Questions and Replies

Reply:

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development receives its funding from National Treasury, through a budgetary appropriation process which get voted by Parliament. For the past three financial years (2021/2022, 2022/23 and 2023/24), the NPA received a budget allocation of R4.446 billion, R4.910 billion and R5.407 billion respectively. The above-mentioned allocation includes additional budget amounting to R200 million and R690 million which NPA received in the financial year 2022/23 and 2023/24 respectively, to fund for the Investigative Directorate, contracted specialist prosecution services to assist with complex corruption matters, amongst others. The reasons for inadequate funding for the criminal justice system can be attributed to the country’s limited fiscal resources.

Reply:

The East London Female Correctional Centre has a total 297 offenders incarcerated and 55 offenders are classified as maximum.

(I) The Standard Operating Procedure (Chapter 02 of the B-Order) stipulates that sanitary towels must be issued as required. DCS ensures that sanitary products are issued as required, minimum one packet of 20 or 12 per female inmate and thereafter, when it is required/as per need.

(ii) The centre has twenty registered Adult Education and Training learners in the current academic year of 2023. Ten out of these twenty offenders are classified as maximum that is 50% of the registered learners as follows:

• AET level 1: 4
• AET level 2: 8
• AET level 3: 8

The centre has three offenders registered for Higher Education and Training as follows:

• Higher Education and Training: 03 (02 registered with Unisa and 01 registered with Boston College).

The number of female offenders in East London Female CC who participated in skills development programmes during the month of August 2023 was 13. However, this does not mean that the other female offenders did not have access to skills training or were not previously trained. Skills Training programmes can be longer or shorter than one month depending on the skills programme offered.

All female inmates, who register the need for skills development programmes as per their sentence plans and who meet the minimum entry requirements have access to skills development programmes as per available resources.

END.

Reply:

The total number of cell phones that were confiscated from 01 April 2023 to 31 October 2023 is as follows:

Regions	Total Number of Cell phones confiscated as reported by Regions
KwaZulu-Natal	4 433
Eastern Cape	3 228
Western Cape	2 780
Free State & Northern Cape	1 972
Limpopo, Mpumalanga & North West	3 139
Gauteng	5 381
National Total	20 933

The following measures have been in place to ensure that access to cell phones does not re-occur:

• Conducting intensive searching (including surprise searches) is done on daily basis at Correctional Facilities and access control points. Searching is conducted on all vehicles, personnel, visitors and service providers. It is conducted as per Section 27 of CSA 111 of 1998 and Security Operating Procedures (SOPs). Searching of Officials, Stakeholders and Inmates when entering and leaving the Centres with hand held metal detectors and walk through metal detectors;
• The DCS has implemented Policies on of “Bagless Society” and “Cell phone free Society”. These policies reflect that officials are not permitted to enter facilities with bags or packets other than their personal items and meals. Females to utilise clear plastic bags;
• Regions have embarked on security awareness sessions on the prevention of smuggling of contrabands;
• Guidelines are in place on how confiscated cell phones must be disposed of to prevent re-circulation;
• Trained sniffer dogs are utilised for cell phone detection;
• Disciplinary measures and swift consequence management are applied to all officials, visitors, service providers and inmates involved in any form of smuggling of contraband including amongst others, cellular devices;
• Ensuring night and day patrol is intensified in the correctional Centres; &
• Ensuring that all posts including tower posts are manned and ESTs are placed at strategic posts.

Total number of Correctional Officials that were found to have been involved in such cases is as follows:

Region	Number of officials were caught smuggling cell phones as reported by Regions	Total number of unauthorised cell phone cases reported to SAPS
KwaZulu-Natal	01	0
Eastern Cape	0	0
Western Cape	02	02
Free State Northern Cape	0	0
Limpopo Mpumalanga North West	0	0
Gauteng	02	02
National Total	05	04

Actions that have been taken against the specified Correctional Officials are as follows:

Region	Disciplinary steps taken
KwaZulu-Natal	One (01) official dismissed
Western Cape	Two (02) officials - Investigation in progress
Gauteng	One (01) official resigned pending the disciplinary hearing. Disciplinary hearing of one (01) official still pending.

END.

Reply:

Note: The Hon member referred to newly functional correctional facilities, without stipulating or providing an explanation regarding the criteria or classification of the term “newly functional”. This response provides a holistic numerical overview related to all correctional facilities.

a) The total number of functional correctional facilities are as follows:

1. Public - 234
2. Private - one (01)

b) The total number of correctional facilities under construction in the current financial year in each province are as follows:

Gauteng Province – one (1)

Western Cape Province – nil (0)

Eastern Cape Province – one (1)

KwaZulu Natal Province – one (1)

Limpopo Province – nil (0)

North West Province – two (2)

Mpumalanga Province – nil (0)

Freestate Province – one (1)

Northern Cape Province – nil (0)

END.

Reply:

1. The disciplinary hearing against the three DCS Senior Managers, who were charged in the same hearing, have been finalised and awaiting the findings by the chairperson (Senior Counsel) appointed by the state attorney. The chairperson in a procedural notice indicated that the findings would be provided by latest mid-November 2023.

2. It should be noted that the officials who are of the Senior Management Service (SMS) category in the Public Service are suspended in terms of chapter 07 of the SMS handbook with full pay.

END.

Reply:

The Master’s Offices deals with not only deceased estates, but also bankruptcy matters, registration of trusts, curatorships as well as the Guardian’s Fund.

The Masters have been experiencing challenges with regards to appointment in deceased estates and trusts, as well as payment of Guardian’s Fund claims.

The Master’s Offices are not dysfunctional and though some offices are struggling more than others.

The challenges experienced by the Master includes, but are not limited to, the following:

i) Challenges in obtaining files from off-site storage

The Master’s Offices in Pretoria and Pietermaritzburg have been historically making use of offsite-storage service providers for trust files as they do not have enough space to store their files. The previous contract expired during March 2023 and the Department of Justice entered into a contract with a new Service Provider. The new service provider experienced challenges with the handover from the previous service provider and further to that, the Department decided that the Master Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town should also now make use of the service of the new service provider as digitization forms part of the contract. Old deceased estate files have also been included in this project now, as there are no electronic copies of these files available currently.

However, due to the challenges, the service provider experienced in the handover as well as the state of the files received from the previous service provider, they were unable to, to date scan all files in their possession.

In the light of this offices were unable to deal with correspondence received in most of those files, as they are unable to view / access the files.

This contract is managed by the Deputy Information Officer’s office and not by the Masters.

A meeting was held between all relevant parties to discuss a solution for the delay and fast tracking providing of files to the Masters Offices.

Task teams have been created for each province and will be liaising directly with the service provider to streamline and unblock challenges experienced by the service provider and the Master.

ii) Load shedding

The three sections which are struggling are all dependent on system access and hence load shedding has a paralyzing effect on the functions of these sections. This is however not affecting all offices as there are some which are situated in areas which do not get load shedding and /or have generators.

iii) System downtime

The three sections which are struggling are all dependent on system access and hence any system downtime, bugs and lags have a paralyzing effect on the functions of these sections.

Integration links with external service providers such as Department of Home Affairs also plays a pivotal role in the service delivery in these sections and downtime on their side is also hampering the performance of the Master.

Regular meetings are taking place between the Branch and the ICT Branch of the Department, as well as with DHA and other stakeholders in order to address these challenges.

iv) Vacancies and budget cuts

The Branch budget has been cut and a moratorium has been placed on the filling of any vacant posts and any post which becomes vacant subsequently, however, the Branch has been requested to identify critical post which will be considered for filling, should funds be available.

v) Backlogs

Due to the above issues the Masters have a revolving backlog challenge which will only be contained once the above challenges have been addressed and resolved.

Performance in the Branch is measured against targets set in terms of the Masters’ Annual Performance Plan which has been determined taking into account the challenges experienced in the Masters’ environment.

In the light of this, targets has been set at around 70% of matters done within the given timeframe, which allows for a 30% deviation on this to make provision for matters effected by the challenges listed above. It is envisaged that these targets and performance will increase as and when the above challenges have been addressed.

However, in a bid to improve service delivery, the Master’ Branch together with the ICT Branch, have been developing an Online Deceased Estates Solution to address challenges experienced by our clients when reporting an estate with the Master.

The Online Deceased Estate System seeks to enable South African citizens to submit their deceased estate applications online, giving the user the ability to register an estate from the comfort of their home or office without the need physically to visit any Master’s Office or Service Point of the Master. This system was launched into live production on 10 October 2023 in five Master’s Offices (Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, Pretoria and Thohoyandou).

Together with this Online System, a QR-coded appointment letter has been developed. This appointment letter is being sent electronically to the applicant instantly, upon approval of the appointment by the Assistant Master. The client then merely downloads the appointment letter, which can now be verified by scanning the QR-code, and then proceed with the administration of the estate. This alleviates the challenges experienced with collecting of original appointment letters at the Master’s Office, delays caused by postal services not being available, relevant institutions causing delays due to first awaiting verifications of appointments letters from the Master and the need for requesting copies from the Master in this regard. QR-coded appointment letters have already been implemented with great success in three Master’s Offices (Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town) and the rest of the country is to follow suit as soon as possible.

