Questions and Replies

Reply:

The question is not relevant to the Department of Correctional Services as it falls under the scope of the Department of Small Business and Development

END

Reply:

(1)(a) Should the released detainees require quarantine after release, they will be managed by the Department of Health facilities in their respective districts within which they are staying.

(1)(b) Those who are released will not be re-tested in the Department unless they meet testing criteria as indicated in the Clinical Management of suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases:

• a suspected COVID-19 case includes any person presenting with an acute (≤14 days) respiratory tract infection or
• other clinical illness compatible with COVID-19, or
• an asymptomatic person who is a close contact to a confirmed case or
• presenting with COVID-19 key respiratory syndrome symptoms which consist of ANY of the following:
• Cough
• Sore throat
• Shortness of breath
• The loss of sense or smell or an altered sense of taste.

• Other symptoms which may include fever, weakness, myalgia, or diarrhoea.

(2) Monitoring of parolees and probationers under lockdown regulation between level three (03) and five (05), will be conducted through telephonic monitoring system. The Department is in discussion with the JCPS Cluster to involve Community Policing Forum (CPFs) as part of monitoring mechanism.

All released parolees and probationers come with classification from the Parole Board. The Department will be guided by this classification of the released parolees and probationers.

If released parolees and probationers are categorised as low and medium risk during the current level four and three of the lock down, the Department will monitor them through telecommunication

If released parolees and probationers are classified by the Parole Board as maximum, the Department will physically monitor the released offenders throughout the lockdown period.

The current arrangement of monitoring only applies from level 3 to level 5 of the lockdown. When the lockdown goes to level 2 and level 1 the monitoring arrangements will change and all categories will be monitored physically.

END

Reply:

1. The Department of Correctional Services has a total of 118 572 bed space which is utilised to accommodate all categories of inmates. However, there are dedicated Remand Detention Facilities (RDFs) which house mainly remand detainees and a fraction of sentenced offenders to perform labour which cannot be performed by remand detainees. As at 10 April 2020 the approved bed space for 20 dedicated under RDFs was 15 120.

2. 51 636 Remand Detainees (RDs) were incarcerated by 31 December 2019 as per daily unlock of 01 January 2020.

3. The strategies that are implemented by the department to reduce the overcrowding of remand detainees are as follows:

a) Bail Protocol Section 63(A) (Criminal Procedure Act - CPA): It allows the Head of the Centre to submit an application to court for review of bail of RDs who have been charged with Schedule 7 crimes. The criteria for submitting an application is when a particular centre/detention facility is reaching such proportions that it constitutes a material and imminent threat to the human dignity, physical health or safety of remand detainees. These must be the lower court cases (Regional and Magistrate courts). The possible outcomes are as follows:

• Release of the RD;

• Release and placement on warning;

• Placement under s62(f): Supervision by a correctional official;

• Reduction of the amount of bail;

• Placement in a secure care facilities; and

• Decline to review bail (Unsuccessful application)

b) Section 63(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act: This section allows the RD or the prosecutor to approach the court for a review of bail. All the RDs with bail qualify for bail review, however DCS cannot initiate the process without the permission of the RD.

c) Plea Bargaining Section 105 (CPA): DCS promotes the use of plea bargaining, however the agreement for entering into Plea Bargaining is between the RD, the Legal representative and the Prosecutor.

d) Section 49G of the Correctional Services Act: The section makes provision for the DCS to refer the RDs to court before completing a period of two years for consideration of their detention and thereafter annually if the RD remains in detention after the initial referral. The court will utilise options highlighted in section 63A of the CPA when considering the application from DCS.

While the department implements the strategies for reducing the population of remand detainees, it should be noted that the drivers of the population are beyond the control of the Department of Correctional Services. The key drivers are the use of pre-trial detention by courts and the increasing trend in serious crimes. The increase in serious crimes is closely related to an increase in the use of pre-trial detention by courts without the option of bail. Other drivers are the number of admissions received from courts and the length of stay which are beyond the control of institutions responsible for the detention of RDs.

Other factors include, failure to pay bail by those few RDs who have been awarded bail, delays in finalising court cases despite several court appearances. Large number (80%) of RDs are without bail.

END

Reply:

here's the link for reply:  https://pmg.org.za/files/RNW568_REPLY.docx

Reply:

1. All sentenced offenders are subjected to an immediate risk and needs assessment (i.e. immediate educational needs, vulnerability to sexual violence and exploitation, social and psychological needs among others) within 6 hours upon admission. The classification of all offenders is also done for all categories to determine their risk levels. The dynamics of such an offender population must be considered. It is a very mobile population which has a significant impact on the time needed for a useful assessment. The compilation of the Correctional Sentence Plan however is reserved for offenders sentenced to longer than 24 months.

2. Correctional Programmes are available to sentenced offenders. Correctional Programmes are non – therapeutic in nature and rendered within the group work mode, meaning groups of 15 – 20 offenders in a group. Since the Department is focussing on offenders sentenced to longer than 24 months, when assessments are conducted and programmes rendered accordingly, these groups of offenders are not obliged to attend Correctional Programmes. The following thirteen (13) Correctional Programmes are however available to sentenced offenders:

1. New Beginnings Orientation
2. Anger Management (Anger In Anger Out)
3. Cross Roads
4. Restorative Justice Orientation
5. Preparatory Programme on Sexual Offences
6. Substance Abuse (Stop to Start)
7. Behaviour Modification Programme on Gangsterism
8. Economic Crime Programme (fraud related)
9. Economic Crime Programme (theft related)
10. Programme on Murder and related offences (Changing Lanes)
11. Programme on Robbery and related offences (Change is possible)
12. Correctional Programme for Female Offenders
13. Pre – Release Programme

Educational Programmes

All offenders are subjected to assessment for placement in the various educational programmes. Educational programmes are offered to all inmates in the following:-

• Pre – Literacy (for those who are illiterate): This programme is offered for offenders who cannot read or write
• Adult Education and Training (AET) Levels 1- 4: This is equivalent to Grades 1-9 in normal mainstream education and it’s for offenders who want to pursue studies in the General Education and Training (GET) Band.
• Further Education and Training (FET): Grades 10 - 12. All those offenders that have successfully completed the above-mentioned programme get an opportunity to pursue studies in the FET Band following a curriculum known as Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS), similar to all external schools within the education system of the country. These are offered by the DCS full time schools.
• Higher Education and Training (HET): After completing their Grade 12 qualification, offenders are afforded an opportunity to advance their education through distant education.
• Computer Based Training: This programme is offered to promote computer based learning and is offered in designated Computer Based Training Centres (CBT) where we offer basic Computer Literacy as well as the advanced International Computer Driver’s License (ICDL).

Skills Development Programmes

Skills Development programmes are available to offenders serving a sentence of 24 months or less, where resources are available the following options are available:

• Vocational skills training programmes are offered as per availability at a Correctional Centre. Offenders are offered accredited and non-accredited training. The Department focuses on ensuring that offenders assigned to workplaces are offered accredited training, in addition to workplace learning, to ensure employability and self-sustainability upon release.
• An example of the programmes available are hairdressing, nail technology, chef assistant training, waste management, new venture creation, welding, plumbing, and other entrepreneurial training programmes just to mention a few.
• Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) College programmes are available to offenders who want to enter the vocational educational field and it is also available as a post school option, at Correctional Centres where resources are available. The objective of the TVET College programme, is to yield job–linked programmes and graduates that are immediately employable. This is the contribution of DCS in counteracting the high rate of unemployment by improving skills and productivity of the incarcerated.

END

Reply:

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, as well as the Special Investigating Unit and Legal Aid South Africa have not received any donations of personal protection equipment (PPE) since 1 February 2020.

However, the National Prosecuting Authority has received donations of PPE as follows:

1. Date of donation: 23 April 2020
2. Name of donor: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
3. Total Amount: R40 150.00
4. No branding on the PPEs
5. (i) The equipment was donated to Thuthuzela Care Centres (TCCs) through Childline SA and were transported from UNODC offices in Pretoria, via courier service, to 5 provincial offices. The staff at those provincial offices transported the PPEs to the relevant TCCs and Childline offices.

(ii) Distribution to the five (5) provincial offices was as follows:

Office	Physical address (for delivery of goods)	Stock Allocation
KZN Childline National Office	24 Stephen Dlamini Road, Musgrave, Durban, 4001	28 x Boxes of Gloves 14 x Boxes of Masks 15 x Bottles of Sanitisers
North West Childline	31 Retief Street, Potchefstroom	3 x Boxes of Gloves 4 x Boxes of Masks 4 x Bottles of Sanitisers
Free State Childline	54 Aliwal street, Arboretum, Bloemfontein	3 x Boxes of Gloves 5 x Boxes of Masks 7 x Bottles of Sanitisers
Limpopo: Mankweng Thuthuzela Care Centre	Mankweng Hospital, Houtbosdorp Road, Sovenga, 0727	4 x Boxes of Gloves 4 x Boxes of Masks 7 x Bottles of Sanitisers
Mpumalanga Childline	15 Kremetart Street, West Acres, Nelspruit 1200	2 x Boxes of Gloves 8 x Boxes of Masks 7 x Bottles of Sanitisers

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)	Price
40 boxes gloves (of 50 pieces each)	R10 200.00
35 boxes of masks (50 pieces each)	R26 250.00
20 Litres of hand sanitiser (40 bottles of 500ml)	R3 700.00
Total	R40 150.00

NOTE: The donation applicable to the NPA is only made to the TCCs. Childline does not fall under the NPA, however, the available distribution figures do not distinguish a further breakdown between TCCs and Childline at provincial level.

