Question NW430 to the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services

Reply:

I wish to inform the Honourable Member that the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD) is working very hard to minimize the impact of load-shedding on the functioning of the courts and other service delivery points.

To ensure that disruptions to court activities resulting from load-shedding are kept to a minimum, DoJ&CD has registered a project to install eighty (80) generators with Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) at various service points. The project is at different phases of implementation at the provinces.

All other capital, upgrading and refurbishment projects registered with DPWI include the provision of generators or alternative power supply to ensure that service points are always functional. The DoJ&CD has also embarked on a pilot programme to install inverters/solar power at various service points through the new minor works delegation received from DPWI in October 2022.

The Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) works closely with the DoJ&CD and the DPWI to procure generators for all Superior Courts. Several Superior Courts were provided with the generators to mitigate the risks of power failures and/or load shedding.

The following 8 (eight) Superior Courts are currently without a generator:

• KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court: Pietermaritzburg;
• Labour and Labour Appeal Court: Durban;
• Gauteng Division of the High Court: Palace of Justice, Pretoria;
• Mpumalanga Division of the High Court: Middelburg;
• Limpopo Division of the High Court: Thohoyandou;
• Western Cape Division of the High Court: Cape Town;
• The Labour and Labour Appeal Court: Cape Town; and
• Eastern Cape Division of the High Court: Bisho.

The processes to procure generators for these Superior Courts have already commenced.

Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) systems were provided to all server rooms in all Superior Courts to prevent data loss and ensure business continuity to the ICT networks. UPS units are however required for the Court Recording Technology (CRT) machines in all these Courts to prevent data loss and minimise interruptions.

Furthermore, I have written to the Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs as well as the Minister of Public Enterprise requesting that DoJ&CD service points be red-flagged and not to put the power-off during the times in which the courts and other service delivery points need to function.

Courts with generators will now take part in the transversal contract on the provision of diesel so that courts can operate without disruptions. In addition, DPWI has advised that they are engaging a term-contractor for maintenance of the existing generators. Emergency lights have been procured for cells and all dark areas in the courthouses.

The court personnel continue to serve the public during load-shedding, focussing on administrative processes which can be done manually. These processes are then captured on ICMS, MojaPay and other IT systems once electricity is back.