Though the Master’s Offices are hard hit by challenges such as loadshedding, struggling to obtain files from off-site facilities, understaffing, budget cuts and constant network challenges, we are forever striving to implement solutions to better service delivery and ease the frustrations of not only the citizens, but also the employees of the Branch, who are working in a challenging environment.

Furthermore, the Department has set up a high-level Task-Team which will be zooming in on the issues in which the Masters offices are experiencing challenges and addressing them as part of a project action plan.

Reply:

The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has a functional interdepartmental partnerships with various Departments to ensure the fulfilment of its objects and mandate.

The DCS has an existing partnership with Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI), the partnership commenced on 10 March 2021 and it will end on 09 March 2024. The aim of the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) is to guide and manage the relationship between DCS and DPWI in order achieve the following:

• DCS to manufacture and supply furniture to DPWI as per their requirements.
• DCS to repair broken office and VIPs residential furniture.

In addition, the Department also has a functional interdepartmental partnership with the Agriculture Research Council (ARC). The partnership commenced on 21 September 2022, and it will end on 20 September 2025. The aim of the Service Level Agreement (SLA) is to guide and manage the relationship between the ARC and DCS to achieve the following:

• Promote a coherent and effective system on provision of agriculture related services, promote sharing of information, i.e. policies, procedures and technical information;
• Assist and support each other in respect of the agreed services between the parties and agreement; and
• Inform each other of and consult each other on matters of common interest.

Furthermore, the Implementation Protocol Agreement for the Provision of Educational Support and Services for Self-Sufficiency and Sustainability was entered into with the Department of Basic Education (DBE) for formal Education matters (Educator development, assistance with Learner Teacher Support Material, manufacture, maintenance, refurbishment and supply furniture of schools; establishment of school gardens; access to Grade 12 end of year results datasets of all registered schools.

The DCS has entered into the Implementation Protocol Agreement with the D Department of Higher Education and Training (DHET) on educator development on administration of examinations policy and curriculum matters on ABET.

DCS also signed interdepartmental partnership agreements with the following Stakeholders in the fulfilment of the rehabilitation objectives and mandate:

• DHET to support the provisioning of TVET College programmes and AET programmes;
• The National Skills Fund (NSF) for the provisioning of accredited skills training programmes and learnerships to offenders;
• SASSETA, Services SETA and MERSETA for the provisioning of skills training, accreditation of offender workplaces and Training Centres

Moreover, DCS also is a beneficiary of the Global Fund Grant (GFG) through the National Department of Health for COVID-19 Response Mechanism 2021 (C19RM 2.0) which commenced on 01 July 2021 – 31 December 2023. The funds are managed by National Department of Health and are specifically earmarked for compensation of the appointed Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) Coordinators and Surveillance Officers.

The Department of Correctional Services was awarded Global Funds through the South African National AIDS Council for capacity building of officials on Human Rights matters specifically relating to People Living with HIV, TB including Key and Vulnerable Populations (including inmates). Funding is awarded for the period 01 April 2022 – 31 March 2025. The funds are managed by the South African National AIDS Council and no funds have been provided to the Department of Correctional Services directly.

END.

Reply:

This question involves sensitive information that, in the interests of protecting the integrity and confidentiality of the parties in question, the NPA is willing to make available to Ms Louw’s legal representatives to disclose further (as he or she deems fit). Where this is the case, it has been expressly indicated. With the above in mind, below are the replies to the questions:

1. AD QUESTION 1(a):

• 1.1 On 07 April 2022 the police presented the Control Prosecutor with one case docket of Primrose CAS 25/04/2022. Having perused the docket content, the Control Prosecutor was of the view that the said docket did not contain sufficient evidence to constitute enrolment as there were no reasonable prospects of a successful prosecution. The NPA is willing to provide the reasons for this decision to Ms Louw’s legal representatives.
• 1.2 The Control Prosecutor requested further investigations.The investigating officer was instructed to re-submit the docket for a final decision as soon as the investigation queries were attended to.
• 1.3 On 07 April 2022, the police provided the Control Prosecutor with Primrose CAS 25/04/2022. The Control Prosecutor was unaware that there was also a counter charge under Primrose CAS 43/04/2022.

AD QUESTION 1(b):

• 1.5 On 12 April 2022, the police presented the prosecution with one case docket of Primrose CAS 43/04/2022 (counter charge). This matter was attended to by the Acting Control Prosecutor and not the Control Prosecutor who dealt with the docket of Primrose CAS 25/04/2022.
• 1.6 The Acting Control Prosecutor, unaware of the other docket, perused CAS 43/04/2022, and decided that there were sufficient grounds to prosecute. The matter was enrolled in the normal course of events and proceeded to trial on 07 November 2022.

2. AD QUESTION 2:

• 2.1 The legal representative of Ms Louw brought the matter to the attention of the Senior Public Prosecutor (SPP) on 02 December 2022.
• 2.2 The legal representative alleged that the South African Police Service tampered with police case docket of Primrose CAS 25/04/2022.
• 2.3 The SPP verbally advised the legal representative to report this allegation to the relevant Commander of the Criminal Investigation Unit.
• 2.4 The SPP had no personal knowledge of any of the two criminal cases prior to 02 December 2022.
• 2.5 The SPP took immediate steps and called for the dockets from the police. The SPP promptly attended to the matter as soon as the case dockets were received.

AD QUESTION 3(a):

3.1 The trial in the matter of Primrose CAS 25/04/2022 commenced on 07 November 2022.

3.2 The legal representative of Ms Louw brought the matter to the attention of the SPP only on 02 December 2022.

3.3 The SPP was not aware of the two cases or a material dispute of fact prior to 02 December 2022.

AD QUESTION 3(b):

3.4 The SPP canvassed the possibility of Formal Mediation with the legal representative of Ms Louw based on the facts at the prosecution’s disposal at that time.

3.5 Mediation forms part of the Criminal Justice System as an Alternative Dispute Resolution Mechanism in terms of the Policy Manual of the National Prosecuting Authority.

4. AD QUESTION 4:

The SPP communicated with the legal representative of Ms Louw on a regular basis spanning the period December 2022 to August 2023. The NPA is willing to make available the details of dates and forms of communication to Ms Louw’s legal representative.

5. AD QUESTION 5:

5.1 See paragraphs 1 – 4 supra.

Reply:

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) does not record cases rejected due to ‘inadequate investigation”. Where the SA Police Service submit case dockets to the NPA for decision where the investigations are “inadequate” the NPA provides the Police with directions for further investigation and the case dockets are returned to the Police.

In the lower courts, all Police case dockets presented to prosecutors for decision are considered and when further investigation is required, such directions as to the further investigation is provided to the investigating officer. In more complex cases dealt with by the Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit, Organised Crime Component or the Serious Complex Tax Unit a PGI (Prosecutor Guided Investigation) approach is adopted earlier in the process.

The investigation is also monitored and the responsibility of the management within the South African Police Service and questions regarding the quality of investigations may be directed to the SAPS.

 

Reply:

A similar request was received by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in 2022 and which response is attached hereto. Since the NPA were not keeping the data, engagements and the feasibility of obtaining the important information has been undertaken.

The NPA has arranged with the South African Police Service (SAPS) in the interim to share information with the NPA from SAPS in order to interrogate and monitor child-specific cases. The Crime Registrar of the South African Police Service keeps record of the relevant information. To have access to the information held by the South African Police Services, a formal request must be submitted to the National Commissioner of SAPS.

As Indicated previously, the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) prioritises all Gender-Based Violence and Femicide (GBVF) matters and more especially where the victims are children. The Sexual Offences and Community Affairs (SOCA) Unit within the NPA is tasked with, inter alia, ensuring increased access to justice for victims of GBV as well as optimal management of these matters in a victim responsive manner, in line with the Strategic Plan of the NPA.

This is done by providing pre-trial and court preparation services, often in collaboration with Civil Society Organisations (CSO), at its sixty-three (63) Thuthuzela Care Centres (TCCs) across the country. These one-stop centres provide a variety of essential psycho-social, medical, and legal services thus creating a safe space for child victims to report offences against them and receive services that are empowering them to transform into survivors.

Specialised training is also provided to prosecutors in dealing with child victims and their testimonies. Whilst prosecutors in court are prioritising these matters, data is not kept for offences committed against children specifically. Prosecutors also work closely the investigating officers of these cases and guide the investigations as and when required to do so.

When prosecutors address the court on extenuating or aggravating circumstances, the fact that a child may have been the victim of the crime is one of the various aspects highlighted when the court is addressed before the passing of sentence.