Reply:

The number of sentenced inmates housed in the Republic’s correctional centres as at 15 April 2020 is as follows:

Management Area	Correctional Centre	(a) Number of HIV positive offenders	HIV/TB Co-infection (HIV Entry)	(b) Number of TB offenders	TB/HIV Co-infection (TB Entry)
EASTERN CAPE (EC) REGION
Amathole	Fort Beaufort	5	0	0	0
	Grahamstown	28	1	2	1
	King Williams Town	5	1	1	1
	Middledrift	155	3	13	3
	Stutterheim	3	0	0	0
	TOTAL	196	5	16	5
East London	Med B	6	0	0	0
	Med C	29	0	1	0
	Maximum	224	1	14	1
	Mdantsane	127	7	32	7
	TOTAL	386	8	47	8
Kirkwood	Graaff-Reinet	0	0	14	4
	Jansenville	0	0	0	0
	Kirkwood	135	4	0	0
	Somerset East	22	0	2	0
	TOTAL	157	4	16	4
Mthatha	Bizana	2	0	0	0
	Elliotdale	8	0	0	0
	Flagstaff	19	1	1	1
	Lusikisiki	45	1	2	1
	Mt Ayliff	9	0	1	0
	Mt Fletcher	25	0	2	0
	Mt Frere	15	0	0	0
	Mqanduli	31	0	3	0
	Ngqeleni	15	0	0	0
	Tabankulu	18	0	0	0
	Medium	309	1	13	1
	Remand	3	0	0	0
	TOTAL	499	3	22	3
Sada	Barkley East	11	0	0	0
	Burgersdorp	22	0	0	0
	Butterworth	8	0	0	0
	Cofimvaba	0	0	0	0
	Cradock	19	0	0	0
	Dordrecht	0	0	0	0
	Dutywa	18	0	0	0
	Lady Frere	5	0	0	0
	Middelburg	130	0	0	0
	Ngcobo	0	0	0	0
	Nqamakwe	0	0	0	0
	Queenstown	0	0	0	0
	Sada	32	0	0	0
	Willowvale	4	0	0	0
	Sterkspruit	0	0	0	0
	TOTAL	249	0	0	0
St Albans	Medium A	9	0	1	0
	Maximum	329	2	23	2
	Medium B	172	9	33	9
	Patensie	44	0	0	0
	Port Eli	18	0	3	0
	TOTAL	572	11	60	11
EC REGIONAL TOTAL	2 059	31	161	31
FREE STATE & NORTHERN CAPE (FS&NC) REGION
Colesberg	Colesberg	20	0	1	0
	De Aar	35	1	3	1
	Richmond	3	0	0	0
	Hopetown	5	0	1	0
	Victoria West	9	0	0	0
	Total	72	1	5	1
Goedemoed	Goedemoed Med A	155	0	1	0
	Goedemoed Med B	104	0	2	0
	Bethulie	10	0	1	0
	Edenburg	10	0	0	0
	Fauresmith	2	0	0	0
	Zastron	6	0	0	0
	Total	287	0	4	0
Grootvlei	Grootvlei Med A	236	2	6	2
	Grootvlei Med B	84	2	5	1
	Boshof	4	0	0	0
	Brandfort	15	0	0	0
	Ladybrand	9	0	0	0
	Wepener	6	0	0	0
	Winburg	23	0	0	0
	Mangaung	700	0	13	1
	Total	1077	4	24	4
Kimberley	Barkly West	4	0	0	0
	Douglas	17	0	2	0
	Kimberley	105	0	8	0
	Tswelopele	390	3	12	1
	Total	516	3	22	1
Upington	Kuruman	46	1	3	2
	Springbok	6	0	6	0
	Upington	95	4	9	0
	Total	147	5	18	2
Groenpunt	Groenpunt Med.	179	0	0	0
	Groenpunt Max.	536	2	9	0
	Groenpunt Youth	31	0	1	0
	Frankfort	16	0	0	0
	Heilbron	5	0	0	0
	Parys	8	0	0	0
	Sasolburg	25	0	0	0
	Vereeniging	104	0	0	0
	Total	904	2	10	0
Bizzah Makhate	Centre A	279	4	4	0
	Centre B	77	0	1	0
	Centre C	120	0	0	0
	Centre D	0	0	0	0
	Bethlehem	33	2	2	0
	Ficksburg	5	0	0	0
	Harrismith	33	2	2	2
	Hennenman	18	0	0	0
	Hoopstad	5	0	0	0
	Lindley	14	0	0	0
	Odendaalsrus	94	0	0	0
	Senekal	10	0	1	0
	Ventersburg	29	0	0	0
	Virginia	110	2	3	2
	Total	827	10	13	4
FS&NC REGIONAL TOTAL	3 830	25	96	12
GAUTENG REGION
Baviaanspoort	Emthonjeni	6	0	0	0
	Medium	175	0	0	0
	Maximum	138	2	3	0
	Total	319	2	3	0
Kgoši Mampuru II	Local	20	1	1	1
	Female	76	0	0	0
	Central	569	13	20	2
	C max	70	0	0	0
	Atteridgeville	174	2	3	0
	Odi	324	4	6	1
	Total	1233	20	30	4
Johannesburg	Med A	39	0	0	0
	Med B	487	2	8	0
	Med C	107	0	0	0
	Female	128	0	3	0
	Total	761	2	11	0
Krugersdorp	Krugersdorp	320	1	8	2
	Total	320	1	8	2
Modderbee	Modderbee	526	5	11	1
	Nigel	89	0	3	0
	Devon	47	0	1	1
	Total	883	3	2	1
Zonderwater	Medium A	356	1	2	0
	Medium B	207	2	4	1
	Total	563	3	6	1
Leeuwkop	Med A	213	1	1	0
	Med B	123	0	0	0
	Med C	226	0	1	0
	Maximum	321	2	0	1
	Total	883	3	2	1
Boksburg not included due nursing staff on quarantine
GAUTENG REGIONAL TOTAL	4 741	36	75	10
KWAZULU-NATAL REGION (KZN)
Durban	Medium B	1003	0	19	5
	Medium C	94	2	5	2
	Youth	29	0	1	0
	Female	228	0	0	0
	Umzinto	143	0	1	0
	Total	1497	2	26	7
Empangeni	Qalakabusha	605	6	12	0
	Empangeni Medium	60	2	4	0
	Eshowe	316	3	6	0
	Mthunzini	21	0	0	0
	Stanger	30	0	0	0
	Maphumulo	14	0	1	0
	Ingwavuma	9	0	0	0
	Total	1055	11	23	0
Gloencoe	Bergville	6	1	1	0
	Dundee	8	0	0	0
	Estcourt	84	0	1	0
	Glencoe	236	0	0	0
	Greytown	22	1	1	0
	Kranskop	17	1 MDR	1	0
	Ladysmith	64	0	0	0
	Pomeroy	11	0	0	0
	Total	448	3	4	0
Kokstad	Ebhongweni	324	3	8	3
	Kokstad Medium	158	2	2	2
	Portshepstone	28	0	0	0
	Matatiele	18	0	0	0
	Total	528	5	10	5
Ncome	Medium A	155	1	1	1
	Medium B	343	4	5	4
	Melmoth	20	0	0	0
	Nkandla	9	0	0	0
	Nongoma	23	0	0	0
	Vryheid	22	0	0	0
	Total	572	5	6	5
Pietermaritzburg	Medium A	1055	1	45	4
	Medium B	59	2	2	0
	Ixopo	50	2	2	2
	New Hanover	98	0	2	0
	Sevontein	387	1	4	1
	Total	1649	6	55	7
Waterval	Medium A	273	0	2	0
	Medium B	148	0	0	0
	Ekuseni	11	0	1	0
	Newcastle	60	0	0	0
	Utrecht	2	0	0	0
	Total	494	0	3	0
KZN REGIONAL TOTAL	6 243	32	127	24
LIMPOPO MPUMALANGA AND NORTH WEST REGION (LMN)
Thohoyandou	Medium A	110	2	4	0
	Medium B	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
	Female/Juvenile	19	0	0	0
	Makhado	28	1	1	0
	Total	157	03	05	0
Polokwane	Polokwane	61	0	3	0
	Modimolle	70	2	4	0
	Tzaneen	6	0	0	0
	Total
Klerksdorp	Potchefstroom	91	2	3	0
	Klerksdorp	360	2	4	0
	Christiana	20	0	0	0
	Wolmaransstad	14	0	0	0
	Total	485	4	7	0
Kutama-Sinthumule	Kutama-Sinthumule	637	1	2	0
	Total	637	1	2	0
Witbank	Witbank	258	5	6	0
	Middelburg	69	2	3	0
	Carolina	4	0	0	0
	Belfast	3	0	0	0
	Total	334	7	9	0
Rusternburg	Losperfontein	212	2	11	2
	Mogwase	105	0	3	0
	Rustenburg Med A	56	1	1	1
	Rustenburg COE	7	0	0	0
	Total	380	3	15	3
Rooigrond	Medium A	256	1	1	0
	Remand Det	0	0	0	0
	Medium B	86	0	0	0
	Lichtenburg	27	0	0	0
	Zeerust	27	0	0	0
	Total	396	1	1	0
Bethal	Bethal	180	2	4	2
	Ermelo	82	0	0	0
	Piet Retief	33	0	0	0
	Standerton	149	2	1	1
	Volksrust	27	0	0	0
	Total	471	4	5	3
Barberton	Maximum	315	5	11	0
	Nelspruit	32	6	8	1
	Medium B	215	1	1	0
	Town youth	15	0	0	0
	Medium A	54	0	0	0
	Lydenburg	35	0	0	0
	Total	666	12	20	1
LMN REGIONAL TOTAL	3 663	37	71	7
WESTERN CAPE REGION
Allendale	Allandale	62	0	5	0
	Paardeberg	30	1	4	0
	Hawequa	4	0	0	0
	Obiqua	31	0	0	0
	Total	127	1	9	0
Brandvlei	Medium	47	1	2	1
	Maximum	85	1	1	1
	Youth	18	1	5	1
	Total	150	3	8	3
Breederiver	Worcester Male	44	0	10	0
	Worcester Female	48	1	3	0
	Robertson	14	0	1	0
	Warmbokkeveld	50	0	1	0
	Dwarsrivier	41	0	5	0
	Total	197	1	20	0
Drakenstein	Medium A	67	0	1	0
	Medium B Youth	21	0	2	0
	Maximum	70	1	5	1
	Stellenbosch	9	0	0	0
	Total	167	1	8	1
Goodwood	Goodwood	145	06	33	02
	Total	145	6	33	2
Overberg	Medium	109	0	2	0
	Maximum	120	1	7	1
	Caledon	1	0	0	0
	Buffeljagsrivier	0	0	0	0
	Swellendam	109	0	2	0
	Total	339	1	11	1
Pollsmoor	Female	19	0	3	0
	Maximum	9	1	1	1
	Medium A	3	0	0	0
	Medium B	82	1	17	1
	Medium C	18	0	6	0
	Total	131	2	27	2
Southern Cape	George Male	38	1	3	0
	George Female	22	0	0	0
	Oudtshoorn Med A	21	0	1	0
	Oudtshoorn Med B	22	0	0	0
	Beaufort West	2	0	0	0
	Ladismith	3	0	0	0
	Prince Albert	10	0	0	0
	Uniondale	6	0	0	0
	Mosselbay	0	0	0	0
	Knysna	10	0	1	0
	Total	134	1	5	0
Voorberg	Medium A	16	2	3	2
	Medium B	185	2	9	2
	Van Rhynsdorp	38	0	18	0
	Calvinia	2	0	0	0
	Total	241	4	30	4
West Coast	Medium A	98	0	0	0
	Medium B	3	0	1	0
	Riebeeck West	3	0	1	0
	Total	104	0	2	0
WESTERN CAPE REGIONAL TOTAL	1735	20	153	13
GRAND TOTAL	22 271	181	683	97

END

Reply:

a) The matter was never reported to the SAPS. Instead, the Department of Labour’s file (19005/27 September 2016) was opened as per the provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. In terms of the Act, Labour inspectors have the power to investigate certain health and safety issues and after completion, submit their findings to the NPA for a decision to prosecute or not.

