Date: 29/06/2004
Source: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
Title: J de Lange: Justice & Constitutional Development Dept Budget Vote debate, NCOP
BUDGET SPEECH BY ADVOCATE JOHNNY DE LANGE, MP, DEPUTY MINISTER FOR JUSTICE AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT, NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES, Parliament, 29 June 2004
Chairperson
Honourable Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Members
Distinguished Guests
Comrades and Friends
INTRODUCTION
On this historic occasion please allow me to express my delight and honour in taking part in this budget vote, my first in the National Council of Provinces, as the Deputy Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development. I also want to use this opportunity to apologise for the absence of my Minister, Ms Brigitte Mabandla, MP, who is not well.
This budget vote takes place against the background of ten years of transformation of the justice system in a democratic South Africa. Ten years ago, we took the first tentative steps on our journey to a transformed justice system for all, by merging 11 different justice departments, which included those from the former Bantustans, into one national Department.
Those first small, tentative steps in the journey where significant in charting a path towards a fair, impartial, effective and accessible justice system geared towards the needs of all South Africans irrespective of their backgrounds.
Let me remind all of us present here today, that government's role is to serve the needs and aspirations of all of our people to the best of its ability and in doing so to use the resources entrusted to us by the people in the wisest and most responsible way possible. It is therefore imperative for us to take measures that would have a positive effect on the lives of the people of this country.
Increasing capacity among the Department's personnel in order to improve service delivery excellence, in line with the principles of Batho Pele; extending access to justice to all, including the poorest and most remote areas; re-engineering the maintenance system and optimising other measures meant to alleviate the plight of the poor and the marginalized and disadvantaged amongst us; reducing case backlogs and improving court efficiency, and transforming all our institutions, systems and procedures administering justice; are all part and parcel of this basic principle which we have embraced.
Key to the Government's Programme of Action, as outlined in the President's State-of-the-Nation address, is also the duty to improve the safety and security of all our citizens and communities. For my Department, this duty is deeply rooted in the provision of improved access to quality, swift and visible justice through the transformation of our institutions and systems administering justice. We remain committed to these principles.
In my address, I will therefore also attempt to give feedback on some of the notable achievements of the Department in the past years in that regard.
RE AGA BOSWA
Because our court system is the core business of the Department and the first point of contact with the public, massive resources and effort have accordingly gone into transforming our court systems and processes. Our aim is to ensure that our courts are operating properly and therefore enable the judiciary and the prosecution to perform their duties optimally.
Through the Re Aga Boswa project, processes at the Court Services' Unit and court level have been re-engineered to streamline organisational and management structures. The Re Aga Boswa project is premised on a decentralised court services delivery model, which ensures the devolution of decision-making powers to competent and capable Court Managers for effectiveness and efficiency in the court system. The benefit impact of the decentralised model is the reduction of the turn around time on administrative decisions and thereby leading to reduced case backlogs and case cycle times, disciplined staff and optimal utilisation and management of resources.
The preliminary results from the KwaZulu-Natal pilot project are indeed encouraging, and once the model's best practices have been analysed, assessed and refined, we will be rolling-out to other parts of the country. Critical resources currently located at regional offices will therefore be redeployed to courts. The KwaZulu-Natal model will also assist in determining the cost implication of the rollout of the model to other provinces.
ESTABLISHMENT OF IJS CO-ORDINATING COMMITTEES
Chairperson,
The Department is an active participant in the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cabinet Cluster, as well as the Social Cabinet Cluster. This is in recognition of the fact that to have a positive effect on the lives of our people we need to integrate all the services by various departments within the criminal justice system. All our Department's activities are therefore in line with the priorities of these clusters.
The JCPS Development Committee carried out a national survey among related stakeholders to validate the establishment and to structure and define the terms of reference of inter-departmental committees at provincial, area and local levels. These committees are intended to promote cooperation and coordination between cluster departments and to facilitate and support the implementation of initiatives to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Integrated Justice System.
The survey brought to light that, although numerous and divergent forums currently exist between departments and related stakeholders, some are operating effectively, others less so.
Comprehensive Terms of Reference for the establishment of IJS Co-ordinating Committees at the various levels were developed. Work sessions with provinces to discuss the establishment of such Committees are now in the planning phase and will commence during July and August 2004.