Reply:

It should be noted that Department of Correctional Services (DCS) is demarcated into Six Regions and not aligned to the provincial dispensation.

a) Total number of inmates in correctional facilities in each region as on 19 October 2023:

Region	Unsentenced Inmates	Sentenced Offenders	Total Inmates
Eastern Cape	6 889	13 944	20 833
Free State & Northern Cape	6 408	14 094	20 502
Gauteng	15 540	20 485	36 025
KwaZulu-Natal	7 078	16 203	23 281
Limpopo Mpumalanga & North West	5 740	15 506	21 246
Western Cape	12 875	13 624	26 499
TOTAL	54 530	93 856	148 386

(b)(i) Number of beds in correctional facilities as on 19 October 2023:

Region	Bedspace
Eastern Cape	12 427
Free State & Northern Cape	18 462
Gauteng	23 247
KwaZulu-Natal	17 778
Limpopo Mpumalanga & North West	14 789
Western Cape	17 855
TOTAL	104 558

(b)(ii) The information is provided in part (a) and (b)(i) as requested.

END

Reply:

1.The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ &CD) does not keep separate expenditure trends of the illegal immigrants appearing in our courts. The DoJ&CD does keep Expenditure trends of Foreign Nationals appearing in our courts since we supply and pay for Foreign Interpreter Language Services for the foreign national accused persons. 

2. The department does not keep specific statistics on illegal immigrants appearing in our courts The illegal immigrants when arrested by SAPS are communicated to Department of Home Affairs. The Department of Home Affairs then facilitate the court appearance and the deportation plans. 

Reply:

(a) A municipality is empowered to establish a municipal police service in terms of Chapter 12 of the SAPS Act.

(b) The expression law enforcement officer must be interpreted in the confines of section 334 of the CPA and other applicable legislation, for instance, the SAPS Act, the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, and the National Road Traffic Act, 1996 (Act No. 93 of 1996) (the applicable legislation).

(c) In terms of the applicable legislation a municipality cannot establish a criminal investigation unit that is not a municipal police service as contemplated in Chapter 12 of the SAPS Act, and the Notice cannot confer powers on a municipality to establish such a criminal investigation unit.

(d) In terms of the interpretation in paragraph (b), the expression means—

(i) a member of a municipal police service, established as a municipal police service in terms of Chapter 12 of the SAPS Act; and

(ii) a traffic officer, reserve traffic officer, traffic warden and reserve traffic warden contemplated in the NRT Act, appointed by a municipality.

(e) A member of a municipal criminal investigation unit, which has not been established as a municipal police service in terms of Chapter 12 of the SAPS Act, cannot for purposes of the Notice be regarded as a peace officer.

(f) Section 334(2)(a) of the CPA provides that a person who is a peace officer is only authorised to exercise the power of a peace officer if he or she is in possession of a certificate of appointment issued by his or her employer. The Minister has in terms of the Notice, in terms of section 334(3)(a) of the CPA, prescribed that a certificate of appointment referred to in section 334(2)(a) of the CPA can only be issued if the employer of a "law enforcement officer appointed by municipality" has been furnished with a certificate of competency by the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service in which it is stated that such a "law enforcement officer appointed by municipality" is competent to exercise the powers conferred upon a peace officer in terms of the Notice.

I do not intend to withdraw the Notice as issued by the then Minister of Justice.

Reply:

(1)(2). The breakdown detail for Magistrates is as follows:

1(A) MAGISTRATES-
(i)Year.	(aa) charged.	(bb) convicted.	(2) (a) what charges.	(b) Numbers of each specific charge.
2018	1	1	Crimen injuria.	1 Charge.
	1	Passed Away	Corruption.	1 Charge
	1	Acquitted	Exceeding the Speed Limit.	1 Charge.
2019	1	Pending	Corruption.	1 Charge.
2020	1	Pending	Driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.	1 Charge.
2021	1	Withdrawn.	Theft.	1 Charge.
	1	Resigned.	Driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol.	1 Charge.
(ii) 01 April 2023	1	Withdrawn.	Assault.	1 Charge.
	1	Pending.	Defeating the ends of justice.	1 Charge.

.

(1)(2) The total number of prosecutors criminally charged and convicted in the past five financial years and the current year, since 01 April 2023, is 41. The breakdown detail, which includes number of counts / charges where relevant, is as follows:

PROSECUTORS
Charges	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23	2023/24	Total
Defeating the ends of justice			1	1	1		3
Reckless and negligent driving			1 (Plus defeating ends of justice)				1
Driving under influence	2 (1:C & 1:A)			1			3
Fraud	1	1 (1: C)		1	2 (1 includes money laundering,S5 & S6 POCA)		5
Corruption	1	4 (1:C)	2	4 (2:C)	2	2 (1:A)	15
Rape / SO				1	1	2 1 (x2 counts)	4
Domestic Violence					1	1	2
Stock Theft						1	1
Unlawful possession of firearm and discharge						1	1
Theft			1 convicted	1			2
Assault				1 (GLD) - mediated			1
Malicious injury to property				1 (GLD) Includes Assault - mediated			1
Bribery	1	1					2
Total	41

Legend: C = Convicted; A = Acquitted; M = Mediated

Reply:

(a) There is currently no database that is shared among the Ministers. The National Integrated Strategy to Combat Wildlife Trafficking (NISCWT) recently adopted by Cabinet requires law enforcement agencies to nationally consolidate all forms of wildlife compliance and enforcement efforts, which would enhance the sharing of the information, cases enrolled and identification of linkages, networks, and associations.

Various stakeholder forums have been established between the NPA, DFFE, SAPS and DPCI inter alia, addressing the sharing of information and identification of linkages and association between persons and networks, to institute organised crime prosecutions and to centralise cases, where an association or linkages between the accused persons have been identified.

With respect to information about people who have been arrested, law enforcement agencies are unable to share information relating to cases under investigation that link perpetrators to other persons or networks. The identification of networks and persons involved in these offences are intelligence-based. This information can only be shared between the law enforcement agencies with an investigative mandate, viz. DFFE, SAPS and the DPCI.

Working together, law enforcement agencies managed to achieve a conviction rate of 99% in relation to the cases involving rhino poaching over the five (5) year period. This is significant considering the challenges associated with identifying and arresting perpetrators of these heinous crimes.

(b) With respect to (i) trial and custody status; (ii) convictions of rhino poachers, the NPA manually monitors the progress on rhino related cases. The table below represents rhino poaching cases that were manually collated for the past five years:

YEAR	NUMBER OF FINALISED CASES	NUMBER OF CONVICTIONS	NUMBER OF ACQUITTALS	NUMBER OF PERSONS CONVICTED
2019-20	41	41	0	59
2020-21	42	40	2	63
2021-22	46	46	0	72
2022-23	65	65	0	94
2023-24	21	21	0	28
TOTAL	215	213	2	316

With respect to (iii) prison status and (iv) associates of each person, the NPA can report that in the first six months of this financial year (2023-24), and through the efforts of the relevant law enforcement agencies and the NPA, 28 offenders were convicted. The majority of sentences were custodial.

END

Reply:

No, the officials in Kutuma- Sinthumule Correctional Centre are not selling food to inmates.

The allegations were found to be baseless as inmates received their daily ration as prescribed by the contract.

The kitchen in Kutuma-Sinthumule Correctional Centre (KSCC) provides daily rations to inmates as prescribed by the contract. Over and above what the kitchen provides on a daily basis, the kitchen also avails special meals on weekends and public holidays to inmates who can afford to buy meals. The proceeds of the sales thereof are channelled in sponsoring annual sports events for inmates.

END

REPLY:

(a) There is currently no database that is shared among the Ministers. The National Integrated Strategy to Combat Wildlife Trafficking (NISCWT) recently adopted by Cabinet requires law enforcement agencies to nationally consolidate all forms of wildlife compliance and enforcement efforts, which would enhance the sharing of the information, cases enrolled and identification of linkages, networks, and associations.

Various stakeholder forums have been established between the NPA, DFFE, SAPS and DPCI inter alia, addressing the sharing of information and identification of linkages and association between persons and networks, to institute organised crime prosecutions and to centralise cases, where an association or linkages between the accused persons have been identified.

With respect to information about people who have been arrested, law enforcement agencies are unable to share information relating to cases under investigation that link perpetrators to other persons or networks. The identification of networks and persons involved in these offences are intelligence-based. This information can only be shared between the law enforcement agencies with an investigative mandate, viz. DFFE, SAPS and the DPCI.

Working together, law enforcement agencies managed to achieve a conviction rate of 99% in relation to the cases involving rhino poaching over the five (5) year period. This is significant considering the challenges associated with identifying and arresting perpetrators of these heinous crimes.

(b) With respect to (i) trial and custody status; (ii) convictions of rhino poachers, the NPA manually monitors the progress on rhino related cases. The table below represents rhino poaching cases that were manually collated for the past five years:

YEAR	NUMBER OF FINALISED CASES	NUMBER OF CONVICTIONS	NUMBER OF ACQUITTALS	NUMBER OF PERSONS CONVICTED
2019-20	41	41	0	59
2020-21	42	40	2	63
2021-22	46	46	0	72
2022-23	65	65	0	94
2023-24	21	21	0	28
TOTAL	215	213	2	316

With respect to (iii) prison status and (iv) associates of each person, the NPA can report that in the first six months of this financial year (2023-24), and through the efforts of the relevant law enforcement agencies and the NPA, 28 offenders were convicted. The majority of sentences were custodial.

END

Reply:

The Master’s Offices deals with not only deceased estates, but also bankruptcy matters, registration of Tests, Curatorships as well as the Guardian’s Fund.