The NPA became aware of the case when the Principal of Chloorkop Primary School was summoned by the Department of Labour to appear in court in January 2020 on certain Health and Safety provisions. The prosecution was not satisfied with the readiness of the case for enrolment and declined to enroll it.

b) Consequently, there is no case number.

c) The matter is not finalized, the senior public prosecutor has requested submission of the investigation file for a determination on whether or not to prosecute.

 

Reply:

(a) Releases on 2019 special remission of sentence from 17 December 2019 until 06 March 2020

TABLE: 01: STATUS OF SPECIAL REMISSION BY REGIONS: 06 MARCH 2020

REGION	COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS	CORRECTIONAL CENTRE	TOTAL RELEASES
EC	3 662	1 443	5 105
GP	3 281	4 103	7 384
KZN	3 889	2 142	6 031
LMN	2 288	2 157	4 445
FSNC	1 760	1 586	3 346
WC	4 273	4 480	8 753
TOTAL	19 153	15 911	35 064

(b) Details

Table: 02: RELEASES FROM CORRECTIONAL CENTRES PER: 06 MARCH 2020

Description	Males	Females	Total
Children(Less than 18 years)	31	10	41
Youth (18 – 25 years)	3 224	263	3 487
Adult (26 -64 years)	10 940	1 020	11 960
Elderly (65 & older)	355	23	378
Disabled	38	7	45
Total	14 588	1 323	15 911

Table: 03: UNCONDITIONAL and CONDITIONAL RELEASES FROM CORRECTIONAL CENTRES: 06 MARCH 2020

REGIONS	UNCONDITIONAL	CONDITIONAL	TOTAL
EC	956	487	1 443
GP	2965	1 138	4 103
KZN	1 492	650	2 142
LMN	1 532	625	2 157
FS & NC	1 093	493	1 586
WC	3 846	634	4 480
NATIONAL	11 884	4 027	15 911

Table: 04: STATUS OF CUMULATIVE RE-ARREST CASES AND REASONS

STATUS OF CUMULATIVE RE-ARREST CASES AND REASONS REPORTED BY REGIONS AS AT 06 MARCH 2020
REGION	NUMBER	REASONS	TOTAL RE-ARREST
EC	9	6x Theft; 1 x Possession of stolen goods, 1x Assault , 1x House breaking (2xAmathole, 1xSt Albans, 4x Sada,2x Kirkwood)	9
GP	8	8 x theft ( 1x Boksburg and 5 x Johannesburg,1X Krugersdorp, 1x Zonderwater )	8
KZN	4	1x Housebreaking;1x malicious damage to property, 1x House Breaking W/I to steal & Malicious damage to property, 1x theft (2x Kokstad, 1x Ncome and 1x Empangeni)	4
LMN	2	1 x offender released on the 02/01/2020 was readmitted on the 02/01/2020 for dealing with drugs and 1x theft (1x Bethal and 1 x Thohoyandou)	2
FSNC	5	1xRobbery, 2X House breaking and theft, 1x Theft, 1x violation of protection order (2x Upington, 3x Colesberg)	5
WC	22	13 x Theft, 5x Housebreaking & theft; 1x Assault, Theft & Housebreaking 1x Dealing in drugs & Assault; 1x Drug possession, and 1 x Suspected Stolen goods. (6x Pollsmoor, 1x Overberg, 4 x Voorberg, 1x Mosselbay; 2 x Oudtshoorn, 2 x Breede River (Worcester Male, 2 x Malmesbury RDF, 2 x Allandale 2 x Voorberg)	22
TOTAL	50	Theft , Assault, Housebreaking and theft, dealing with drugs, robbery , Drugs possession, Suspected Stolen goods, violation of protection order, Malicious damage to property	50

END

Reply:

 

 

Reply:

Yes, Muslim offenders have been receiving Spiritual Care services and programmes continuously since October 2020.

The Department of Correctional Services (DCS) has an existing Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Muslim Prison Board (NMPB) for provision of spiritual care services and programmes catering for the spiritual needs of Muslim inmates.

The MoU between DCS and NMPB was signed on 10 December 2014 and it was reviewed MoU and signed again 04 March 2020 in Pretoria wherein both parties cemented a well-established working relationship in the rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders. The MoU demonstrates commitment to continuous engagement and commitment to afford inmates belonging to the Muslim faith to practise their religion as outlined in the constitution of the country.

Annual meetings are convened to ensure co-ordination and planning in the provision of services and programmes to Muslim offenders.

Lastly, DCS Chaplains nationally, are co-ordinating the work of providing spiritual care services and programmes to all inmates including Muslim offenders daily.

END

Reply:

The Honourable Member is correct that one of the problems with the adjudication of land rights disputes is the fact that the Land Claims Court has no permanent judges.

The Restitution of Land Rights Act, 22 of 1994, established the Land Claims Court to adjudicate land claims. The Court also has jurisdiction to hear and adjudicate other land reform matters pertaining to the Extension of Security of Tenure Act, 62 of 1997, and the Land Reform (Labour Tenants) Act, 3 of 1996. In terms of the existing legislative framework, Judges, of the Land Claims Court, including its Judge President, are seconded from the Divisions of the High Court randomly. The lack of a permanent bench for this important court is one of the contributing factors in South Africa falling behind in the development of land jurisprudence.

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has been mandated by the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Land Reform, which I chair, to develop a new Land Court Bill to address this challenge and a draft Bill has already served before the IMC. It is expected that the Bill will be presented to Cabinet within the next few months once it completed the internal consultation processes.

It is anticipated that the Land Court will have exclusive jurisdiction in respect of matters which demand expertise and speciality in resolving land disputes. An incremental approach might have to be followed towards defining the Court’s jurisdiction, the first step of which is to include those Acts of Parliament that facilitate the promotion of the vision enshrined in section 25 of the Constitution in respect of land reform, under the jurisdiction of the Court. The jurisdiction of the Court can then gradually be expanded to also deal with disputes arising from the administration and implementation of other legislation that regulate land reform and other land rights matters.

The President has, pending the finalisation of the Land Court Bill, approved creation of three additional positions of Judges, two in the Gauteng Division and one in the KwaZulu Natal Division, to hear exclusively land matters. The Judicial Service Commission will conduct interviews for these positions during its sitting of April 2020.

Reply:

No, I have not considered facilitating the establishment of a specialist branch of anti-corruption courts with judges and prosecutors that are similar to the Agency Against Corruption (AAC) in Taiwan. This is because the Agency Against Corruption was historically formed to deal with integrity and ethics management in the Taiwanese government and aims to ensure a strong national integrity infrastructure through a specialised authority to enforce ethical governance. It plans and executes Taiwan’s overall anti-corruption strategies and not only acts as a police authority, but also as a prosecutorial power.

The way in which they operate is more of an institution that coordinates all aspects of integrity and anti-corruption related activities - much the same as the Anti-Corruption Task Team (ACTT) we currently have.

What should be noted is that the Taiwan High Courts, based on their various needs, have established several professional courts when required, such as the Professional Court of Anti-corruption, Professional Court of Fair Trade Cases, Professional Court of Sexual Harassment, etc.

This is similar to the South African situation where we have created specialist and dedicated courts when required. In this regard we have, for example, labour courts and land claims courts, etc.

In relation to the question, it needs to be borne in mind that we already have specialized courts to deal with serious commercial crime cases. They are called Specialized Commercial Crimes Courts (SCCCs), and are underpinned by dedicated prosecutorial Specialised Commercial Crimes Units (SCCUs) in the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and dedicated investigators from police (SAPS/DPCI) side. In future, cases flowing from the Investigating Directorate (ID) of the NPA may also be taken to the Specialized Commercial Crimes Courts, where required. Noteworthy is that the Investigating Directorate has both investigative and prosecutorial capabilities.

Because they deal with serious corruption and other related economic crimes, these courts function mostly on a regional court level that can impose strong sentences on conviction. The Specialized Commercial Crimes Unit and Investigating Directorate of the NPA may also take very serious commercial crimes cases to the High Courts.

An important innovation of our Specialised Commercial Crime Court-model, is not that it only hears one type of case, namely, serious commercial crimes. Rather, it is the improved integration of the work of the prosecutors and investigators whose cases came to these courts that make a difference. Moreover, the fact that court time is specifically dedicated to such crimes means that, once in court, they can be processed more speedily than may have been the case on a normal general open court roll.

The dedication of specific staff (investigators, prosecutors, and designated regional magistrates) has assisted with the functioning of these courts.

For the 2018/19 financial year, these courts contributed to the NPA’s impact on serious economic crime as is evident in the 800 verdict cases finalised in complex commercial crime, with 760 convictions (95% conviction rate).