In the meantime existing co-operation structures are being utilised to deal with both operational and strategic crosscutting issues.
RATIONALISATION OF HIGH COURTS
Chairperson,
We are progressing towards getting rid of a fragmented court system and have established, as policy, that no new courts should be established outside the existing court structure.
After a long consultation process with relevant stakeholders, including the judiciary, with regard to the rationalisation of the High Courts, the Superior Courts Bill and the Constitutional Amendment Bill were tabled before the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development of the National Assembly (the Justice Committee). As you would know, the names, seats and jurisdictions of the High Courts are still reflective of the apartheid state and the Bantustans.
The Superior Courts Bill is intended to rectify these discrepancies and legacies we inherited, by rationalising the former Supreme Court of South Africa and the High Courts of the former TBVC States. It also deals with the integration of the Labour Court and Labour Appeal Court into the High Court system. This rationalisation will bring the court structure in line with our post 1994 dispensation. The Department has already included in its major capital works projects for next year, a High Court building for both Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces. Hopefully the Bill will be passed by Parliament this year still.
RE-DEMARCATION OF REGIONAL COURTS
Discussions with Regional Court presidents and with inter-sectoral representatives on the matter of the re-demarcation of District Court jurisdictions have also been concluded. Following this, Regional Court jurisdictions have been aligned with provincial borders and as per proclamations implemented. However, two districts from the Eastern Cape namely, Umzimkulu and Matatiele (Maluti) were included in the area of jurisdiction of the newly created regional division of KwaZulu-Natal. This was being done to align the Regional Court jurisdictions with that of the Interim High Court jurisdictions. However, this whole issue may have to be re-assessed once the Superior Courts Bill has been adopted.
RE-DEMARCATION OF MAGISTERIAL DISTRICTS
Chairperson,
An extensive consultation process, involving all stakeholders, on the re-demarcation of magisterial district boundaries was carried out at a provincial and area level. Access to courts by all sectors of the population, existing court infrastructure and the need to provide cost effective court services were the guiding principles in this process.
Nine provincial reports have been finalised and the digital (GIS) maps depicting all new boundaries and recommended changes are in an advanced stage of completion.
The recommended changes to magisterial boundaries, if compatible with the Superior Courts Bill, will be implemented in a phased manner, as funds become available (the process is largely unfunded at present). Where the change in a main seat of court has been recommended, a thorough assessment of available facilities will be carried out. An amount of R36 million has been requested from National Treasury for the implementation of the re-demarcation process as it is currently one of the Unfunded Priority Projects in the 2004/05 financial year. Further amounts of R40 million and R44 million have been requested in the 2005/06 and 2006/07 financial years respectively to finalise the process.
LAY ASSESSORS
As part of the Department's strategic imperative to improve access to justice and increase public participation in the adjudication process, the Lay Assessor system will be extended to all regional divisions during the next three years. In line with Section 180 of the Constitution, the Lay Assessor system places a strong emphasis on community participation in the workings of the court system. In 1995, an assessors' co-ordination committee was appointed to oversee pilot projects to increase the use of lay assessors in criminal matters in the magistrate's courts. As a result of these projects, the Committee recommended a suitable legislative framework in order to facilitate the expansion of the lay assessor system. The legislation that emerged from this process was the Magistrates' Court (Assessors) Amendment Act, 1998. However, because of lack of funds the system's implementation process has been slow.
For the full implementation of the project to take place, structures for the governance and coordination of lay assessors will need to be established. Other challenges facing this initiative relate to the funds required to compensate the assessors, the office space that will be required at court houses; the identification of assessors who fit the requirements; and the possible delays in the finalisation of cases that the implementation of the assessor system may lead to.
All the pilot sites in the Western Cape and Gauteng were visited by the project manager during 2003, in order to assess first hand what the challenges are and to plan for further roll-out. Regulations relating to the Act have been developed and approved by National Treasury. The concerns of stakeholders such as the Association of Regional Court Magistrates of SA, the National Prosecuting Authority and the Law Society of SA will be taken into consideration before implementation. But the roll-out of the project will not be stopped.
LEGAL AID BOARD
Chairperson,
The issue of the high costs of private legal services is of concern to government in general and in to us as a Department in particular. The cost of litigation means that the rich can freely litigate while the poor, especially in civil cases, cannot enjoy this right. The Legal Aid Board therefore plays an important role in providing legal aid to indigent persons and legal representation as provided by the Constitution, especially to accused persons facing substantial prejudice.