Performance on all of the above is measured against targets set in terms of the Masters’ Annual Performance Plan.

The statement that all the Master’s Offices are dysfunctional and have ceased to function is wide as there are no specifics provided in order for the Master to respond to same.

However, in a bid to improve service delivery, the Master’ Branch together with the ICT Branch, have been developing an Online Deceased Estates Solution to address challenges experienced by our clients when reporting an estate with the Master.

The Online Deceased Estate System seeks to enable South African citizens to submit their deceased estate applications online, giving the user the ability to register an estate from the comfort of their home or office without the need physically to visit any Master’s Office or Service Point of the Master. This system was already successfully piloted in 3 Master’s Offices (Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town) and it is envisaged that it will be launched into live production during October 2023 in five Master’s Offices (Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town, Pretoria and Thohoyandou).

Together with this Online System, a QR-coded appointment letter has been developed. This appointment letter is being sent electronically to the applicant instantly, upon approval of the appointment by the Assistant Master. The client then merely downloads the appointment letter, which can now be verified by scanning the QR-code, and then proceed with the administration of the estate. This alleviates the challenges experienced with collecting of original appointment letters at the Master’s Office, delays caused by postal services not being available, relevant institutions causing delays due to first awaiting verifications of appointments letters from the Master and the need for requesting copies from the Master in this regard. QR-coded appointment letters have already been implemented with great success in three Master’s Offices (Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town) and the rest of the country is to follow suit as soon as possible.

Though the Master’s Offices are hard hit by challenges such as loadshedding, struggling to obtain files from off-site facilities, understaffing, budget cuts and constant network challenges, we are forever striving to implement solutions to better service delivery and ease the frustrations of not only the citizens, but also the employees of the Branch, who are working in a challenging environment.

Reply:

a) Attached is the mitigating operational plan of the court see Annexure (A).

b) The roof members – trusses, rafters, brandering etc. had decayed and this led to the collapse of the roof. The roof was not part of the original contractor’s scope of work for the repairs onsite.

The collapsed roof specification is now part of the scope of work which will be executed through a variation order. The variation order has since been approved on the 08 September 2023 by the DPWI and the contractor is currently on site undertaking remedial repairs.

REPLY:

OBJECTIVE	ACTIVITIES	TARGET DATE	PROGRESS (Daily)
Interim Court sittings arrangements	Daily court sittings	ongoing	There are Daily Court sitting Court clerks are preparing the court rolls daily, and supplied to the Information desk, And Prosecutors. 01. Town Hall (JB Marks) 2 halls converted to 2 court rooms :District and Regional Court sitting no in-custody inmates ) 02. Ikageng Court : Criminal District and Family, Civil 03. Ventersdorp : Proceeds with normal Periodical Court & Regional court 2 sitting @ Ventersdorp 04. Children’s Court and adjacent judicial boardroom : Children’s Court Domestic Violence and harassment : Maintenance (Family Court and Civil)   05. High Court (Potchefstroom) : District Criminal Court (Prisoners awaiting trial/ custody inmates) :Regional Criminal Court (Prisoners awaiting trial Custody inmates) : Bail applications(Formal and Informal) : First appearances and new cases : Prioritised cases in custody awaiting trials JB Marks Traffic Court- Traffic cases held at the court on Tuesday and Friday
Virtual setup for postponements			On the 6th September 2023 Meeting was held with Correctional Services for the possibility to have virtual court sitting (MS Teams) for awaiting trial detainees. Office space has been provided; Matter tabled to the management meeting, support staff and DEEC meeting. All parties gave their blessings Logistics needed identified; Laptop- to Utilise current ACM laptop and data application made for a pool phone
Court Roll	Outstanding Criminal roll as at 31 August 2023	On going	District Court 21.15% backlog Court Current court roll Backlog A 155 29 B 183 40 E 168 39 Ikageng 14 2 Regional Court 46.8 backlog Court Current court roll Backlog RC1 57 22 RC2 68 23 RC3 43 6 RC Ventersdorp 52 35

OBJECTIVE	ACTIVITIES	TARGET DATE	PROGRESS (Daily)
Facilities management:	Movement of staff from the offices with mould Occupation of the available space on the 2nd floor Office space occupied by DOJ in the building Increase scope of work within the existing project - variation order approval	Completed Completed On going On going	7 Officials were moved from the ground floor to the 2nd floor. 3 Regional Magistrates,3 district court Magistrates, 7 prosecutors, intermediary and ACM including support staff moved to the 2nd floor( renovated area) Part of ground floor(not yet renovated) 1st floor( not yet renovated) 2nd floor( renovated)2 court rooms created at the Town Hall The variation order was approved by the DPWI variation order committee on 08 September 2023. The construction of the roof commenced on the 11 September 2023. The contractor is currently busy removing the damaged roof and has ordered the new roof trusses to re-roof the building as of 15 September 2023

Reply:

1. (a) The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) is not able to dispose of any public records in its custody, be it records of deceased members or deceased offenders due to the moratorium on the destruction of records imposed by Cabinet as per Circular 02 of 1998 due to non-completion of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

As a result, files and records are inundating DCS offices.

On numerous occasions, DCS has written to the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture (DSAC) requesting them to approach Cabinet to consider partial upliftment of the moratorium on the destruction of records that are not related to the TRC and feedback is awaited in this regard.

As at, 18 September 2023, 50 boxes have been filled with inactive files and stored in one of the offices with the intention of moving them to the Regional Office.

As at, 19 September 2023, boxes of inactive files have been moved to appropriate archive facilities at the Regional Office, the active files will remain at the Community Corrections office in Stellenbosch.

The remainder of the inactive files will be packed in boxes and moved to the Regional office with the due date of 30 September 2023, for the project to be completed.

(b) The Minor renovations of the building listed below are underway using own resources. However, it must be indicated that major renovations must be done by the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure:

1. Cleaning all ceilings
2. Prepare internal walls, doors and doorframes.
3. Prepare wooden floors and tiled floors
4. Prepare and varnish all wooden window frames
5. Paint internal walls, doors and doorframes
6. Repair Electrical and DB board
7. Repair Plumbing
8. Repair broken door handles and locks
9. Replace broken window panes and restore old putty
10. Prepare walls and external window frames
11. Repair broken tar floors
12. Clean court house wall
13. Steel frames
14. Kitchen cupboard
15. Steel cabinet for gas
16. Shift all IT cabling into trunking
17. Replacement of Carport nets
18. Removing of stored files

DPWI RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Replace gutters and facial boards
2. Replace broken asbestos roof sheets
3. Repair roof leaks

The target date for the completion of all minor renovations by DCS is
01 December 2023.

2. (a) Somerset Community Corrections office serves 07 Areas.

Namely: Macassar, Somerset West, Lwandle / Nomzamo, Strand, Gordons Bay, Sir Lowry’s Pass and Faure Farms.

(b) The current caseload is 183 with 25 parolees reporting to the office on a weekly basis for consultations and interventions.

3. (a) There are no parolees registered in the system of Community Corrections without confirmed addresses. Confirmation of address is a pre-requisite for admission.

(b) Regular monitoring and Monthly Special Monitoring:

Special monitoring is to check on absconders and also to ensure that parolees comply with their conditions;

• Involve relevant stakeholders such as South African Police Service (SAPS), Community Policing Forums (CPFs), Neighbourhood Watch members and Private Security with Special Monitoring as part of stakeholder’s engagement and visibility in the communities;
• Arrange employment where possible;
• Parolees in programmes by stakeholders (Badisa, Help Me Network and Helderberg Cares) e.g. Parenting, Drug Addiction Programmes etc;
• Hope Prison Ministry (Restorative Justice Awareness Program);
• Social work programmes presented are Life Skills, Anger Management, Sexual Offenders Treatment Program, Group work and Individual interviews; and

These activities are aimed at ensuring that reintegration into the communities becomes successful.

 

END.

Reply:

Following the storm that affected the Qalakabusha Management Area on the
03 April 2023, the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) visited the site on 04 April 2023, to prepare an assessment report on the damages that occurred. The DPWI inspection was limited to the crafting of a damage report and indicated that a follow-up inspection will be conducted to provide a detailed report and specification.

Qalakabusha and Empangeni Medium Correctional Centres were affected, with some parts of the property left torn down, including the security fence, office accommodation, in-mate housing units and staff accommodation.

At the time of submission of this response the DPWI had not submitted the detailed specification and condition assessment for the required repair and renovation of the damaged Correctional Centres, which prompted the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) to implement urgent repair and renovations, considering that the roof structure suffered major damages and the perimeter fence was completely compromised, posing a security risk.

Following several inspections and evaluations by DCS in-house build environment professionals’ comprehensive specifications were compiled and subsequently prospective contractors were also briefed during the month of April 2023 for the repair and refurbishment of the perimeter fence, area lights and roof structures.