Unlike the practice in the rest of the criminal justice system, the prosecutor assigned to a particular case is involved in its investigation at a much earlier point in time. In this regard the prosecutor and investigator(s) are a team, but the prosecution helps guide the investigations and the integrated work methodology leads to improved convictions.

What have been assisting these courts are the following factors:

(a) In general, the involvement of the Specialized Commercial Crimes Unit prosecutors in coordinating the commercial crime cases and being involved from the start in the investigation phase, meant that the investigation tended, on average, to be both more effectively and more efficiently completed, making it that much easier to complete the charge sheet and present an effective case.

(b) Prosecutors, having been involved in the investigation, were much more attuned to, and familiar with, the specific facts of the case, making their presentation in court more effective. Moreover, this high level of preparedness made it that much more likely that defense counsel would advise their clients to plead guilty.

(c) The fact that particular magistrates were dedicated to commercial crimes also meant that both defense and prosecution had a better sense of the needs of the court, making cases more efficient. In addition, the familiarity of the court with the nature of these cases meant that the cases could proceed more rapidly.

We currently have fully established Specialized Commercial Crimes Courts in the following five (5) provinces:

1. Free State: Bloemfontein Regional Court;
2. Western Cape: Cape Town Regional Court;
3. Gauteng: Palm Ridge Regional Court; and Pretoria Regional Court;
4. Eastern Cape: Port Elizabeth Regional Court; and
5. KZN: Durban Regional Court.

We anticipate that investigations and prosecutions of serious economic crime including corruption, will increase significantly, including cases arising from investigations conducted by the NPA’s Investigating Directorate, emanating from the various Commissions of Inquiry focusing on State Capture and Corruption. Therefore, we should have at least one Specialized Commercial Crimes Court per province. We need to create/strengthen capacity through the establishment and capacitation of Specialized Commercial Crimes Courts and the Specialized Commercial Crimes Unit of the NPA.

Funding has consequently been provided in terms of the MTSF and MTEF for the capacitation of both Specialized Commercial Crimes Courts and Specialized Commercial Crimes Units in the following 5 additional places, across the MTSF 2019-2024 period, in a phased manner as capacity and other required measures are put in place by all relevant role players:

a) Eastern Cape (Mthata);

b) North West (Mmabatho/Mafikeng);

c) Limpopo (Polokwane);

d) Mpumalanga (Mbombela); and

e) Northern Cape (Kimberley/Botshabelo).

Reply:

Already, there is an existing independent corruption specific investigative and prosecutorial body, namely, the Investigating Directorate in the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).

In this regard, the President, in terms of section 7(1) of the National Prosecuting Authority Act, 1998 (Act No.32 of 1998) (“the NPA Act”), on recommendation of the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services, Minister of Police and National Director of Public Prosecutions, proclaimed on 25 March 2019, the establishment of an Investigating Directorate in respect of the following criminal cases:

1. Common law offences of:

(a) Fraud;

(b) Forgery;

(c) Uttering;

(d) Theft; and

(e) Any offence involving dishonesty.

2. Statutory offences including but not limited to contraventions of:

(a) The Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act, 2004 (Act No. 12 of 2004);

(b) The Prevention of Organised Crime Act, 1998 (Act No. 121 of 1998);

(c) The Protection of Constitutional Democracy against Terrorist and Related Activities, 2004 (Act No. 33 of 2004);

(d) The Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act No. 1 of 1999);

(e) The Local Government: Municipal Finance Management, 2003 (Act No. 56 of 2003);

(f) The Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001 (Act No. 38 of 2001); and

(g)  Any other statutory offence involving dishonesty.

3. In addition, any unlawful activities relating to serious, high profile or complex corruption cases including but not limited to offences or criminal or unlawful activities arising from the following commissions and inquiry:

(a) The Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector including Organs of State promulgated under Presidential Proclamation No. 3 of 2018 published in Government Gazette No. 41403, 25 January 2018;

(b) The Commission of Inquiry into Tax Administration and Governance by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) established by Presidential Proclamation No. 17 of 2018 published in Government Gazette No. 41562 of 24 May 2018;

(c) The Commission of Inquiry into Allegations for Impropriety regarding the Public Investment Corporation established under Presidential Proclamation No. 30 of 2018. Published in the Government Gazette No. 41979 of 17 October 2018; and

(d) Any other serious, high profile or complex cases of corruption referred to the Directorate by the National Director in accordance with Section 28(1)(b) of the NPA Act.

The Head for the Investigating Directorate, Advocate Hermione Cronje, has been appointed, and the Investigating Directorate is functional.

It needs to be noted that, though the Investigating Directorate only deals with the high end corruption matters, the lower value corruption cases do, however, receive full attention as well through the normal processes. In this regard we have, for example, specialised courts to deal with serious commercial crime cases and corruption. They are called Specialised Commercial Crimes Courts (SCCCs), and are underpinned by dedicated prosecutorial Specialised Commercial Crimes Units (SCCUs) in the NPA and dedicated investigators from police (SAPS/ DPCI) side. The SCCUs and the SCCCs play an important role in dealing with corruption cases and in dealing with the investigation and prosecution of “graft”.

These measures are paying off dividends as NPA statistics indicate that 152 government officials were convicted for corruption or offences related to corruption in the first three quarters of the 2019/20 financial year, and a further 198 persons of private sector corruption. In 2018/19, 210 officials were convicted, and in the previous year 213 officials.

It needs to be pointed out that serious corruption matters are mostly complex and require significant investigations that take time. Fortunately, we also see lately, on a daily basis, media articles that mention cases of prosecution for corruption and convictions in that regard.

In an effort to fast track the recovery of funds lost to the state from corruption or irregular spending, His Excellency, President Cyril Ramaphosa has furthermore established a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) Special Tribunal in February 2019. This was done because of a need to fast-track the finalisation of matters that had been referred for civil litigation after the conclusion of an investigation. These are matters where the SIU would ordinarily have gone the normal High Court civil litigation route to have government contracts declared invalid or set aside.

Fast-tracking these matters through the Special Tribunal is currently enabling the SIU to recover monies and or assets lost by state institutions through irregular and corrupt means; thus ensuring that those who are responsible for the loss of monies and or assets by state institutions are held accountable. The litigation process includes both public and private sectors, persons and entities. Such civil proceedings will be based on the outcomes from the investigations by SIU.

Judge Gidfonia Mlindelwa Makhanya has been appointed as President of the Tribunal.

The Special Tribunal is fully functional and is able to adjudicate any civil proceedings brought to it by the SIU, either in its own name or on behalf of a state institution or interested party, which stems from an SIU investigation.

Reply:

I would like to apprise the Honourable Member that the profiles of the mentioned offenders have been submitted to the National Council for Correctional Services (NCCS) for reconsideration thereafter which it will be submitted to my office for a decision.

The fact that these offenders are eligible for consideration for placement on parole does not mean that conditional placement will be granted automatically, as a number of factors are considered before placement can be approved. Accordingly, dates of their placement on parole cannot be provided at this stage as they are still to be considered by the National Council for Correctional Services and where placement on parole or further profiling can be decided upon.

The following factors are among other factors taken into consideration when an offender is considered for possible placement on parole:

• The offenders 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 and
• The outcome of restorative justice processes and possible referral for mediation if it had not been done prior to the Correctional Supervision and Parole Board meeting; and the risk to the victim.

END

Reply:

a) (i) The Department of Correctional Services applies the following performance incentive measures that are prescribed by the Public Service and Administration`s Incentive Policy Framework for Employees in the Public Service, namely: Pay progression am performance bonuses.

b) (i) Amounts budgeted are outlined in the table below:

	Financial year	Pay progression	Performance bonus
(aa)	2017/18	R 89 537 849.29	R 55 320 043.08
(bb)	2018/19	R46 736 992.73	R 49 185 555. 88
(ii)	2019/20	R 128 943 606. 69	R 59 437 035.00

Reply:

The Department has collaborated with the Integrated Justice System (IJS) programme office since October 2018, to increase its capacity and complete the development of the outstanding modules of Incarcerations and Corrections and Community Corrections.

The Department has successfully rolled out the Remand Detention module with Biometrics (fingerprints, facial and Iris) to seven (7) sites, and will continue with the remaining sites as per annual performance plan (APP) and this will cover 60% of the Remand Detention Offenders information on IIMS with proper identification and verification.

The above interventions are aimed at accelerating finalization of IIMS development and roll out.

Reply:

a) From the statistics kept by the Department female counsel briefed by the Offices of the State Attorney during the last few years, African female counsel rank high for the past financial years, namely:

• From the total number of 2 386 of briefs allocated to female counsel during 2017/18, 1 427 briefs were allocated to African females;
• From the total number of 2 109 of briefs allocated to female counsel during 2018/19, 1 233 briefs were allocated to African females; and
• From the total number of 1 203 of briefs allocated to female counsel for the first two quarters of 2019/20, 761 briefs were allocated to African females.

When it comes to female counsel in general, the target has ranged from 25% to 29% of value of briefs for the past two financial years, and I have been in the forefront of ensuring that the Department lead by example by allocating the majority of the matters relating to the Ministry and Department to female counsel and African female counsel, in particular.

We continue to engage with the various role-players and stakeholders over a period of time, ranging from the Legal Practice Council (LPC) and the various associations, for example: the National Association of Democratic Lawyers (NADEL), Black Lawyers Association (BLA), Advocates for Transformation (AFT), South African Women Lawyers Association (SAWLA) etc. to encourage collaboration in building capacity amongst women legal practitioners so they can better opportunities within the legal profession and for the Judicial Service Commission’s interviews for the Bench.

From 2017 the statistical information relating to the allocation of legal work to private legal practitioners is published on the Department’s website, so as to ensure transparency and promote accountability.

The briefing target in respect of females has been and is currently being increased per year as the pool of females’ counsel continuously grows and increases.

b) The following are amongst the measures we are embarking upon to advance gender equality in the legal profession and the judiciary

(i) We are developing a framework for the appointment of acting judges and there are on-going discussions with Heads of Court regarding this. This is important as acting appointments are an important vehicle through which women practitioners can enhance their opportunity for permanent appointments on the bench.

(ii) The Department continues to support the structures such as the South African Women Lawyers Association and the International Association of Women Judges which have, as their objective, the advancement of women judges.

