Question NW2229 to the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
17 July 2023 - NW2229
Msane, Ms TP to ask the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
What total number of (a) courts do not have full-time interpreters and (b) cases get postponed due to the lack of availability of interpreters in the courts of the Republic in each of the past three years?
Reply:
a) The table below provides details on the number of courts that do not have full-time interpreters:
|
No. |
Province |
No. of Courts Without a Full-Time Court Interpreter |
Reasons for Non-Provision |
Contingency Plan |
|
1 |
Eastern Cape |
1 |
Vacancy |
Recruitment Underway/Casual Interpreter |
|
2 |
Free-State |
0 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
3 |
Gauteng |
0 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
4 |
Kwa-Zulu Natal |
0 |
N/a |
N/A |
|
5 |
Limpopo |
0 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
6 |
Mpumalanga |
0 |
N/A |
N/A |
|
7 |
North West |
1 |
A periodical court |
Recruitment Underway/Casual Interpreter |
|
8 |
Northern Cape |
4 |
Periodical courts that sits once per week |
Serviced by the main courts |
|
9 |
Western Cape |
9 |
Periodical courts that sit once or twice a week, and proclamation of new courts due to re-demarcation |
Casual Interpreters |
|
Grand total |
15 |
b) Details of cases that get postponed due to the lack of availability of interpreters in the courts of the Republic in each of the past three (3) years are tabulated below:
|
As at the end of March 2020/21 |
|
|
District Courts |
|
|
Admin Regions |
Unavailable interpreters (local and foreign) |
|
Administrative Region 1 (Eastern Cape A) Port Elizabeth |
22 |
|
Administrative Region 2 (Eastern Cape B) Mthatha |
10 |
|
Administrative Region 3 (Free State A) Bloemfontein |
4 |
|
Administrative Region 4 (Free State B) Welkom |
16 |
|
Administrative Region 05A (Gauteng) Johannesburg |
18 |
|
Administrative Region 6 (Kwa-Zulu Natal A) Durban |
16 |
|
Administrative Region 7 (Kwa-Zulu Natal B) Pietermaritzburg |
12 |
|
Administrative Region 08 (Mpumalanga) Nelspruit |
18 |
|
Administrative Region 09 (North West) Mmabatho |
6 |
|
Administrative Region 10 (Northern Cape) Kimberley |
4 |
|
Administrative Region 11 (Limpopo) Polokwane |
10 |
|
Administrative Region 12 (Western Cape A) Cape Town |
11 |
|
Administrative Region 13 (Western Cape B) Wynberg |
19 |
|
Grand Total |
166 |
|
Regional Courts |
|
|
Province |
Unavailable interpreters (local and foreign) |
|
Eastern Cape |
6 |
|
Free State |
2 |
|
Gauteng |
16 |
|
Kwa-Zulu Natal |
8 |
|
Limpopo |
3 |
|
Mpumalanga |
1 |
|
North West |
3 |
|
Western Cape |
4 |
|
Grand Total |
43 |
|
As at the end of March 2021/22 |
|
|
District Courts |
|
|
Admin Regions |
Unavailable interpreters (local and foreign) |
|
Administrative Region 1 (Eastern Cape A) Port Elizabeth |
11 |
|
Administrative Region 2 (Eastern Cape B) Mthatha |
10 |
|
Administrative Region 3 (Free State A) Bloemfontein |
1 |
|
Administrative Region 4 (Free State B) Welkom |
5 |
|
Administrative Region 05 (Gauteng) Pretoria |
1 |
|
Administrative Region 05A (Gauteng) Johannesburg |
9 |
|
Administrative Region 6 (Kwa-Zulu Natal A) Durban |
8 |
|
Administrative Region 7 (Kwa-Zulu Natal B) Pietermaritzburg |
8 |
|
Administrative Region 08 (Mpumalanga) Nelspruit |
9 |
|
Administrative Region 09 (North West) Mmabatho |
8 |
|
Administrative Region 11 (Limpopo) Polokwane |
14 |
|
Administrative Region 12 (Western Cape A) Cape Town |
11 |
|
Administrative Region 13 (Western Cape B) Wynberg |
7 |
|
Grand Total |
102 |
|
Regional Courts |
|
|
Province |
Unavailable interpreters (local and foreign) |
|
Eastern Cape |
10 |
|
Free State |
1 |
|
Gauteng |
19 |
|
Kwa-Zulu Natal |
5 |
|
Limpopo |
8 |
|
Mpumalanga |
1 |
|
Western Cape |
8 |
|
Grand Total |
52 |
|
As at the end of March 2022/23 |
|
|
District Courts |
|
|
Admin Regions |
Unavailable interpreters (local and foreign) |
|
Administrative Region 1 (Eastern Cape A) Port Elizabeth |
25 |
|
Administrative Region 2 (Eastern Cape B) Mthatha |
3 |
|
Administrative Region 3 (Free State A) Bloemfontein |
3 |
|
Administrative Region 4 (Free State B) Welkom |
2 |
|
Administrative Region 05 (Gauteng) Pretoria |
2 |
|
Administrative Region 05A (Gauteng) Johannesburg |
24 |
|
Administrative Region 6 (Kwa-Zulu Natal A) Durban |
20 |
|
Administrative Region 7 (Kwa-Zulu Natal B) Pietermaritzburg |
7 |
|
Administrative Region 08 (Mpumalanga) Nelspruit |
7 |
|
Administrative Region 09 (North West) Mmabatho |
6 |
|
Administrative Region 10 (Northern Cape) Kimberley |
10 |
|
Administrative Region 11 (Limpopo) Polokwane |
4 |
|
Administrative Region 12 (Western Cape A) Cape Town |
16 |
|
Administrative Region 13 (Western Cape B) Wynberg |
19 |
|
Grand Total |
148 |
|
Province |
Unavailable interpreters (local and foreign) |
|
Eastern Cape |
18 |
|
Free State |
1 |
|
Gauteng |
22 |
|
Kwa-Zulu Natal |
9 |
|
Mpumalanga |
3 |
|
North West |
2 |
|
Western Cape |
25 |
|
Grand Total |
80 |