CAPE TOWN, 18 APRIL 2000
The honourable mayor of Cape Town, Ms Noma-India Mfeketho, honourable councillor Saleem Mowzer, Chairperson of the Executive Committee, Advocate Hishaam Mohammed, honourable judges, magistrates and prosecutors, members of the Executive Committee, honourable councillors, esteemed guests, ladies and gentlemen.
It is a great honour for me to address you at this event. It is an historic day not only for the city of Cape Town but also for the South African justice system.
The official launch of this municipal court is an important milestone in our development of court models that speed up and streamline the law court machinery.
We still, however, face many challenges that obstruct the efficient functioning of our lower courts, but we are determined to continue to work on solutions that impact positively on the administration of justice. One of these solutions was the rationalisation of the lower courts, which removed many of the blockages that had plagued the court system for many years.
In the broader pursuit of eliminating delays in prosecution and sentencing, we must become attuned to and exploit each opportunity that can enhance our ability to dispense justice swiftly and cost-effectively. This municipal court is just such an opportunity.
Establishing specialist courts is one of the focus areas of the Department's delivery programme. The specialist approach acknowledges that a 'one court fits all' paradigm is not conducive to the efficient and effective prosecution of the broad array of crimes and offences that come before our courts.
In the case of municipal courts and community courts our goal is to remove what could be regarded as petty cases from the overburdened court roles in our lower court network. However, offenders and transgressors would be ill advised to view these venues as a soft option.
On the contrary, by launching municipal courts we hope to clamp down more effectively on those who show scant respect for local regulations and bylaws. The disdain shown by many for local regulations speaks to the daily erosion of social values and thus to the quality of our lives as individuals and as a community.
Local government provides the primary environment in which we strive to achieve an acceptable quality of life. Maintaining the rule of law at this level provides the foundation for the general maintenance law and social order. The efficiency with which we pursue law enforcement and prosecution at the civic level will, in the long term, determine our success in the broader fight against crime.
Apartheid has bequeathed upon us a tragic legacy. In our battle to transform our shattered society - and especially the justice system - we must contend with courts imbued with a sad tradition in which the rule of law was constantly undermined by the political imperative to enforce a legal system that violated the most basic of human rights. Sadly, our courts provided the arena for this political aberration as they came under increasing pressure to administer justice in an unjust and unjustifiable socio-political environment.
General mistrust and scepticism about the courts and the legal system was the inevitable response from a people too deeply insulted by the unrelenting onslaught upon their national dignity and integrity. It is now our task to restore faith in the rule of law and the justice system at all levels and in all its manifestations.
As South Africans we yearn for an environment that promotes our human well-being. Yet, we seem to display a deeply worrying disregard for the basic things that bring fundamental order into our lives. Let me demonstrate what I mean by this:
The Municipal Court will also be a positive agent in realising the tourism potential of the city. The tourism industry has for many years been the mainstay of this city's economy. The Municipal Court will be a key player in ensuring that those negative factors that pose a serious threat to the industry are effectively deal with.
The accelerated prosecution of municipal offences is not the only additional positive spin off for local government. The swift and successful prosecution of traffic offenders, litterbugs, and other offenders will contribute significantly to the generation of funds for local government coffers.
There is an overwhelming need for the establishment of this court within the jurisdiction of the Cape Town City Council, especially when one considers that the magistrate's courts are inundated with an increasing number of criminal trials.
The Municipal Court will also have a positive impact on the ever-growing number of awaiting-trial prisoners currently facing charges that fall within the jurisdiction of the municipal court.
We expect that this court will contribute to a significant improvement in the administration of justice, because this court, like all our other specialised courts, will allow for more effective prosecution and an improved conviction rate.
The Municipal Court has its own establishment of presiding officers and prosecutorial staff and our expectation is that the court will be able to deal with at least 500 cases per day.
This court will run as a pilot project for a year. In the process it will provide the Department for Justice and Constitutional Development, the major municipalities and other stakeholders with a valuable case study. We will be able to learn from this experience and the subsequent rollout of similar courts should take place with increased fluency and efficiency. Our success here will largely determine the introduction of additional Municipal Courts throughout the country.
Ladies and Gentlemen I would be failing in my duties if I did not congratulate the Mayor of Cape Town, Ms Noma-India Mfeketho, the Management Committee, the City Council Managers and the Regional Office of the Department for their sterling efforts on this project. They have co-ordinated the inputs of a wide range of role-players and today this community will reap the benefits of their collective labours.
I do however wish to sound a word of warning. The most difficult aspect of this project will be effective implementation. The big test still lies before you. However, I am certain, that if your past enthusiasm and energy is anything to go by, this challenge will be met and I am willing to bet on a resounding success.
And probably the greatest challenge of all will be the further establishment of other municipal courts in such diverse areas as Mitchell's Plain, Goodwood and Wynberg. This will probably become more feasible after the transition to a mega city is completed later this year.
I have been informed and am - quite frankly - delighted by the news that the council has already budgeted a total of R 800 000 for the project and I am confident that everything will go according to plan.
Perhaps, the biggest gift that these committed and hard-working citizens of Cape Town have given to the city's residents is the additional accommodation in the magistrate's court. This has been created by the relocation of the traffic section to the municipal court building in the City Hall.
This move has provided the opportunity for the Justice Department and it's strategic partners to create an extra court. This infrastructure and the people that will fill it will provide the sorely needed capacity to deal with the steadily increasing workload at the Cape Town Magistrate's Office.
The pilot project will contribute to the development of an integrated law enforcement and crime prevention programme that will be put in place later this year when Cape Town becomes a mega city.
It will also contribute to a significant by-law review process. This will help to shape a new and more relevant system of municipal regulation.
Lastly, ladies and gentlemen this project illustrates government's commitment to an effective, fair, accountable, accessible and transparent justice system. As the Justice Department we are fully committed to supporting the partnership project and we will do everything in our power to turn it into a success story.
I am honoured and delighted to declare this court officially opened.
I Thank You!