(iii) In respect of the legal profession, the Department in collaboration with the Legal Practice Council:

• has embarked on a process to develop a Legal Services Charter which amongst others will ensure the transfer of skills to previously disadvantaged practitioners in particular women; and
• is working on new criteria for the confirmation of Senior Counsel status to eligible practitioners. This is with a view to transfer the Senior Counsel sector which is still predominately male and white.

Reply:

No, in order to properly advise the President regarding a possible pardon in Mr Cekeshe’s case, a thorough and comprehensive evaluation is necessary to ensure that the President makes a rational decision with all relevant facts considered. Mr Cekeshe, like any other Fees Must Fall activists, was informed of the process he is required to follow to apply and submit a request for pardon.

Mr Cekeshe has chosen to exercise his legal right to appeal his conviction. This effectively means, he and his legal team believe that a different court could arrive at different conclusion. In other words, he believes that a different court could overturn his conviction. As such it is impermissible for one to engage in the process which speak to pardons. In order for one to invoke a pardon one must have completed the court process, a judicial process cannot run along aside the pardon process.

Reply:

No, I have not discussed the matter with the National Director of Public Prosecutions nor indeed, with any member of the National Prosecution Authority. The prosecution of persons falls in the sole mandate of the National Prosecution Authority in terms of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, as well as the National Prosecuting Authority Act, 1998.

The National Prosecuting Authority without fear, favor or prejudice and it will be inappropriate for me to discuss any specific matters with the prosecution. My interface with the National Prosecuting Authority is in the context of ensuring that it functions efficiently.

The Honourable Member refers to “many activists in jail or attending court cases” I am only aware of one activist who was sentenced to imprisonment in a correctional facility and two activists attending court cases.

Reply:

a) Number of proclamations under investigation during 2018/2019 FY

National Departments
No	Proc No	Dept/State Institution	End date	Reason
1	R38 of 2010 extended by R27 of 2015 extended by R20 of 2018	National Department of Public Works	2020/2021	1 final presidential report submitted to the Presidency on 08/06/2018. Investigation ongoing
2	R42 of 2010 extended by R73 of 2011	South African Police Service	2019/2020	Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under internal review
3	R53 of 2012	Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (Land Restitution)	2019/2020	Final presidential report submitted to Presidency on 27/11/2019
4	R54 of 2012	Department of Water Affairs and Forestry	2018/2019	Final presidential report submitted to the Presidency on 26/10/2018
5	R7 of 2014 amended by R599 of 2015 amended by R32 of 2017	Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (formerly known as the Department of Land Affairs) in its national department, its provincial departments, its trading entities and their respective agencies (herein referred to as the DRDLR) and the State Information Technology Agency (PTY) Ltd (herein referred to as SITA)	2020/2021	1 Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under internal review. Investigation ongoing
6	R54 of 2014 amended by R44 of 2015	Department of Public Works (Prestige Projects Western Cape)	2019/2020	Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under internal review
7	R55 of 2014	Department of Labour and Compensation Fund	2019/2020	Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under internal review
8	R59 of 2014	National Department of Public Works	2018/2019	Final presidential report submitted to Presidency on 14/12/2018
9	R18 of 2016	Department of Correctional Services	2019/2020	Final presidential report submitted to Presidency on 27/11/2019
10	R19 of 2016	Construction Industry Development Board	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing
11	R24 of 2017	Department of Rural Development and Land Reform	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing
12	R28 of 2017	Department of Correctional Services and Independent Development Trust	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing
13	R37 of 2017	National Department of Transport	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing
14	R21 of 2018 amended by R33 of 2019	Department of Justice and Constitutional Development	2020/2021	Extended by Proclamation R33 of 2019. Investigation ongoing
15	R27 of 2018 amended by R44 of 2019	National Department of Water and Sanitation	2020/2021	Extended by Proclamation R44 of 2019. Investigation ongoing
16	R18 of 2019	National Health Laboratory Services	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing

Provincial Departments
No	Proc No	Dept/State Institution	End date	Reason
1	R17 of 2016	Department of Education: EC	2018/2019	Final presidential report submitted to Presidency on 20/06/2018
2	R22 of 2016 amended by R27 of 2019	Department of Human Settlements, Gauteng and Lepelle Northern Water		1 final presidential report submitted to Presidency on 21/09/2018. Extended by Proclamation R27 of 2019. Investigation ongoing
3	R23 of 2016	Provincial Department of Transport: KZN	2019/2020	Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under internal review
4	R32 of 2016	Independent Development Trust, the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Education for the Free State	2019/2020	Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under internal review
5	R9 of 2017	Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and Mjindi Farming: KZN	2019/2020	Investigation ongoing
6	R17 of 2017	Department of Social Development: EC	2019/2020	Final presidential report submitted to Presidency on 27/11/2019
7	R23 of 2017 amended by R6 of 2019	Gauteng Department of Health: Mental health care facilities	2019/2020	Extended by proclamation R6 of 2019. Investigation ongoing
8	R30 of 2017 amended by R45 of 2019	Provincial Treasury: KZN	2020/2021	Extended by proclamation R45 of 2019. Investigation ongoing
9	R35 of 2017	PSETA	2019/2020	Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under internal review
10	R2 of 2018 amended by R31 of 2019	North West Department of Public Works and Roads and Transport		Extended by proclamation R31 of 2019. Investigation ongoing
11	R4 of 2018	AGRISETA	2019/2020	Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under internal review
12	R5 of 2018	Tshwane South College	2019/2020	Investigation ongoing
13	R10 of 2018	Department of Correctional Services: KZN	2019/2020	Investigation ongoing
14	R12 of 2018	Roads Agency Limpopo Ltd	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing
15	R14 of 2018	Department of Transport: KZN	2019/2020	Final presidential report submitted to Presidency on 10/09/2019
16	R16 of 2018 amended by R25 of 2018	MICT SETA	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing
17	R36 of 2018	Department of Transport: KZN	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing
18	R4 of 2019	Umgeni Water	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing

Local Government Entities
No	Proc No	Dept/State Institution	End date	Reason
1	R62 of 2010	Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality	2019/2020	Final presidential report submitted to Presidency on 17/10/2018
2	R52 of 2014	Greater Tubatse Local Municipality	2019/2020	Final presidential report submitted to Presidency on 10/09/2019
3	R21 of 2016	Msunduzi Local Municipality	2018/2019	Final presidential report submitted to Presidency on 29/03/2019
4	R59 of 2016 amended by R7 of 2018	Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality and the Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality ("the municipalities")	2019/2020	1 final presidential report submitted to Presidency on 17/10/2018. Extended by proclamation R7 of 2018. Investigation ongoing
5	R8 of 2017 amended by R15 of 2018 amended by R16 of 2019	Mopani District Municipality	2020/2021	Extended by R16 of 2019. Investigation ongoing
6	R10 of 2017	Harry Gwala District Municipality	2019/2020	Final presidential report submitted to Presidency 15/10/2019
7	R18 of 2017 amended by R43 of 2019	Thabazimbi Local Municipality	2020/2021	Extended by proclamation R43 of 2019. Investigation ongoing
8	R19 of 2017	Alfred Nzo Local Municipality	2019/2020	Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under internal review
9	R25 of 2017	Lesedi Local Municipality	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing
10	R36 of 2017	Alfred Nzo Local Municipality	2019/2020	Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under internal review
11	R6 of 2018	Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality	2019/2020	Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under internal review
12	R9 of 2018	Mbhashe Local Municipality	2019/2020	Investigation ongoing
13	R13 of 2018	EC Institutions (Nelson Mandela Funeral)	2019/2020	Investigation ongoing
14	R26 of 2018	Ethekwini Metropolitan Municipality	2019/2020	Investigation ongoing
15	R28 of 2018 amended by R5 of 2019	Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality	2020/2021	Extended by proclamation R5 of 2019. Investigation ongoing
16	R7 of 2019	Moretele Local Municipality	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing
17	R17 of 2019	City of Johannesburg	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing

State Owned Entities
No	Proc No	Dept/State Institution	End date	Reason
1	R53 of 2014 amended by R15 of 2015	SITA	2019/2020	Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under internal review
2	R29 of 2017 amended by R19 of 2018	South African Broadcasting Corporation	2019/2020	Investigation ongoing
3	R11 of 2018	Eskom and Transnet	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing

b0 Number and value of civil litigation during the 2018/2019 FY

(i) 19 civil matters were instituted to the value of R7.9 billion. None of the civil matters instituted during the 2018/2019 financial year had yet resulted in recoveries during that financial year. None of the values reflected in (ii) flowed from civil matters instituted during the 2018/2019 financial year.

No	Proc No	Dept/State Institution	Total value of civil matters instituted
1	R7 of 2014 amended by R599 of 2015 amended by R32 of 2017	Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (formerly known as the Department of Land Affairs) in its national department, its provincial departments, its trading entities and their respective agencies (herein referred to as the DRDLR) and the State Information Technology Agency (PTY) Ltd (herein referred to as SITA)	R208 025 175
2	R54 of 2014 amended by R44 of 2015	Department of Public Works (Prestige Projects Western Cape)	R675 293
3	R59 of 2014	National Department of Public Works	R21 710 374
4	R19 of 2016	Construction Industry Development Board	R1 109 577 173
5	R22 of 2016 amended by R27 of 2019	Department of Human Settlements, Gauteng and Lepelle Northern Water	R2 521 024 500
6	R27 of 2015 extended by R20 of 2018	National Department of Public Works	R12 596 561
7	R10 of 2017	Harry Gwala District Municipality	R2 000 000
8	R18 of 2017	Thabazimbi Local Municipality	R49 848 921
9	R23 of 2017 amended by R6 of 2019	Gauteng Department of Health: Mental health care facilities	R1 344 388
10	R29 of 2017 amended by R19 of 2018	South African Broadcasting Corporation	R329 277 653
11	R11 of 2018	Eskom	R3 700 000 000

(ii) Value of recoveries made during the 2018/2019 FY

Total value of R136.8 million made up as follows:

No	Proc No	Dept/State Institution	Value
1	R40 of 2015	Buffalo City Metropolitan Municipality	R7 910 305
2	R59 of 2014	National Department of Public Works	R118 480 288
3	R23 of 2016	Provincial Department of Transport: KZN	R1 059 762
4	R9 of 2017	Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and Mjindi Farming: KZN	R432 000
5	R8 of 2017 amended by R15 of 2018 amended by R16 of 2019	Mopani District Municipality	R1 320 101
6	R10 of 2017	Harry Gwala District Municipality	R851 522
7	R23 of 2017 amended by R6 of 2019	Gauteng Department of Health: Mental health care facilities	R622 178
8	R25 of 2017	Lesedi Local Municipality	R50 000
9	R29 of 2017 amended by R19 of 2018	South African Broadcasting Corporation	R594 926
10	R4 of 2018	AGRISETA	R59 100
11		SIU Acknowledgement of Debt Enforcement Department	R5 451 928

c) Proclamations still ongoing and reasons why not concluded

(i) List of proclamations still ongoing

(ii) Please take note that proclamations that are under investigation in a particular financial year will not necessarily be finished in the same financial year. All proclamations have a start date and an end date and the duration of the investigation depends on the nature/complexity of the matters to be investigated.