The Legal Aid Board is consolidating the significant progress already made in transforming itself into a stable, efficient, effective and credible organisation by providing legal services throughout the country. This has been largely achieved through establishment of the 58 Justice centres, 27 satellite offices and 13 High Court Units.
The LAB has also deliberately shifted from the judicare method of delivery of legal aid services to using public defenders. The judicare method has proven to be unacceptably expensive and cumbersome to administer. The Board has therefore continued to reduce its reliance on Judicare (now only 18% of budget) and is increasingly using the services from its Justice Centres in this regard (56% of budget).
A major part of the criticism that was levelled against the LAB in the past was the quality of the services provided.
But having moved to the justice centre model, the LAB is now able to monitor the performance of its legal practitioners and is therefore able to identify and respond to the gaps in service delivery. The LAB has also initiated a host of training programmes.
However, we will have to continue to monitor the system to ensure that the quality of legal services delivered is consistently high. In addition, the Department and the Legal Aid Board will also have to look at alternate forms of legal assistance to the poor in place of costly litigation - for this alternative dispute resolution services may provide an answer.
The LAB has really drastically improved their services and we owe the former chairperson, Judge Navsa and the continuing good work of the present chairperson, Judge Mlambo, the CEO and the Board appreciation for this.
CHILD JUSTICE BILL
Chairperson,
We are committed to strengthening the protection of vulnerable persons in the criminal justice system.
As you are aware, the Child Justice Bill is presently being finalised by the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development. The Department has planned and costed inter-sectorally for the implementation of the Bill. Work in this regard is continuing and a holistic inter-sectoral document is being finalised. To drive the process, monthly meetings of the Inter-sectoral Child Justice Steering Committee, chaired by my Department, are held.
In the meantime, Interim guidelines for children awaiting trial, to divert them as much as possible for the mainstream criminal justice system, have been implemented. This is in part inter-sectoral monitoring and interventions to unblock bottlenecks in areas such as KwaZulu-Natal.
A protocol has been drafted and implemented regarding children awaiting placement in reform schools. We have further facilitated the establishment of 3 One-Stop Child Justice Centres and mapped out a process for the establishment of one in each province for three years after the Child Justice Bill has been passed.
We believe that the approach of planning and budgeting for the Child Justice Bill may serve as a model for every inter-sectoral piece of legislation that comes before Cabinet and Parliament in future.
MULTI-PURPOSE CENTRES
Chairperson,
We are committed to strengthening the protection of vulnerable groups, such as women and children, in the criminal justice system. The Department, together with other departments, is involved in integrating and increasing the coverage of governmental services. In addition to our efforts around the Child Justice One-Stop Centres and we have established the Thuthuzela Care Centres for victims of sexual offences.
The Multi-purpose centres involve the four core departments within the criminal justice system, the South Africa Police Service, Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, Department of Correctional Services and the Department of Welfare, as well as, the Department of Health. The Multi-purpose centres are aimed at bringing services rendered by these departments to communities where these services either do not exist, or do exist but are not easily accessible, especially in rural areas, in an integrated way and under one roof. These Centres are currently available in: Thembalethu (George, Western Cape; Nsimbini (Umbumbulu, KZN); Leboeng (Praktiseer, Limpopo); Khutsong (Oberholzer/Carletonville, Gauteng); Tshidilamolomo (Molopo, NW) and Centane (Eastern Cape).
Other centres receiving attention are: Thabong (Welkom, Free State) and Augrabies (Kakamas, Northern Cape). In conclusion, we believe that as we integrate more of our service delivery between major role players in the criminal justice system, we will be able to leave a larger footprint, which will touch more of our people in a positive way.
I wish to thank everyone working in the Department for the good work done over the past years. I recognise the Director General, Advocate Vusi Pikoli, senior managers in the Department, leaders of the judiciary, particularly the Chief Justice, Judge Arthur Chaskalson, the magistracy, the National Prosecuting Authority and of all the institutions linked to the Department.
Thank you!
