Question NW4170 to the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
01 December 2022 - NW4170
Breytenbach, Adv G to ask the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
Given the reduction to the budget of Legal Aid South Africa (LASA) of R534 670 over the 2021/22-2023/24 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework period, what (a) was the justification for the specified reductions in LASA’s budget, (b) effect will the reductions have on service delivery rendered by LASA to indigent and vulnerable persons and (c) are the relevant details of any backlog in services rendered by LASA; (2) Whether LASA is able to provide effective services at all courts in the Republic; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?
Reply:
1. (a) The National Treasury‘s mandatory baseline budget reductions were necessitated by the national fiscal constraints.
b) Any reductions in Legal Aid SA’s budget has an adverse impact as this affects the recruitment levels, i.e. number of employees as per approved establishment and consequently the court coverage.
c) There are no backlogs as pending matters’ turnaround times are monitored so that cases are not delayed unnecessarily.
2. Legal Aid SA is able to provide services at all courts in the Republic of South Africa through its practitioner per court model, meaning that there is a legal practitioner stationed in every court, responsible for taking all legal aid instructions in his/her or their assigned court. The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development consults with Legal Aid SA whenever new courts are established, and provides necessary budget allocation.
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