National Departments
No	Proc No	Dept/State Institution	End date	Reason
1	R38 of 2010 extended by R27 of 2015 extended by R20 of 2018	National Department of Public Works	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing
2	R42 of 2010 extended by R73 of 2011	South African Police Service	2019/2020	Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under review
3	R53 of 2012	Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (Land Restitution)	2019/2020	Final presidential report submitted to Presidency on 27/11/2019
4	R7 of 2014 amended by R599 of 2015 amended by R32 of 2017	Department of Rural Development and Land Reform (formerly known as the Department of Land Affairs) in its national department, its provincial departments, its trading entities and their respective agencies (herein referred to as the DRDLR) and the State Information Technology Agency (PTY) Ltd (herein referred to as SITA)	2020/2021	1 Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under review. Investigation ongoing
5	R54 of 2014 amended by R44 of 2015	Department of Public Works (Prestige Projects Western Cape)	2019/2020	Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under review
6	R55 of 2014	Department of Labour and Compensation Fund	2019/2020	Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under review
7	R18 of 2016	Department of Correctional Services	2019/2020	Final presidential report submitted to Presidency on 27/11/2019
8	R19 of 2016	Construction Industry Development Board	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing
9	R24 of 2017	Department of Rural Development and Land Reform	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing
10	R28 of 2017	Department of Correctional Services and Independent Development Trust	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing
11	R37 of 2017	National Department of Transport	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing
12	R21 of 2018 amended by R33 of 2019	Department of Justice and Constitutional Development	2020/2021	Extended by Proclamation R33 of 2019. Investigation ongoing
13	R27 of 2018 amended by R44 of 2019	National Department of Water and Sanitation	2020/2021	Extended by Proclamation R44 of 2019. Investigation ongoing
14	R18 of 2019	National Health Laboratory Services	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing

Provincial Departments
No	Proc No	Dept/State Institution	End date	Reason
1	R22 of 2016 amended by R27 of 2019	Department of Human Settlements, Gauteng and Lepelle Northern Water		Extended by Proclamation R27 of 2019. Investigation ongoing
2	R23 of 2016	Provincial Department of Transport: KZN	2019/2020	Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under review
3	R32 of 2016	Independent Development Trust, the Department of Basic Education and the Department of Education for the Free State	2019/2020	Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under review
4	R9 of 2017	Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development and Mjindi Farming: KZN	2019/2020	Investigation ongoing
5	R17 of 2017	Department of Social Development: EC	2019/2020	Final presidential report submitted to Presidency on 27/11/2019
6	R23 of 2017 amended by R6 of 2019	Gauteng Department of Health: Mental health care facilities	2019/2020	Extended by proclamation R6 of 2019. Investigation ongoing
7	R30 of 2017 amended by R45 of 2019	Provincial Treasury: KZN	2020/2021	Extended by proclamation R45 of 2019. Investigation ongoing
8	R35 of 2017	PSETA	2019/2020	Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under review
9	R2 of 2018 amended by R31 of 2019	North West Department of Public Works and Roads and Transport		Extended by proclamation R31 of 2019. Investigation ongoing
10	R4 of 2018	AGRISETA	2019/2020	Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under review
11	R5 of 2018	Tshwane South College	2019/2020	Investigation ongoing
12	R10 of 2018	Department of Correctional Services: KZN	2019/2020	Investigation ongoing
13	R12 of 2018	Roads Agency Limpopo Ltd	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing
14	R14 of 2018	Department of Transport: KZN	2019/2020	Final presidential report submitted to Presidency on 10/09/2019
15	R16 of 2018 amended by R25 of 2018	MICT SETA	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing
16	R36 of 2018	Department of Transport: KZN	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing
17	R4 of 2019	Umgeni Water	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing

Local Government Entities
No	Proc No	Dept/State Institution	End date	Reason
1	R52 of 2014	Greater Tubatse Local Municipality	2019/2020	Final presidential report submitted to Presidency on 10/09/2019
2	R59 of 2016 amended by R7 of 2018	Greater Sekhukhune District Municipality and the Elias Motsoaledi Local Municipality ("the municipalities")	2019/2020	Extended by proclamation R7 of 2018. Investigation ongoing
3	R8 of 2017 amended by R15 of 2018 amended by R16 of 2019	Mopani District Municipality	2020/2021	Extended by R16 of 2019. Investigation ongoing
4	R10 of 2017	Harry Gwala District Municipality	2019/2020	Final presidential report submitted to Presidency 15/10/2019
5	R18 of 2017 amended by R43 of 2019	Thabazimbi Local Municipality	2020/2021	Extended by proclamation R43 of 2019. Investigation ongoing
6	R19 of 2017	Alfred Nzo Local Municipality	2019/2020	Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under review
7	R25 of 2017	Lesedi Local Municipality	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing
8	R36 of 2017	Alfred Nzo Local Municipality	2019/2020	Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under review
9	R6 of 2018	Raymond Mhlaba Local Municipality	2019/2020	Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under review
10	R9 of 2018	Mbhashe Local Municipality	2019/2020	Investigation ongoing
11	R13 of 2018	EC Institutions (Nelson Mandela Funeral)	2019/2020	Investigation ongoing
12	R26 of 2018	Ethekwini Metropolitan Municipality	2019/2020	Investigation ongoing
13	R28 of 2018 amended by R5 of 2019	Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality	2020/2021	Extended by proclamation R5 of 2019. Investigation ongoing
14	R7 of 2019	Moretele Local Municipality	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing
15	R17 of 2019	City of Johannesburg	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing

State Owned Entities
No	Proc No	Dept/State Institution	End date	Reason
1	R53 of 2014 amended by R15 of 2015	SITA	2019/2020	Final presidential report has been prepared and is currently under review
2	R29 of 2017 amended by R19 of 2018	South African Broadcasting Corporation	2019/2020	Investigation ongoing
3	R11 of 2018	Eskom and Transnet	2020/2021	Investigation ongoing

Reply:

1. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) can only prosecute when there is a complainant who opened a criminal docket at the police station. At this stage, we are not aware of any case lodged with the police against the person referred to.
2. No,

Reply:

There has been extensive research done under the auspices of the Inter-Ministerial Committee (IMC) appointed by Cabinet which was chaired by Deputy President Mabuza during the fourth administration. In the aftermath of the reconstitution of Cabinet in the fifth administration, the work undertaken by the IMC has been assigned to me as the Minister by the Cabinet.

I have received a detailed briefing on the work which was undertaken under the auspieces of the IMC thus far and I have been alerted to certain aspects of the work where research is still on-going. We hope to complete the remaining research soon after which I will submit the report and recommendations to Cabinet.

There will also be consultation with the Judiciary as part of this process and I have already engaged Chief Justice Mogoeng in this regard.

Reply:

(a) The Department is implementing a number at measures to improve efficiency in respect at services rendered in the office of the Master at the High Court. Key amongst these is the automation at the process in the Master’s office is the introduction at the Paperless Estate Administration System. Through this system, the Master’s offices are able to render efficient service delivery by responding immediately to enquiries as the information is readily available. We are able to provide copies as the documents are scanned. We can also provide accurate statistics of the Letters of Appointments issued by the Master’s offices as we can draw the reports.

(b) It is also important to note that over the past years the Masters’ work has steadily increased, though the officials attending to the same work have declined over the same period. The Masters’ Office lack capacity and has a high vacancy rate. In order to address this challenge, processes to fill funded vacant posts in the Masters Office are underway, taking into consideration budget constraints and further cuts with regards to the Department’s allocated budget. The vacant post of the Chief Master is also being filled. The post has been advertised and the closing date is 13 December 2019.

(c) With regards to the period it takes to wind up a deceased estate, it is further important to note that the business processes and timeframes are prescribed in the Administration of Estates Act, and the offices of the Master strive to ensure adherence to these timeframes. When an estate is reported to the Master, the office endeavors to issue the Letter of Appointment within 15 working days from receipt of all required documents.

(d) The process of administering an estate involves third parties and the Master facilitates the interface among the interested parties, which at times fall behind the expected timeframes for reasons beyond the control of the Master. The Executors and other role-players’ (i.e. beneficiaries, creditors etc.) actions influences the timeframe within which an estate is finalised.

Reply:

No, the then Minister appointed the National Council for Correctional Services (NCCS) for a period of five (5) years with effect from 1 March 2010 until 28 February 2015.