Issued by: Department of Justice & Constitutional Development
29 June 2004
Source: Department of Justice & Constitutional Development (http://www.doj.gov.za)
Source: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
Title: J de Lange: Justice & Constitutional Development Dept Budget Vote debate, NCOP
BUDGET SPEECH BY ADVOCATE JOHNNY DE LANGE, MP, DEPUTY MINISTER FOR JUSTICE AND CONSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT, NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES, Parliament, 29 June 2004
Chairperson
Honourable Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Members
Distinguished Guests
Comrades and Friends
INTRODUCTION
On this historic occasion please allow me to express my delight and honour in taking part in this budget vote, my first in the National Council of Provinces, as the Deputy Minister for Justice and Constitutional Development. I also want to use this opportunity to apologise for the absence of my Minister, Ms Brigitte Mabandla, MP, who is not well.
This budget vote takes place against the background of ten years of transformation of the justice system in a democratic South Africa. Ten years ago, we took the first tentative steps on our journey to a transformed justice system for all, by merging 11 different justice departments, which included those from the former Bantustans, into one national Department.
Those first small, tentative steps in the journey where significant in charting a path towards a fair, impartial, effective and accessible justice system geared towards the needs of all South Africans irrespective of their backgrounds.
Let me remind all of us present here today, that government's role is to serve the needs and aspirations of all of our people to the best of its ability and in doing so to use the resources entrusted to us by the people in the wisest and most responsible way possible. It is therefore imperative for us to take measures that would have a positive effect on the lives of the people of this country.
Increasing capacity among the Department's personnel in order to improve service delivery excellence, in line with the principles of Batho Pele; extending access to justice to all, including the poorest and most remote areas; re-engineering the maintenance system and optimising other measures meant to alleviate the plight of the poor and the marginalized and disadvantaged amongst us; reducing case backlogs and improving court efficiency, and transforming all our institutions, systems and procedures administering justice; are all part and parcel of this basic principle which we have embraced.
Key to the Government's Programme of Action, as outlined in the President's State-of-the-Nation address, is also the duty to improve the safety and security of all our citizens and communities. For my Department, this duty is deeply rooted in the provision of improved access to quality, swift and visible justice through the transformation of our institutions and systems administering justice. We remain committed to these principles.
In my address, I will therefore also attempt to give feedback on some of the notable achievements of the Department in the past years in that regard.
RE AGA BOSWA
Because our court system is the core business of the Department and the first point of contact with the public, massive resources and effort have accordingly gone into transforming our court systems and processes. Our aim is to ensure that our courts are operating properly and therefore enable the judiciary and the prosecution to perform their duties optimally.
Through the Re Aga Boswa project, processes at the Court Services' Unit and court level have been re-engineered to streamline organisational and management structures. The Re Aga Boswa project is premised on a decentralised court services delivery model, which ensures the devolution of decision-making powers to competent and capable Court Managers for effectiveness and efficiency in the court system. The benefit impact of the decentralised model is the reduction of the turn around time on administrative decisions and thereby leading to reduced case backlogs and case cycle times, disciplined staff and optimal utilisation and management of resources.
The preliminary results from the KwaZulu-Natal pilot project are indeed encouraging, and once the model's best practices have been analysed, assessed and refined, we will be rolling-out to other parts of the country. Critical resources currently located at regional offices will therefore be redeployed to courts. The KwaZulu-Natal model will also assist in determining the cost implication of the rollout of the model to other provinces.
ESTABLISHMENT OF IJS CO-ORDINATING COMMITTEES
Chairperson,
The Department is an active participant in the Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cabinet Cluster, as well as the Social Cabinet Cluster. This is in recognition of the fact that to have a positive effect on the lives of our people we need to integrate all the services by various departments within the criminal justice system. All our Department's activities are therefore in line with the priorities of these clusters.
The JCPS Development Committee carried out a national survey among related stakeholders to validate the establishment and to structure and define the terms of reference of inter-departmental committees at provincial, area and local levels. These committees are intended to promote cooperation and coordination between cluster departments and to facilitate and support the implementation of initiatives to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Integrated Justice System.
The survey brought to light that, although numerous and divergent forums currently exist between departments and related stakeholders, some are operating effectively, others less so.
Comprehensive Terms of Reference for the establishment of IJS Co-ordinating Committees at the various levels were developed. Work sessions with provinces to discuss the establishment of such Committees are now in the planning phase and will commence during July and August 2004.