The following project activities have either been achieve or are on schedule for completion:

• Replacement of the 1620-meter perimeter fence at Qalakabusha was completed;
• Refurbishment of the damaged roof structure was partially completed, by prioritising the inmate housing units;
• Replacement of damaged area lights (street lights) is in progress and under construction, which is scheduled for completion by 30 October 2023; and
• Replacement of the 30-meter perimeter fence at Empangeni is in progress and under construction, which is scheduled for completion by 30 October 2023.

The DCS is currently compiling specifications for the refurbishment of the entire damaged roof structure, which is scheduled to be completed by 30 March 2024.

END.

Reply:

a) The Special Investigating Unit submitted a motivation to amend the scope of Proclamation R.84 of 2022 to the Department of Justice and Correctional Services on 07 July 2023. The Department of Justice and Correctional Services is processing the motivation.

b) The motivation is in relation to allegations of maladministration in the affairs of Fort Hare University in the awarding of degrees.

END.

Reply:

a) There are two (02) correctional centres that are currently under construction, namely Parys Correctional Centre in the Free State and Northern Cape Region and Burgersdorp Correctional Centre in the Eastern Cape Region.

b) The planned completion date for the construction of Parys Correctional Centre is Quarter 4 of 2024/2025 financial year, and Burgersdorp Correctional Centre is planned to be completed by Quarter 4 of 2025/ 2026 financial year.

c) Parys Correctional Centre currently has bed spaces of 74, additional 176 bed spaces will be achieved, yielding a total of 250 beds. Burgersdorp Correctional Centre currently has 197 bed spaces, an additional 322 bed spaces will be achieved, yielding a total of 519 bed spaces.

END.

Reply:

(1)(a) A total of 3 021 offenders were transferred to different centres as per the below table

Receiving region	Receiving management area	Receiving correctional centre	Total offenders transferred
Limpopo, Mpumalanga & North West	Barberton	Barberton Medium A	386
		Nelspruit	100
	Bethal	Standerton	120
	Polokwane	Modimolle	20
		Polokwane	68
	Rooigrond	Medium A	363
	Rustenburg	Losperfontein	162
		Mogwase	15
		Rustenburg Medium A	96
	Thohoyandou	Makhado	63
		Thohoyandou Medium A	299
	Witbank	Witbank Medium A	408
Free State & Northern Cape	Groenpunt	Groenpunt	351
Gauteng	Baviaanspoort	Baviaanspoort	30
Gauteng	Kgosi Mamapuru II	C-Max	15
	Zonderwater	Zonderwater	49
	Leeuwkop	Leeuwkop	16
	Johannesburg	Johannesburg	90
Western Cape	Drakenstein	Drakenstein	20
	Helderstroom	Helderstroom	100
	Brandvlei	Brandvlei	250
TOTAL	3 021

(1)(b) DCS issued an observation notice against the Management of South African Custodial Management (SACM) with regards to improper handling of grievances as per the Concession Contract.

(1)(c) The Management of SACM has written a report to DCS with a number of grievances that they claim to have addressed which are inclusive to the following:

• Food issue;
• Dysfunctional health care system;
• Lack of transfers;
• Assault and torture;
• Ethnic language or group of people;
• Sodomy; &
• DCS Controller and Prison Director.

2. The Department endeavours to detain inmates in proximity of their areas of origin however due to overcrowding across the DCS it is not always possible to do so and it is therefore applied based on availability of bed spaces in any given facility.

END.

Reply:

The steps taken are in line with the Concession Agreement contract between Department and SACM.

The Contracting parties are regulated by means of the signed Agreement and Schedule D Goal 7 Part 2 (B) of this Agreement deals primarily with the Standard of Requirements that needs to be complied with by the Centre.

According to the Clause of the signed Agreement the Standard Requirements are satisfied by compliance in the following categories.

• Security
• Cell Environment
• Essential Services
• Minimum staffing Level

If any of the above categories are not met, then the bed(s) will be deemed unavailable and the service provider will not be paid.

END.

Reply:

(1)(a) The total number of offenders who applied for medical parole in the past three years is 214.

(1)(b)(i) The total number of offenders who applied for medical parole and recommended for medical parole by the Medical Parole Advisory Board in the past three financial years is 100.

(1)(b)(ii) The total number of offenders who applied for medical parole and not recommended by the Medical Parole Advisory Board in the past three financial years is 91.

It should be noted that a total of fifteen (15) offenders passed on (before the medical parole application process could be finalised), six (06) for review and two (02) were released on normal parole. The above-mentioned information is summarized as follows:

FINANCIAL YEAR	NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS	RECOMMENDED APPLICATIONS	APPLICATIONS NOT RECOMMENDED	NUMBER DIED	NUMBER FOR REVIEW	NUMBER RELEASED ON NORMAL PAROLE
2020/21	65	30	31	03	0	01
2021/22	60	24	29	06	0	01
2022/23	89	46	31	06	06	0
TOTAL	214	100	91	15	06	02

2)(a) The total number of offenders who were denied medical parole and have since passed on is as follows:

Period	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23
Total	13	08	04

(2)(b) The total number of offenders who were granted parole and have since passed on is as follows:

REGION	2020/21	2021/2022	2022/2023
EC	149	164	279
FSNC	99	213	138
GP	161	155	210
LMN	382	225	234
KZN	238	197	257
WC	92	150	218
TOTAL	1 121	1 104	1 336

END.

Reply:

(a) A total amount of R17 782 132,59

EFT	AMOUNT
109379	R430 424.37
109380	R761 207.41
109381	R4 912 046.36
109382	R572 419.55
109383	R4 983 504.36
109384	R3 140 524.81
109385	R2 982 005.73
Total	R17 782 132.59

(b) Unauthorized payments went through the bank after hours. Upon discovery of this incident, Internal Forensic Investigation was conducted, and the report identified 4 officials suspected of having aided the commission of this fraud incident.

(c) The bank account profile which was linked to all the Guardian’s Fund Offices was suspended, a new profile was created, and in the interim the National Office is making payments on behalf of the Guardian’s Fund Offices until a permanent solution is sought.

END

Reply:

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development did not incur costs of printing the Annual Report in the past three financial years. However, details regarding the printing of Annual Reports by the public entities are provided in the tables below.

Legal Aid South Africa
FINANCIAL YEAR	No. PRINTED	TOTAL AMOUNT PAID	SERVICE PROVIDER
2020/2021	120	R110,214.85	Creativity Graphic Design & Marketing (PTY) LTD
2021/2022	120	R122,840.70	Shereno Printers CC
2022/2023	120	R189,708.84 (Still to be paid)	Lebone Litho Printers (Pty) Ltd

Table : Legal Aid South Africa

Special investigating Unit
FINANCIAL YEAR	No. PRINTED	TOTAL AMOUNT PAID	SERVICE PROVIDER
2020/2021	300	R195 295,84	Seriti Printing
2021/2022	147	R233 553,50	Msomi Africa
2022/2023	200	R263 837,60. (still to be paid)	Msomi Africa

Table : Special Investigating Unit

The Office of the Chief Justice; (a) (i) (ii); (aa); (bb); (cc) (b) (c) (i) and (ii) provides the following details:

OCJ Annual Report Financial Year	Total amount paid to the service provider/supplier for the proof reading and printing the OCJ annual report.	Number of OCJ annual report Copies Printed	Name of the Supplier responsible for printing the OCJ annual report/s
2020/21 FY	R113 502.98	150	Seriti Printing Digital
2021/22 FY	R129 600.00	200	Seriti Printing Digital
2022/23 FY	R127 581.00	150	Seriti Printing Digital

a) (i) (aa) The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) paid R130 422.76 for printed copies of the integrated Annual Reports for 2020/21.

a) (ii) (aa) Not applicable

a) (i) (bb) Department of Correctional Services paid R141 127. 35 for printed copies of the integrated Annual Reports for 2021/22.

a) (ii) (bb) Not applicable

a) (i) (cc) Department of Correctional Services has not paid printed copies of the Integrated Annual Reports for 2022/23.

a) (ii) (cc) Not applicable

b) The Annual Reports were printed by Shereno Printers. Department of Correctional Services has a five- year contract (01 October 2020 to 31 September 2025) with Shereno Printers for the design, layout and printing of the Annual Reports, Annual performance Plan and Strategic Plans.

c) (i) & (ii) Department of Correctional Services printed:

• 100 copies of the integrated Annual Report for the 2020/21 financial year.
• 250 copies of the Annual Report for 2021/22 financial year.

END

Reply:

a) 

Region	i) Quantum	ii) The number of persons affected
Bloemfontein	1 095 113	270
Cape town	980 803	81
Grahamstown	1 722 8912	155
Kimberly	241 659	28
Pietermaritzburg	6 202 007	66
Pretoria	15 393 866	99
Total	23 913 448	699

b) The National Office started processing payments on 13 June 2023 to date.

Reply:

	2021/2022	2022/23
(a) (i) total number of witnesses enrolled in the witness protection programme in the past two financial years	367	361
(ii) average duration of stay of witnesses on the programme	20 months	22 months
(b) cost per witness in each month	R 16 943.80	R 18 281.27

Reply:

a) Offender Christiaan Prinsloo was released on parole on 04 August 2020, and his sentence will expire on 20 June 2033.

b) The offender in question benefitted from the special remission of sentence granted by the President of the Republic of South Africa on 16 December 2019, which reduced his sentence with one (01) year. He then became eligible to be considered for parole as part of the Special Parole Dispensation and his placement on parole was approved by the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board (CSPB).

