14 JUNE 2000
The tender for the Court Process Project (GPP) has been awarded to the Phambili Consortium. It is a pilot project that will be implemented at the Johannesburg and Durban Magistrates' Courts.
The E-Justice programme is a multi-year programme designed to support fundamental reforms necessary to establish a more fair, accessible and efficient system of justice in South Africa. This objective will be realised by building capacity in courts, especially in rural and disadvantaged areas, re-engineering work processes and utilising appropriate enabling technology.
The CPP, as part of the E-Justice programme, is the capacity building component of the programme. This is done by re-engineering the way in which our courts function and providing them with the necessary tools to deal with the caseloads and the management of courts in a more effective manner. The project is to be launched on 1 July 2000 and will be completed by the end of March 2001.
Sixteen consortiums, including most of the leading vendors and service providers competed for the contract. Senior officials of the Integrated Justice System (IJS) & SITA carried out the evaluation of the various tender proposals. A team from the Auditor-General's office remained in attendance throughout the evaluation. In terms of the CPP tender, SITA's role was to facilitate the tender process on behalf of the Department of Justice, the leading department in the IJS for the CPP, for the ascertaining of necessary systems for implementation, the sharing of the required adjudicative competencies within the State Tender Board and ensuring that the conditions of tender are met.
A contract with Phambili is in the process of finalization and the cost thereof will be about R25 Million. SITA will be responsible for, maintaining the contract on behalf of the Department of Justice. SITA is committed to the CPP and it aims to ensure that services are rendered within the allocated budget.
Phambili will provide the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development with a solution based on state-of-the-art Electronic Document Management and Workflow systems, supported by underlying Object Related Database technology and Business Intelligence tools.
The solution will enable the greater Integrated Justice Community to electronically manage and control a criminal case from its origin, up until a sentence is passed and the accused is handed over to the relevant authority (eg. Department of Correctional Services, Department of Welfare, etc.) . Strict security measures will be built into the system by means of biometric identification/verification and encryption technology. In civil cases, the proposed business solution will cover the full task spectrum applicable to court cases ranging from: the interaction with private attorneys and sheriffs, the registration and administration of case documentation; the scheduling of hearings; the recording of the results of the hearings and the notification to the public of the outcome. In criminal cases, the interaction with selected SAPS offices, Welfare offices, Department of Correctional Services and the magistrates' courts and the administration of case files leading up to adjudication, will be addressed.
This system will enable the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and its associates to focus on their core business: providing a just and fair system to all South Africans by eliminating the problems associated with documentation and information required throughout the justice process.
An improved civil justice system has benefits for society as a whole, particularly as far as the restoration of confidence in the justice system is effected. Judges, Magistrates, Prosecutors, State Attorneys and Attorneys require better access to information. Accused persons and prisoners will benefit substantially through the quicker finalisation of cases. Registrars, Clerks and other administrative personnel will benefit through the reduction in workload. Victims will realise that effective and equal justice are available to all social and racial groups in South Africa. The greater legal community will be able to electronically file documents relevant to specific cases, whether of civil or criminal nature.
The proof of concept will serve as the primary input into a tender to be drafted for the final solution, with the proof of concept influencing the tender specifications. Quality assurance checklists will be compiled to monitor project progress and to ensure that the project deliverable meet with the expectations of the user community. These expectations will be duly documented during the initiation stage of the project and will be audited on a regular basis during implementation. Due attention will also be given to the training of staff and the re-engineering of the business process before and during the implementation of the project.
ENQUIRIES: Heinrich Augustyn
Issued by Government Communications (GCIS) on behalf of the
Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
Cell: 082 497 4499
Also visit our Website at www.doj.gov.za