In the meantime existing co-operation structures are being utilised to deal with both operational and strategic crosscutting issues.
RATIONALISATION OF HIGH COURTS
Chairperson,
We are progressing towards getting rid of a fragmented court system and have established, as policy, that no new courts should be established outside the existing court structure.
After a long consultation process with relevant stakeholders, including the judiciary, with regard to the rationalisation of the High Courts, the Superior Courts Bill and the Constitutional Amendment Bill were tabled before the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development of the National Assembly (the Justice Committee). As you would know, the names, seats and jurisdictions of the High Courts are still reflective of the apartheid state and the Bantustans.
The Superior Courts Bill is intended to rectify these discrepancies and legacies we inherited, by rationalising the former Supreme Court of South Africa and the High Courts of the former TBVC States. It also deals with the integration of the Labour Court and Labour Appeal Court into the High Court system. This rationalisation will bring the court structure in line with our post 1994 dispensation. The Department has already included in its major capital works projects for next year, a High Court building for both Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces. Hopefully the Bill will be passed by Parliament this year still.
RE-DEMARCATION OF REGIONAL COURTS
Discussions with Regional Court presidents and with inter-sectoral representatives on the matter of the re-demarcation of District Court jurisdictions have also been concluded. Following this, Regional Court jurisdictions have been aligned with provincial borders and as per proclamations implemented. However, two districts from the Eastern Cape namely, Umzimkulu and Matatiele (Maluti) were included in the area of jurisdiction of the newly created regional division of KwaZulu-Natal. This was being done to align the Regional Court jurisdictions with that of the Interim High Court jurisdictions. However, this whole issue may have to be re-assessed once the Superior Courts Bill has been adopted.
RE-DEMARCATION OF MAGISTERIAL DISTRICTS
Chairperson,
An extensive consultation process, involving all stakeholders, on the re-demarcation of magisterial district boundaries was carried out at a provincial and area level. Access to courts by all sectors of the population, existing court infrastructure and the need to provide cost effective court services were the guiding principles in this process.
Nine provincial reports have been finalised and the digital (GIS) maps depicting all new boundaries and recommended changes are in an advanced stage of completion.
The recommended changes to magisterial boundaries, if compatible with the Superior Courts Bill, will be implemented in a phased manner, as funds become available (the process is largely unfunded at present). Where the change in a main seat of court has been recommended, a thorough assessment of available facilities will be carried out. An amount of R36 million has been requested from National Treasury for the implementation of the re-demarcation process as it is currently one of the Unfunded Priority Projects in the 2004/05 financial year. Further amounts of R40 million and R44 million have been requested in the 2005/06 and 2006/07 financial years respectively to finalise the process.
LAY ASSESSORS
As part of the Department's strategic imperative to improve access to justice and increase public participation in the adjudication process, the Lay Assessor system will be extended to all regional divisions during the next three years. In line with Section 180 of the Constitution, the Lay Assessor system places a strong emphasis on community participation in the workings of the court system. In 1995, an assessors' co-ordination committee was appointed to oversee pilot projects to increase the use of lay assessors in criminal matters in the magistrate's courts. As a result of these projects, the Committee recommended a suitable legislative framework in order to facilitate the expansion of the lay assessor system. The legislation that emerged from this process was the Magistrates' Court (Assessors) Amendment Act, 1998. However, because of lack of funds the system's implementation process has been slow.
For the full implementation of the project to take place, structures for the governance and coordination of lay assessors will need to be established. Other challenges facing this initiative relate to the funds required to compensate the assessors, the office space that will be required at court houses; the identification of assessors who fit the requirements; and the possible delays in the finalisation of cases that the implementation of the assessor system may lead to.
All the pilot sites in the Western Cape and Gauteng were visited by the project manager during 2003, in order to assess first hand what the challenges are and to plan for further roll-out. Regulations relating to the Act have been developed and approved by National Treasury. The concerns of stakeholders such as the Association of Regional Court Magistrates of SA, the National Prosecuting Authority and the Law Society of SA will be taken into consideration before implementation. But the roll-out of the project will not be stopped.
LEGAL AID BOARD
Chairperson,
The issue of the high costs of private legal services is of concern to government in general and in to us as a Department in particular. The cost of litigation means that the rich can freely litigate while the poor, especially in civil cases, cannot enjoy this right. The Legal Aid Board therefore plays an important role in providing legal aid to indigent persons and legal representation as provided by the Constitution, especially to accused persons facing substantial prejudice.