The following factors were inter alia taken into consideration when an offender was considered for possible placement on parole:

• the offender ‘s response to development and treatment programmes associated with rehabilitation;
• the existence and quality of support systems in the community;
• the probability of re-offending;
• the risk that the offender may pose to the community at large;
• the outcome of restorative justice processes and possible referral for mediation if it had not been done prior to the CSPB meeting; and
• the risk to the victim.

END

Reply:

Background: Lifestyle audits, according to DPSA guide on lifestyle audits, are a critical and legitimate management tool and forms part of a department’s system of risk management. Accordingly, heads of department are required, in terms of Regulation 22 of the Public Service Regulations of 2016 to analyse ethics and corruption risks as part of their department’s system of risk management.

The DPSA guide on lifestyle audits divided the lifestyle process in three phases that include lifestyle review by using the financial disclosure framework as a tool, then the second phase is to conduct investigations if the lifestyle review is indicating that the declared interests are not commensurate with the lifestyle of the particular designated employee, and lastly a full lifestyle audit is to be conducted if the investigation has found indications or suspicions of the designated employee living beyond their means.

a) In the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, the steps taken to ensure the audits are undertaken include the following:

(i) lifestyle reviews were done through the Financial Interests Disclosure Framework, as part of the lifestyle audit process for the previous financial disclosure periods. All the Senior Management Service members were verified, an assessment report with findings was provided by the Public Service Commission, and no SMS member was recommended for a detailed profiling in relation to their affordability and standard of living.

Secondly, lifestyle reviews were done for other categories of employees designated to disclose financial interests that include financial administration employees, supply chain management employees, Middle Management Service members and equivalent OSD designated employees, assistant directors and equivalent OSD designated employees. In this category, there were no referrals recommended after the reviews were done.

Furthermore, the Department has a risk management policy in place and is in the process of reviewing the Anti-Corruption and Ethics management policy to include lifestyle audits as one of the tools to prevent, investigate and ultimately deal with employees who are found to have acted unethically or committed any offence that include fraud, theft, conducting business with the organs of the State and corrupt activities in general.

​(ii) Steps taken to ensure the audits are undertaken in Department and entities reporting to the Minister,

• In the NPA, lifestyle review and lifestyle investigations were conducted for all SMS and Non-SMS members. During the 2021/22 financial disclosure period, 203 SMS members (Level 13-16) and 982 non-SMS members (Level 9-10 including OSD) submitted their financial declarations through the e-Disclosure system. These categories of employees were verified and there were no referrals recommended for detailed profiling in relation to conducting full investigations. In addition, the NPA conducted a total of 1185 random lifestyle reviews for both SMS and Non-SMS. Out of the 1185, a total of 7 officials were referred for lifestyle investigations.

• The Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) has drafted a lifestyle audit policy, which is in the consultation stage. However, lifestyle reviews are conducted in accordance with the Financial Interests Disclosure Framework, as provided by Regulation 18 of the Public Service Regulations, as the OCJ’s policy has not been approved, no audits have been undertaken in terms thereof and no outcomes can therefore be reported.

b) Are the details of the outcomes of any audit that has already been undertaken?

Regarding the Department as well as the two institutions/entities reporting to the Minister, there were no referrals emanating from lifestyle reviews for further investigations and therefore no audits have been conducted in the preceding periods.

There are no outcomes that can be reported at this stage.

Reply:

(1) The Legal Practice Council has not set specific race or gender targets for admission to pupillage. The Legal Practice Council does focus on transformation, as one of its core mandates, and this is evident in the pupils who are admitted into the pupillage programmes each year.

The Bar Councils are non-statutory independent bodies and the Minister does not account to Parliament for their actions and policies.

(2) Number of Pupils 2021, 2022, 2023 (broken down by race and gender) with registered Practical Vocational Training Contracts at the various Bar Councils in South Africa:

2021
Race	Gender	Total
Black	Female	29
Coloured	Female	4
Indian/Asian	Female	1
White	Female	7
Black	Male	36
Coloured	Male	3
White	Male	5
2022
Race	Gender	Total
Black	Female	42
Coloured	Female	1
Indian/Asian	Female	3
White	Female	7
Black	Male	34
Coloured	Male	1
Indian/Asian	Male	2
White	Male	2
2023
Race	Gender	Total
Black	Female	40
Coloured	Female	5
Indian/Asian	Female	2
White	Female	3
Black	Male	38
Coloured	Male	3
Indian/Asian	Male	3
White	Male	6

Reply:

a) How long will the specified investigation take

It is estimated that the investigation will take approximately 12 months. However, given the nature of forensic investigation(s), it may be finalised sooner or be extended, depending on the evidence uncovered during the investigation.

b) What total budget has been set aside

The Special Investigating Unit is not in a position to say whether any budget has been set aside by the relevant entity. However, it is estimated that the investigation will cost R4 880 554.24.

c) What are the expected outcomes

It is expected that the investigation should produce inter alia the following outcomes, provided that sufficient evidence be uncovered during the investigation to support these outcomes:

• The recovery of losses suffered by the state through the institution of civil proceedings;
• Referral of evidence of misconduct for the institution of disciplinary or corrective action;
• Referral of evidence indicating, or pointing to a criminal offence to the National Prosecuting Authority;
• Identify systemic gaps and make systemic recommendations to avoid identified instances of maladministration from occurring in future;
• Closure reports on all sub-investigations conducted as per the proclamation; and
• Submit Presidential Reports, as envisaged in sections 4(1)(f) and (g) of the SIU Act.

Given the nature of forensic investigation(s), the SIU cannot warrant that its investigations or its forensic services will result in the detection of impropriety, malpractice or criminal conduct, or in any successful remedial civil or disciplinary proceedings or criminal prosecutions. The outcomes of forensic investigations are unpredictable and the success of the legal outcomes, in particular civil litigation and/or criminal prosecution, are largely dependent on other entities, such as the National Prosecuting Authority, Office of the State Attorney, the South African Police Service, the Special Tribunal, the courts and the judicial system.

END

Reply:

(1)    With regard to the findings of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), as reported in the Final Consolidated Report for Proclamation R23 of 2020, dated 10 December 2021, in particular the findings of the SIU on the City of Cape Town (CCT) (details furnished), what progress has been made by the SIU regarding instructions to the State Attorney;

The SIU briefed the Office of The State Attorney, who in turn briefed suitable Senior Counsel on 25 November 2022.

(2)    whether any civil action has been instituted following the report of the SIU; if not, why not; if so, (a) on what date and (b) what is the current status of such action;

Papers have been drafted and the institution of civil proceedings is imminent. Whereas the SIU is currently involved in discussions with the CCT’s attorneys regarding certain technical issues pertaining to the proceedings, this will not preclude the institution of the proceedings.

(3)    whether the SIU informed the CCT that the (a) expenditure was regarded as irregular and (b) service provider profited excessively; if not, why not, in each case; if so, on what date was the CCT informed;

The CCT and/or its attorneys are aware of the SIU’s findings in the above regard. In view of the pending institution of litigation and the related current discussions between with the SIU and CCT’s attorneys, the disclosure of further detail is considered confidential at this stage.

(4)    whether the SIU had directed and/or expected of the City Manager (CM) to take any steps; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what steps

The SIU has not directed and/or pertinently required of the City Manager to take any specific steps.

(5) whether the SIU report found that the CM had taken the specified steps; if not, what are the consequences set out in the report of not taking the steps; if so, on what date did the SIU find that the CM took the steps?

As indicated above, the SIU has not directed and/or pertinently required of the City Manager to take any specific steps.    

Reply:

No,

The Portfolio Committee in its meeting on this matter thoroughly examined the issue; amongst other things, as to why Justice Cameron chose to disclose the details of the escape incident to the media in the way that he did. Therefore, there is no need to probe the matter further.

Reply:

a) (i) it should be noted that no information is available that explicitly confirms that the remand detainees granted bail are still in detention due to inability to pay bail.

as at 31 March 2023, the total population of remand detainees was 55 745, of this number 4 495 were detained with the option of bail which constitutes of the total remand detainee population. A total of 2 728 were granted bail of R1000 and less while 1 767 were granted bail that ranged from more than R1000 up to R4 million.

END

Reply:

In the anti-corruption sphere, we significantly expanded the capacity of the Investigating Directorate (ID) and are institutionalising its operations as an integral part of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). The ID has enrolled eighteen (18) new matters this financial year, meaning a total of thirty-four (34) matters have been enrolled with 203 accused over the last four (4) years. Thirteen (13) new investigations were authorised, totalling ninety-seven (97) matters authorised over the last four (4) years.

A significant success of the ID during the financial year was its contribution to the recovery of R2.5 billion, which was paid into Criminal Asset Recovery Account (CARA). Whilst it is acknowledged that there is still a long way to go, this represents a significant milestone in the recovery of assets that were illegally obtained through state capture.