(a) who was appointed	(b) each person’s area of expertise and experience	(c) date the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services consulted
Appointed with effect 1 March 2010 for a period of five (5) years ending 28 February 2015. These appointments were extended for a period of three (3) months until 31 May 2015
Dr KJ Kometsi Ms LUZ Rataemane Dr M Mako	Clinical Psychologist
Ms B Ngobeni	Community Development Expert
Ms L Smit	NGO promoting Social Re-integration of offenders back into society
Dr M F Randera	Medical Doctor
Mr S Nkanunu	Practicing attorney
Appointed on 1 June 2015 for a period of 12 months ending 31 May 2016
Dr VR Chetty	CRIMINOLOGIST: Dr Chettys’ specialty, specifically during the parole consideration process by the NCCS, is the identification of crimogenic factors within offenders profiles and whether such needs have been addressed before such offender can be released back to society.	11 November 2015
Ms AL Vilakazi	ATTORNEY: Ms Vilakazi is a practicing attorney and Director of Buthelezi Vilakazi Inc, a firm of attorney based in Sandton. Her specialty on the Council is that of ensuring compliance with applicable legislation (Constitutional Act, Criminal Procedure Act and the Correctional Services Act).
Ms N Gwayi Dr RM Mgudu Ms BN Ngobeni	COMMUNITY DEVELOPERS AND EDUCATORS: Ms. Nondumiso Gwayi Her main focus and interest is the importance of family and community support as a key element in the successful reintegration of offenders into society. Mr. Richard Mzoxolo Bhunga Mgudu His interest, by virtue of his profession, in the skilling, rehabilitation programmes and academic development of offender. Ms. Busi Ngobeni Ms. Ngobeni is an educator by profession. Has been serving as a member of the NCCS since 2010 and has over the years facilitated training conducted by NCCS members to Social Workers, Psychologists and Parole Boards.

Appointed on 1 June 2016 for a period of 36 months ending 31 May 2019

These appointments were extended by the Minister until 30 November 2019, pending the re-advertisement of the call for nominations, the consultation and appointment process.

(a)who was appointed	(b) each person’s area of expertise and experience	(c) date was the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services consulted
Mr IL de Klerk Ms ST Monyemane Ms LUZ Rataemane	Experts in clinical psychology	18 May 2016
Adv KA Mahumani Rev JP Clayton	Representatives of non-governmental organisations working within the field of Correctional Services
Ms AL Vilakazi Dr VR Chetty	Academics with expertise in criminal law, criminology, penology or restorative justice.
Mr N Nkopo	Expert in community justice systems

An appointment process has been initiated with positions due to be advertised during the month of October 2019.

Reply:

1. Not all the correctional centres conform to the requirements of Clause 7(1) of the Correctional Services Act 111 of 1998 which stipulates the following:

“7 Accommodation (1) Prisoners must be held in cells which meet the requirements prescribed by regulation in respect of floor space, cubic capacity, lighting, ventilation, sanitary installations and general health conditions. These requirements must be adequate for detention under conditions of human dignity.”)

(a) The reasons for the non-conformity are:-

(ii) The Department’s correctional centres are made up of a range of facilities built over an extended period of time and they cater for a variety of different purposes to suit the thinking that was prevalent at the time of their construction. Many of centres were not designed to fulfil the objective of inmate detention under conditions of human dignity as is prevalent in the current correctional system;

(iii) Overcrowding in correctional centres which causes accelerated dilapidation of facilities, faster than new facilities can be constructed or the existing ones repaired;

(iv) Backlog of maintenance due to financial and human capacity constraints within both the implementing agent department (DPWI) as well DCS.

(b) There are fifteen (15) correctional centres that do not conform to the requirements (marked by * in the table below).

(c) The department is instituting corrective actions by upgrading existing correctional centres where funds permit, as well as planning the construction of new correctional centres as follows:-

	Correctional centre	Status	Corrective action
1	Glencoe*	Completed 2019/20	Upgrading contract for a section of the centre was completed in June 2019; Contract 2 is in planning for the remainder of the centre
2	Tzaneen*	Under construction	Construction of a new 500 bed correctional centre to replace zinc structure is underway, due for completion during 2019/2020
3	Lichtenburg*	Planning	Planning for an upgrading project to create additional 234 bed spaces and replace zinc structure is at an advanced stage; construction to commence in 2020/2021
4	Leeuwkop*	Planning	Planning for a new correctional centre to create 1,000 bed spaces and replace zinc structure is at site clearance stage
5	Voorberg*	Planning	Planning for a new correctional centre to create 1,500 bed spaces and replace zinc structure is at site clearance stage
6	Zeerust*	Planning	Planning for a new correctional centre to create 500 bed spaces and replace zinc structure is at site clearance stage
7	Makhado*	Zinc construction	Planning will commence when funds are available
8	Atteridgeville*	Zinc construction	Planning will commence when funds are available
9	Drakenstein Medium B*	Zinc construction	Planning will commence when funds are available
10	Pollsmoor Medium B*	Zinc construction	Planning will commence when funds are available
11	Groenpunt Medium*	Zinc construction	Planning will commence when funds are available
12	Brandvlei Medium*	Zinc construction	Planning will commence when funds are available
13	Brandvlei Maximum*	Closed	Closed. Repair and renovation project is in planning stage
14	Umzimkhulu*	Closed	Closed. Repair and renovation project is in planning stage
15	Geluk*	Closed	Closed. Planning will commence when funds are available
16	Standerton	Completed 2019/20	Upgrading and addition of 787 bed spaces, completed during 2019/20
17	Estcourt	Completed 2019/20	Upgrading and addition of 309 bed spaces, completed during 2019/20
18	Parys	Under construction	Upgrading and addition of 176 bed spaces commenced in 2019
19	Burgersdorp	Planning	Planning for an upgrading project to create 311 additional bed spaces is at an advanced stage; construction to commence in 2020/2021
20	Bethal	Planning	Planning is underway for a major repair and renovation project under the DPWI “Planned Maintenance” budget
21	Mahikeng	Planning	Planning is underway for a major repair and renovation project under the DPWI “Planned Maintenance” budget
22	Port Shepstone	Planning	Planning is underway for a major repair and renovation project under the DPWI “Planned Maintenance” budget

Reply:

(i) The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development did not do business with the persons, companies and trusts listed.

(ii) The Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) is not in a position to indicate whether it has done business with anyone of the listed individuals in the absence of more information regarding their identities such as identity numbers, Nationality, Occupations, ect.

(iii) The Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) did not do business with any of the companies mentioned by the Honourable Member.

(iv) The Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) did not do any business with any of the Trusts mentioned by the Honourable Member.

Reply:

A total of fifty six (56) cases of fruitless and wasteful expenditure were reported during 2017/18 financial year. The total value of the cases amounts to R41 233 748.00 and two (02) of the cases reported with a total amount of R9 701.00 were written off without any recoveries recommended because the expenditures were incurred in emergency service delivery. These 02 cases were due to:

(i) DCS team escorting offenders found that the accommodation which was booked was not safe for personnel and state vehicles and they moved to a more secured accommodation: R9 435.00.

(ii) Traffic offences by drivers led to the vehicle being impounded. The department had to pay R266.00 to release the vehicle for service delivery. The traffic fines were moved from the department proxy to the drivers to personally pay them:
R 266.00.

The department is in process of investigating all cases (except the two indicated above) and where applicable, recoveries and disciplinary process will be undertaken based on the outcomes of investigations.

END

Reply:

The Honourable Member should note that the suspect is an Ambassador, and as such has diplomatic immunity preventing prosecution.

Other diplomatic remedies (e.g. requesting an official apology from the home state, requesting waiver of immunity, recall of the suspect being an Ambassador, declaring the accused a persona non grata, etc.) were considered but in light of the available evidence and nature of the charges, none were deemed appropriate. It was decided not to pursue such remedies and consequently the diplomatic immunity is preventing prosecution.

This decision was informed after, amongst others:

(i) Discussions with the consular section of the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) regarding the type of case warranting any of the above remedies which will enjoy the support of DIRCO;

(ii) The nature of the conduct complained about (i.e. inappropriate massaging of the Ambassador by the complainant who was a domestic worker, over a number of years starting in 2013, initially without complaints or reports to others before 2016);

(iii) The fact that the complaint was laid with the police only in 2019 following alleged intervention or assistance of others involved in a labour dispute;

(iv) The fact that the complainant is a single witness;

(v) The absence of substantial corroboratory evidence confirming the complainant’s allegations; and

(vi) The implications that may follow on a diplomatic level (including the reputation of the Republic of South Africa in the international arena vis-à-vis the handling of foreign diplomats and their legal rights).

Therefore, the decision not to prosecute was taken after reaching a conclusion that the evidence available was insufficient to prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.

Reply:

I have been informed that the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development and the Department of Correctional Services did not incur any costs related to the inauguration of the President of the Republic, Mr M C Ramaphosa, held in Pretoria on 25 May 2019 and State of the Nation Address held in Cape Town on 20 June 2019.

a) (i) The Office of the Chief Justice incurred the following costs for the Presidential Inauguration on 25 May 2019:

Travel cost:                               R379 867.61

Accommodation and meals:       R392 361.69

Total cost:                                 R772 229.30

The Presidency carried the cost to an amount of R678 104.00 whilst the Office of the Chief Justice carried to an amount of R94 125.30 from its own voted budget.

(ii) the cost incurred was for the travel, accommodation and meals cost for the Judicial Officers attending the event as well as the cost for the logistical support provided by Office of the Chief Justice officials.

(b)(i) The Office of the Chief Justice incurred the following cost for the State of the Nation Address on 20 June 2019:

Travel cost:                        R408 368.27

Accommodation:                R244 308. 00

Total cost:                         R652 676. 27

(ii) The cost incurred was for the travel and accommodation cost for the Judicial Officers attending the event as was as the cost for the logistical support provided by Office of the Chief Justice officials.

Reply:

1. According to information, the storm damage occurred during September 2012. At that time, the office had no knowledge as to the extent of the damage. Whilst dealing with the backlogs in December 2018, it was realized that hundreds of files are not with the current service provider and in trying to establish the whereabouts of these files, it was brought to the attention of the Office of the Acting Chief Master that thousands of trust files were destroyed in a storm. It was also indicated that the files were ultimately disposed-off by the service provider without the Master having any opportunity to view the files for possible recovery. This has also led to litigation against the erstwhile service provider. It would appear that the management of the Master’s Office, Pretoria and the previous Chief Master at the time was made aware of this, but the information was not filtered through to senior management in the Master’s Office, Pretoria. Once the Acting Master received the information regarding the damaged files, she immediately reported this to the current Acting Chief Master, Mrs Bezuidenhout, earlier in 2019.

2. It has come to light that indeed poor record keeping by the office and no proper data base of files has led to this unfortunate situation. However, a project will be undertaken during December 2019 to address this. All files are to be removed to the current service provider, whom will then create a proper data base of all files. If it is then found that a file is not on this database, a dummy file will be opened to ensure service delivery to clients.

