administra-
tives, namely to: tion of estates, liquidation of companies and the supervision of the
administration of trusts and property of minors deposited in the
• maintain, improve and streamline a system of courts in which Guardian’s Fund and that of persons under curatorship. The Na-
legal proceedings of a criminal, civil, family and administrative tional Prosecuting Authority provides a coordinated prosecuto-
nature are processed efficiently and effectively; rial service, protects certain witnesses and investigates serious
• investigate certain crimes and prosecute all criminal offenders; organised crime. Auxiliary and Associated Services renders
• provide legal services to government and represent it in legal a variety of auxiliary services associated with the Department’s
matters; aims.
• research, draft and promote legislation; and
• facilitate the delivery of additional services linked to the admin-
istration of Justice, including services delivered by constitution-
ally independent institutions.
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Ten years on -
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Justice System
designing a
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refl ecting the values of our new,
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vibrant democracy
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