Over the last year, the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) secured freezing orders valued at R570 million as part of its strategy to pursue the monies stolen by the perpetrators of corruption and the enablers and facilitators of state capture. The finalisation of two (2) high value corruption cases contributed to the AFU obtaining recoveries in corruption and related matters to the value of R2.83 billion during the financial year.

Cumulatively, R10.2 billion has been frozen over the past four (4) years of the five-year Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period. The NPA has recovered R2.55 billion in state capture cases alone.

An Integrated Task Force chaired by the Deputy National Director of Public Prosecutions (DNDPP): NPS was introduced early in 2022 to coordinate the response of the NPA and DPCI to the recommendations of the Zondo Commission. The establishment of an Advisory Panel of experienced prosecutors and investigators to hear and advise on cases has been a very successful initiative, increasing the confidence of prosecutors and investigators dealing with complex matters.

Following additional funding from National Treasury, the NPA establishment was increased from 4 967 to 5 353. The capacitation of specialised units, especially the SCCU and the ID, remained a priority as a response to the Zondo Commission. The filling of the Aspirant Prosecutor posts and newly appointed Prosecutors allowed for more experienced staff to be promoted to specialised areas such as the ID, Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit (SCCU) and Specialised Tax Units.

With the assistance of the Office of the Chief Justice and the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD)’s Capacity Enhancement Committee, the SCCU set up dedicated Specialised Commercial Crime Courts (SCCCs) in regions that did not have such courts. There are currently twenty-two (22) dedicated courts throughout the country with a footprint of dedicated commercial crime courts in all Provinces – Limpopo, North-West, Northern Cape and Mpumalanga previously in 2019 did not have such courts. SCCU Prosecutors increased from 105 to 225. Support staff stand at thirty-seven (37) with additional twelve (12) posts created between 31 December 2019 and 31 March 2023.

The additional SCCCs allowed the NPA to focus on backlog cases resulting in a 2% decrease (from 823 to 808) in the past financial year. This represents a 22% decrease from the end of the 2021 financial year (1 040 to 808).

In the 2022/2023 financial year, the DoJ&CD took steps to enhance six (6) of the SCCC with technological tools to enable virtual testimony and the receipt of digital evidence. This will go some way to avoiding postponements that may arise when witnesses, etc are not physically available. In the 2023/2024 financial year, a further two (2) SCCC will be enhanced in the same manner.

The focus on old cases had a slightly negative impact on the conviction rate as there were challenges with some of these cases. However, the additional courts did result in a 5.8% increase in the number of cases finalised, from 344 to 364. An increase in percentage of accused being sent to direct imprisonment from 29.2% in 2020/21, then to 34.9% in 2021/22 and now currently at 38.2% has also been significant in the fight against serious commercial crimes. Furthermore, an increase in compensation orders granted, from 39 in 2020/21 to 65 by the end of March 2023, was also noted.

The SCCU actively participated in the Fusion Centre, which serves as a good example of stakeholder collaboration. As a result, thirty-four (34) cases of fraud and related offences related to COVID-19 and South African Social Security Agency grants have been enrolled in the past year.

On the Anti-Corruption Task Team (ACTT) Priority List of identified cases, seventy-nine (79) cases are enrolled with 363 accused (21 enrolled in High courts). Nineteen (19) of these cases are already partly heard.

With effect from 1 April 2022, a Special Director of Public Prosecutions responsible for the General Prosecutions and Specialist Tax Component portfolios was appointed in the NPA. The regional capacity of the Specialist Tax Component has increased in the past financial year. The approved establishment throughout the country has grown to hundred (100) posts, of which eighty-five (85) are filled. The upward performance trajectory of the Unit continued. Prosecutors finalised 138 cases and achieved a conviction rate of 96.4%. This success is underpinned by the component’s ability to attract and retain highly experienced staff.

The impact of COVID-19 during the 2020/21 financial year can be seen in the Table below. However, since middle of 2020, a remarkable improvement in all areas of corruption and fraud related matters has been recorded.

Although significant impact can already be seen, a lot of work is still in progress with refinement and changes to be effected. The ID still needs to broaden its establishment and be capacitated as a permanent structure. I have already approved Regulations that bestow peace officer powers on ID Investigators. These Regulations are significant as they provide investigators with the necessary powers to conduct their work prior to arresting suspects.

Details of specific inroads to arrests, prosecutions and convictions will be released in the Annual Report of the National Director of Public Prosecutions.

Training is an important aspect within the National Prosecutions Service and a national Training Forum coordinates the planning and implementation of training schedules across the country with assistance of regional coordinators. Regional training coordinators are also established within specialised prosecution areas to ensure that all needs for further development are being addressed. Some of the specialist training envisaged for the next three months include training topics on Beneficial Ownership, Anti-Corruption, Search Warrants (on Cyber Crime Act), Procurement Fraud, amongst others.

Past training provided include training topics such as the detection and investigation of foreign bribery offences, financial analysis, forensic investigations, organised crime, money laundering, investment fraud, Mutual Legal Assistance, tax offences related to commercial crime, amongst others.

Various other training programmes and sessions are as follows:

1. Sexual offences and vulnerable groups (18);
2. Specialised prosecutorial areas (48) that includes search and seizure;
3. Rules of evidence, general training, etc (54); and
4. Leads training (8).

Reply:

The question relates to the performing of judicial functions, which falls under the purview of the Judiciary and the Chief Justice. It is advised that information relating to the performing of judicial functions, be directed to the Chief Justice.

Reply:

The questions asked relate to contraventions of either the Sexual Offences Act 32 of 1957 or of Section 11 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act 32 of 2007. The NPA does not keep offence-specific statistics for all offences and both contraventions of Act 32 of 1957, as well as Section 11 of Act 32 of 2007, fall in this category. It is therefore not possible to provide the requested statistics.

The NPA relies on SAPS to present dockets for decision and/or prosecution, some of which are withdrawn by the NPA. Internal dialogue in the NPA however indicates a very low percentage of cases or even zero prosecutions relating to the prosecution of adult sex workers in South Africa. Offences relating to human trafficking were excluded from the above dialogue.

Reply:

The National Register for Sex Offenders (NRSO) was established to curb sexual offending and re-offending in the country. In response to the demands made by women who marched under the umbrella of #TheTotalShutDown Movement in August 2018, the particulars of all convicted sex offenders are now entered into the Register. Before then, only entries of sex offenders convicted of sex crimes involving child survivors and survivors with mental disabilities were made. With the recent legal developments, the scope of protection afforded by the NRSO has been extended to vulnerable persons.

Whether the National Register for Sex Offenders is up to date

The Register is up to date, as it is built on the integrated case management system, which instantaneously captures cases as and when the court convicts the offender of a sexual offence. With this system, the Registrar is able to know all pending cases of sexual offences, of which the particulars of the offenders can be potentially entered into the Register.

(a) Are there reasons for the backlog?

As stated there is no backlog on entries on the register. However, there is a backlog for clearance certificates caused by the malware attack in 2021. Since 2022/2023 financial year, the Department has included an indicator in the Annual Performance Plan to eliminate this backlog, and the plan is to achieve this goal in this financial year.

(b) What is the total number of days that constitute a backlog?

As indicated above, the only backlog is on the applications for the NRSO clearance certificates. In terms of Regulation 18 of the National Register for Sex Offenders, the Registrar is required to issue a clearance certificate as soon as is reasonably practicable, but within 10 working days after the receipt of application. Any application that is still not considered beyond 10 working days after the date of receipt is classified as a backlog application.

(c) What measures have been taken to improve the accuracy and completeness of the National Register for Sex Offenders; if so, what are the relevant details?

The Register used to have inaccurate and incomplete entries until 2018 when the Department upgraded the integrated case management system for the Register to include SMART functionalities that automatically detect wrong entries. To address the inaccuracies entered prior to 2018, the Department introduced a Data Verification Project and employed data capturers to clean up the data. On 31 March 2018, the Data Verification Project was finalised and over 19 668 ring-fenced cases were validated as the NRSO entries. The NRSO was subsequently audited by the office of the AG in 2019 and its information was found to be Complete, Accurate and Valid.

 

Reply:

The department has a programme called the Integrated Justice System (IJS) Programme which is a government initiative that strives to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the South African criminal justice process. It is driving a multi-department effort to increase the probability of successful investigation, prosecution, punishment, and ultimately the rehabilitation of offenders and their restoration back into society to realize a national objective that all South Africans are and feel safe.

As part of the IJS programme, the department has been working on a number of key strategic interventions seeking to ensure an Integrated Management of a person in the Criminal Justice System (CJS).

This has been done through the upgrade and refresh of the Home Affairs National Information System (HANIS) into a new system called Automatic Biometric Information System (ABIS). ABIS phase 1 development and testing have been completed. The system is currently into production.

Key off note are ABIS Phase 1 modalities, these are:

• Unique Person Identifier
• Facial recognition
• Fingerprint Search
• Latent Searches

It should be noted that the provision of a unique person identifier for a person will be essential for the CJS to obtain a holistic view of a person, their current custody status, and associated case history, whilst combatting any potential identity fraud by suspects, alleged accused and convicted criminals.