The Legal Aid Board is consolidating the significant progress already made in transforming itself into a stable, efficient, effective and credible organisation by providing legal services throughout the country. This has been largely achieved through establishment of the 58 Justice centres, 27 satellite offices and 13 High Court Units.
The LAB has also deliberately shifted from the judicare method of delivery of legal aid services to using public defenders. The judicare method has proven to be unacceptably expensive and cumbersome to administer. The Board has therefore continued to reduce its reliance on Judicare (now only 18% of budget) and is increasingly using the services from its Justice Centres in this regard (56% of budget).
A major part of the criticism that was levelled against the LAB in the past was the quality of the services provided.
But having moved to the justice centre model, the LAB is now able to monitor the performance of its legal practitioners and is therefore able to identify and respond to the gaps in service delivery. The LAB has also initiated a host of training programmes.
However, we will have to continue to monitor the system to ensure that the quality of legal services delivered is consistently high. In addition, the Department and the Legal Aid Board will also have to look at alternate forms of legal assistance to the poor in place of costly litigation - for this alternative dispute resolution services may provide an answer.
The LAB has really drastically improved their services and we owe the former chairperson, Judge Navsa and the continuing good work of the present chairperson, Judge Mlambo, the CEO and the Board appreciation for this.
CHILD JUSTICE BILL
Chairperson,
We are committed to strengthening the protection of vulnerable persons in the criminal justice system.
As you are aware, the Child Justice Bill is presently being finalised by the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development. The Department has planned and costed inter-sectorally for the implementation of the Bill. Work in this regard is continuing and a holistic inter-sectoral document is being finalised. To drive the process, monthly meetings of the Inter-sectoral Child Justice Steering Committee, chaired by my Department, are held.
In the meantime, Interim guidelines for children awaiting trial, to divert them as much as possible for the mainstream criminal justice system, have been implemented. This is in part inter-sectoral monitoring and interventions to unblock bottlenecks in areas such as KwaZulu-Natal.
A protocol has been drafted and implemented regarding children awaiting placement in reform schools. We have further facilitated the establishment of 3 One-Stop Child Justice Centres and mapped out a process for the establishment of one in each province for three years after the Child Justice Bill has been passed.
We believe that the approach of planning and budgeting for the Child Justice Bill may serve as a model for every inter-sectoral piece of legislation that comes before Cabinet and Parliament in future.
MULTI-PURPOSE CENTRES
Chairperson,
We are committed to strengthening the protection of vulnerable groups, such as women and children, in the criminal justice system. The Department, together with other departments, is involved in integrating and increasing the coverage of governmental services. In addition to our efforts around the Child Justice One-Stop Centres and we have established the Thuthuzela Care Centres for victims of sexual offences.
The Multi-purpose centres involve the four core departments within the criminal justice system, the South Africa Police Service, Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, Department of Correctional Services and the Department of Welfare, as well as, the Department of Health. The Multi-purpose centres are aimed at bringing services rendered by these departments to communities where these services either do not exist, or do exist but are not easily accessible, especially in rural areas, in an integrated way and under one roof. These Centres are currently available in: Thembalethu (George, Western Cape; Nsimbini (Umbumbulu, KZN); Leboeng (Praktiseer, Limpopo); Khutsong (Oberholzer/Carletonville, Gauteng); Tshidilamolomo (Molopo, NW) and Centane (Eastern Cape).
Other centres receiving attention are: Thabong (Welkom, Free State) and Augrabies (Kakamas, Northern Cape). In conclusion, we believe that as we integrate more of our service delivery between major role players in the criminal justice system, we will be able to leave a larger footprint, which will touch more of our people in a positive way.
I wish to thank everyone working in the Department for the good work done over the past years. I recognise the Director General, Advocate Vusi Pikoli, senior managers in the Department, leaders of the judiciary, particularly the Chief Justice, Judge Arthur Chaskalson, the magistracy, the National Prosecuting Authority and of all the institutions linked to the Department.
Thank you!
Issued by: Department of Justice & Constitutional Development
29 June 2004
Source: Department of Justice & Constitutional Development (http://www.doj.gov.za)
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