3. (a) The Master does not have the information in respect of all the affected clients as they deal with matters on a case to case basis. This is only established once a file cannot be located, if the file is requested by a client. Once a file cannot be located, the client is informed that the file is possibly amongst those damaged in the storm and the client is requested to provide copies of the trust deed, letter of acceptance and other relevant documentation to enable the Master to reconstruct the file. However, all stakeholders such as the Law Society, Banks and Trust Companies have been made aware of the situation.

(b) As stated above, a project will be undertaken and overtime will be effected to prioritize long outstanding matters.

4. (a) The other 14 offices are not experiencing a backlog in respect of Trust matters.

However, the Cape Town office has a backlog in respect of deceased appointments. This is also as a result of poor management of files and a lack of space to properly store files. This is also being addressed and meetings are to be held with National Archives to ensure the latter takes old files to create space at the various offices.

(b) As stated, a project will be embarking on in Pretoria as well as Cape Town to ensure backlogs are cleared by way of overtime and appointment of casual workers to assist.

(c) It is envisaged that the backlogs will be cleared by the end of March 2020.

5. I have already alluded to the matter during an interview.

Reply:

1. The Skukuza court was originally established by Proclamation on 01 February 1963 as a Periodical Court for the district of White River. With the demarcation of the magisterial districts, it was proclaimed as a periodical court for the district of Bushbuckridge as per notice GG 39601 dated 15 January 2016, and amended by GG 39961 dated 29 April 2016. It was never purposed to be a Regional Court. The Regional Court sessions for cases emanating from the Kruger National Park were originally attended to in the Regional Court in Mbombela. As from March 2017 the cases were moved to be attended to by the Regional Court Magistrate who was appointed for the Regional Court seated in Mashishing and were done in Skukuza by default to create a Regional Court caseload for the mentioned Regional Court Magistrate. Therefore, there was no Proclamation which created Skukuza as a Regional Court. The Court facility in Skukuza doesn’t allow for a Regional court sitting as it is small and it’s not structured to provide Regional Court requisite space. The extension of services to Skukuza by the Regional Court at that stage was to create the work of the Regional Court Magistrate who was appointed at Mashishing and did not have adequate volume of cases to handle.

On 28 August 2019, the court functionaries comprising, amongst others, the Chief Magistrate of Mpumalanga District Court Judiciary and the acting Director of Public Prosecutions, attended a meeting which was convened and chaired by the Mpumalanga Regional Court President, to review the continuation of sessions of the Regional Court in Skukuza. In view of all the considerations regarding inter alia the challenges with the facilities at the Periodical court, the challenge with access to the Skukuza Periodical by members of the public who require permits to attend court and the fact that there is actually no community at Skukuza which the court serves, the meeting resolved to gradually transfer Regional Court cases from Skukuza to Mhala which is a fully serviced Regional Court with a full administrative staff component. The post of the Regional Court Magistrate was transferred from Mashishing to Mhala and there is an experienced Public Prosecutor. The court also has requisite court facilities to properly adjudicate Regional court cases and adequate security for members of public and the Regional court judiciary alike.

It should also be mentioned that the sitting of the Regional Court in a facility that has been meant for a Periodical Court is not supported by law as only the main seats of courts and the branch courts for specified districts were appointed as places of sitting for Regional Courts.

It is worth mentioning though that the Bushbuckridge district court, sitting as the Skukuza Periodical Court will continue to sit and function as a reception court to deal with bail cases and to transfer district court trial cases to Bushbuckridge and the Regional Court cases to Mhala. The latter will accord with the legal status of the court for which it was proclaimed by the relevant Government Gazette Notice.

2. According to the information provided, the Court has dealt with 39 Regional Court cases to date, which include poaching cases, since the default establishment of the Regional Court sessions at Skukuza during March 2017. The Regional court has attained 100% conviction rate on the 39 cases. When averaging the total number of cases and the 30 months’ duration since March 2017, we can safely conclude that on average 39 cases were finalised in 30 months which is on average 1, 3 cases per month.

All the Regional Court poaching cases that were previously attended to at the Skukuza Periodical court will now be dealt with at the Mhala sub-district Court which is adequately furnished, secured and accessible to communities with controlled access to the court building.

3. The Skukuza Periodical court is by its very nature without any permanent capacity. All court functionaries and administrative support staff are drawn from the main court under which the Periodical court falls. The Periodical court doesn’t have an organogram of its own hence the staff of Skukuza court travels daily from their stations with cost implications in respect of travel and subsistence allowances to staff. There is sometimes a need to arrange accommodation for those court functionaries who are travelling for long distances to render services in respect of the court proceedings. The staff who travelled to Skukuza Periodical court to render the necessary support services to the Regional Court sessions will now render their services at their station without the necessity to incur extra costs and spend time on the road. Mhala court is a fully functional court with requisite amenities and facilities including well-furnished court rooms.

4. The management of both the Regional court and District court in Mpumalanga is of the view that the gradual transfer of Regional court cases to Mhala will not affect the conviction rate for poaching. They are of the view that some of the of 39 poaching cases were dealt with at Mhala. It should be noetd that prior the year 2017, these cases were dealt with at White River Magistrate court, then after they were dealt with at Nelspruit Magistrate court, and before 2016 they were dealt with at Mashishing were the Regional Court Magistrate was appointed before the post was moved to Mhala for convenience of handling poaching cases in proximity to Kruger National Park.

There is a popular understanding by all who administer justice in the area (MPU) that due to the convenient and conducive environment at Mhala, the conviction rate will not be affected and there is a likelihood that it will even increase the turnaround time in finalisation of Regional Court cases including the poaching cases.

Reply:

a) Domestic violence:

I am informed that the National Prosecuting Authority does not keep statistics regarding domestic violence matters. In this regard it is important to mention that domestic violence is an umbrella term for several offences which can be both statutory and common law offences. For example, if a person is convicted of the common law offence of assault on his or her partner, it will be captured as a criminal offence of assault and not as domestic violence.

1. During the years mentioned hereunder a number of persons were in contempt of the protection order issued against him or her in terms of the Domestic Violence Act, 1998 (Act 116 of 1998). The statistics of these withdrawals are as follows:

Domestic Violence - Criminal
Period	Total no. of cases disposed of	Withdrawn Cases	Withdrawal Rate*
aaa) 2017/18	9 782	5 487	56.1%
bbb) 2018/19	10 438	6 174	59.1%
bb) Q1* of 2019/20	3 013	1 780	59.1%
*Q1 = April - June 2019

(Source: National Operations Centre (NOC) at the Department of Justice and

Constitutional Development)

It should be noted that the figures above are projected as financial years rather than normal calendar periods.

Our electronic court systems at this point do not provide for a distinction between withdrawals by the complainant and the prosecutor. A request has been made for the system to be amended so that a new field can be populated to provide such information in the future.

*Withdrawal rate = withdrawn cases against total number of disposed of cases.

b) Sexual offences:  

(i) There are instances where the complainant requests the withdrawal of his/her case, and such cases can be withdrawn in court. However, the data reflecting this number of withdrawals, i.e., only by complainants, is not separately kept but forms part of the total number of withdrawals reflected in paragraph (ii) below.

(ii) The NPA reflects its performance data according to financial years. Accordingly, the number of cases withdrawn in the dedicated sexual offences courts for the financial year April 2018 – March 2019 comprised a total of 98 cases. During the first four months of the financial year 2019/20 (April – July), 44 cases were withdrawn. Data is not available for dedicated sexual offences courts prior to FY2018/19. It must be noted that sexual offence cases are also withdrawn in other courts but we do not have the specific data for withdrawn sexual offences only, because while data is kept on the number of cases withdrawn, this information is not recorded per crime type, but for the total number of the cases withdrawn.

Reply:

Yes the mentioned person is an employee of the department at Mqanduli Correctional Centre at Mthata Management Area.

a) Yes.

b) Yes.

c) Yes.

d) No.

Reply:

a) (i) The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) monitors and records prosecutions on

cases relating to the killing or attempted killing or injuring of a rhino in order to dehorn it, the possession, transportation, dealing in (trading) and importing or exporting of rhino horn without a legitimate permit. This also includes all incidents where the accused are found to be trespassing where rhinos are being kept whilst being in possession of any instrument capable of removing a horn, under circumstances where the only reasonable inference to be drawn is the death or injury of the rhino, in order to obtain its horn.

(ii) The NPA does not record statistics on illegal use of wildlife.

The table below contains information regarding the convictions over the specified period. A total of 199 convictions were secured from 210 verdict cases, representing a conviction rate of 94.8%. A total of 314 accused were convicted.

FINANCIAL YEAR	RHINO CONVICTED CASES	RHINO ACQUITTED CASES	TOTAL VERDICT CASES	CONVICTION RATE	CONVICTED ACCUSED
2016/17	26	1	27	96,3%	39
2017/18	95	7	102	93,1%	153
2018/19	62	3	65	95,4%	97
2019/20	16	0	16	100,0%	25
Grand Total	199	11	210	94,8%	314

b) More details of the 199 convictions are not readily available apart from the fact that 314 accused were involved in the 199 cases and convicted during this reporting period.

c) The convictions were obtained in the divisions set out below with the majority (101) being secured in the Mpumalanga Division.

DIVISION	RHINO CONVICTED CASES	RHINO ACQUITTED CASES	VERDICT CASES	CONVICTION RATE	CONVICTED ACCUSED
Eastern Cape Division	1	0	1	100,0%	3
Eastern Cape Division - Mthatha	0	0	0	0.0%	0
Free State Division	1	0	1	100,0%	1
Gauteng Division: Provincial	8	2	10	80,0%	14
Gauteng Local Division	22	2	24	91,7%	34
Kwa-Zulu Natal Division	17	2	19	89,5%	25
Limpopo Division	31	1	32	96,9%	49
Mpumalanga Division	101	0	101	100,0%	160
Northern Cape Division	1	1	2	50,0%	0
North West Division	14	3	17	82,4%	25
Western Cape Division	3	0	3	100,0%	3
Grand	199	11	210	94,8%	314