ABIS Phase 2 is currently being executed. This phase will comprise of modalities like:

• Iris
• Infant Footprint
• Palm Print

Both ABIS Phase 1 & 2 will ensure the Criminal Justice System (CJS) obtains the holistic view of a person and ensure robust person identification across the CJS value chain.

The IJS programme has also completed the development of the Person Identification and Verification Application (PIVA) which provides a solution for IJS departments to verify the identity of an individual using their fingerprints which are checked against Department of Home Affairs (DHA) records. Person Identification and Verification Application (PIVA) provides a solution for IJS departments to verify the identity of an individual using their fingerprints which are checked against Department of Home Affairs (DHA) records. Identity verification is a common requirement across all IJS member departments, and the development of this application was a combined effort. The SAPS is the CJS entry point and was the first department to implement PIVA in 2017. This solution has been rolled out to 1069 out of 1156 (92%) police stations across nine provinces. In the last financial year, the solution successfully verified the identify of 203 138 persons, of which 60 981 (30%) had previous SAPS records, and 5371 (2.6%) were identified as wanted persons.

As part of the IJS programme, the SAPS is currently executing an integrated booking solution which forms part of the Integrated Person Management (IPM) project. The IPM project is 97% complete and is ahead of schedule. Pilot for Release 1 (Person Booked & Verified), Release 2 (Unique Identified Person), Release 3(Tracked Person), and release 4 (Person Booked into holding facility) was conducted successfully during the 2022/23 financial year in the Johannesburg central police station. Release 5 (Person booked into holding facility) & 6 (Safeguard & manage person) rolled into production in Brooklyn. Development of Release 7 (Safeguard & Manage Person) is currently 85% complete

Reply:

a) There were 2 294 lifer profile reports that were considered by the Minister between 1 January 2022 and 31 May 2023.

b) There are 146 lifer profile reports that are still being processed.

____________________

CDC: INCARCERATION AND CORRECTIONS

DATE

Reply:

The South African National Standard (SANS 10400-S: 2011) Part S: National Building Regulations, Facilities for persons with disabilities was approved and published during the year 2011.

Although significant progress was made to transform prisons in order to cater for persons living with disabilities, more effort is required to fully comply with the mentioned SANS at all correctional centres. The main objective of the Departmental Infrastructure Plan is to transform prisons into correctional centres conducive for safe and humane rehabilitation and incarceration, and therefore the Department is mindful of the necessity to comply with latest Building Regulations.

During the construction of new correctional centres and during the refurbishment/upgrade of existing infrastructure the implementation of SANS 10400-S: 2011 is a standard design principle as required by the relevant building regulations.

Inmates are incarcerated at appropriate correctional centres in terms of offender profile, classification, disability and physical health condition. Therefore, offenders and remand detainees living with disabilities are placed at correctional centres consistent and suitable in terms of the degree of disability.

The Department is equipped to accommodate persons living with disabilities, subject to the merit of each case and based on the need and availability of required health care services and facilities.

END.

Reply:

1. In October 2016, the 5th administration of South Africa took a decision to withdraw from the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (“Rome Statute”). Following this decision, South Africa sent a written notice to withdraw from the Rome Statute to the Secretary General of the United Nations.

2. In February 2017, the North Gauteng High Court unanimously ruled that the withdrawal notification sent by South Africa to the United Nations was unconstitutional and invalid without prior parliamentary approval, and ordered the Government to rescind the notice with immediate effect. In line with the court decision, the South African government revoked its notice of withdrawal from the Rome Statute in March 2017.

(a) There is currently no intention to introduce a Bill with the aim of withdrawing the Republic’s participation in and membership of the ICC.

(b) South Africa remains a full member of the ICC with all the rights and obligations that accrue to all members of the Rome Statute.

(c) The International Crimes Bill, introduced in Parliament in 2017, whose purpose was to withdraw South Africa from the ICC by repealing the Implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Act 27 of 2002, has been withdrawn from Parliament.

Reply:

The updated progress made to address the serious shortage of office space at the High Court in Kimberley through procurement of alternative office accommodation for Master of High Court is as follows:

• 1. The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development received the request for confirmation of funding through an Actual Cost Analysis (ACA) on the 12 June 2023 from the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure (DPWI) with regards to the procurement of an alternative accommodation for Master of High Court Kimberley.
  2. The approved Actual Cost Analysis was approved and forwarded to DPWI on the 22 June 2023.
  3. This will enable the DPWI to finalize the procurement of the alternative accommodation with the awarded bidder.

Reply:

1. The Department is responsible for the processing of all incoming and outgoing requests for mutual legal assistance and extraditions to and from foreign states. Although detailed records are kept of all cases processed by the Department, due to the nature of these matters, some cases cannot be divulged due to the confidentiality and sensitive nature thereof and the fact that the matter has not yet been finalised.

2. Since August 2022, the Department received 78 new requests for extradition and mutual legal assistance.

Reply:

1. The Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Anti - Corruption and Integrity Forum (the Forum)has been a driving force in the global anti-corruption movement for more than four decades. Established in 2013, the Forum is the OECD’s premier public multi-stakeholder platform shaping the anti-corruption and integrity dialogue between government, business and civil society.The Forum therefore focuses on policy solutions and business innovations that strengthen integrity and fight corruption.

(a) The Forum hosted its meetings virtually between 2019 and 2022, due to the Covid 19 Pandemic. The year 2023 was the first time the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services was invited to participate in the Forum sessions which took place on 24 – 26 May 2023.

2. Since the OECD’s establishment in 1961, the OECD has, through its various Forums and working groups, developed close to 300 legal instruments, many of which have become international standards promoting integrity.

(a) The Forum has produced various guidelines and policy documents to guide countries in their own domestic policy and law making initiatives. South Africa has utilized the OECD Anti Bribery Convention to draft its Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act , 2004. In addition, the OECD Recommendations on Improving Ethical Conduct in the Public Service were instrumental in strengthening South Africa’s Protected Disclosure Act as amended in 2017.

Reply:

The Judicial Matters Amendment Bill, 2023 (“the Bill”) which is currently under deliberation by the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services contains, amongst others, a provision (clause 10) that proposes the insertion of a new section 57B, 57C and 57D into the Criminal Procedure Act, (Act No. 51 of 1977) (‘‘Criminal Procedure Act’’). The proposed new section 57D (Convictions and sentences in respect of admission of guilt fines relating to offences in terms of regulations made in terms of section 27(2) of Disaster Management Act, 2002), specifically provides that “criminal record of a person which contain the conviction and sentence of a person who—

(a) is deemed to have been convicted and sentenced by a court as contemplated in section 57(6) of this Act, in respect of a specified offence; or

(b) appeared in court in terms of a summons or written notice referred to in section 57(1) of this Act, in respect of a specified offence where it was permissible for that person to admit his or her guilt and who has been convicted and sentenced by the court in respect of the specified offence in question,

is hereby expunged, determined from the date of payment of the admission of guilt fine referred to in paragraph (a), or the sentence referred to in paragraph (b)”.

The objective of the amendment is also to provide for automatic expungement of the criminal record. In the event that that is not the case, the amendment provides for submission of a written application to assist any person in achieving the expungement automatically by the Criminal Record Centre of the South African Police Service.

The automatic expungements will take effect once the Bill is assented to and signed into an Act of Parliament.

Reply:

On 25 May 2023, a woman was shot in proximity of Wynberg Magistrate’s Court. At the time of her death, she was not a witness but an accused person who appeared in a murder matter. Prior to her death, she appeared in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court, with two (2) other accused persons on a charge of murder.

On the day of her death, she appeared in court, whereafter her bail was extended until her next court appearance. Her death was unforeseen since she had appeared as an accused on several occasions prior to her death without any violence or threat of violence being inflicted. There was also no forewarning that an attack of this nature would be directed at the female accused person after her appearance in court.

Three (3) accused persons have since been arrested for her murder, and the matter as well as the circumstances surrounding her death are still under investigation. The investigation is at sensitive stage and revealing more information could cause potential harm to the witnesses or jeopardise the investigation.

Reply:

1. The SIU has been proactive in ensuring that the needs from the various spheres of government are met. This is evident in the recent Resourcing Strategy Indaba held, to ensure that the influx of Proclamations currently experienced can be accommodated.

2. a) 199.

b) By 31 March 2024.

3. a) R11,744,481

b) R 5,487,191 is still within 30 days. R 6,257,289 is above 30 days and it is currently under investigation.

4. The SIU, in its normal day to day operations, sends out Statements of accounts on monthly basis to different State Institutions, indicating the amount owing at a particular period. Attached to the Statement of Accounts would normally be a Progress Report, indicating progress on the investigations and allowing the State Institutions a preview of what activities took place during the period being reported on.

On a regular basis, Managers on the investigations are requested to follow up with the various State Institutions on outstanding payments and once a year, the Finance Department sends out letters to the State institutions requesting them to settle the outstanding debts.

During the 2022/23 financial year, the SIU embarked on a more intense project dubbed “Project Khokhela” to deal with the outstanding debt. During the year, various face to face engagements were held with some institutions and this process yielded positive results and payments were received from these institutions.