Justice & Constitutional Development

2011-11-17

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PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1910

DATE OF QUESTION: 29 JULY 2011

1910. Mr J R B Lorimer (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

Whether he has employed a ministerial special advisor; if so, (a) what are the duties of the advisor, (b) at which post level was the appointment made, (c) what is the salary level of the advisor, (d) what is the duration of the employment contract entered into with the advisor and (e) why was it necessary to appoint this advisor?

NW2148E

REPLY:- I wish to inform the Honorable Member that I have employed two special advisers.

(a) Their duties are, in line with the Public Service Act, 1994, as amended, (section 12A (1)), to advise me on the development of policies that will promote the objectives of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, to advise me on the exercise or performance of the powers vested in me and to perform such other tasks as may be appropriate in respect of the exercise of my powers and duties.

(b) The post level of their appointments is Senior Management Service (SMS) Grade D.

(c) Their salary level is the first notch of Compensation Level IV of the remuneration packages applicable with effect from 1 January 2011.

(d) The first advisor was appointed on 4 June 2009 and the second advisor was appointed on 1 August 2009. Both the contracts will terminate at the end of the month, following the month that I vacate office for any reason.

(e) I wish to refer the Honorable Member to (a) above.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1888

DATE OF QUESTION: 19 AUGUST 2011

1888. Mr K S Mubu (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

Whether the Government has received a request to extradite former Rwandan army chief Faustin Kayumba Nyamwasa to (a) Spain and (b) France where he is wanted for his alleged role in the Rwandese genocide of 1994; if so, what are the relevant details in each case?

NW2126E

REPLY:- I wish to inform the Honourable Member that requests for the extradition of General Nyamwasa were received from Rwanda, Spain and France. The Department concluded not to grant the request from Rwanda as he had already been granted formal refugee status. With regards to the requests from (a) Spain and (b) France, the Department is currently considering these requests.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1787

DATE OF QUESTION: 01 JULY 2011

1787. Mr P J C Pretorius (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) With reference to a certain statement (copy furnished) by a certain person (name and details furnished), (a) who served as the South African central authority, (b) why were the letters for mutual legal assistance not submitted to the other central authorities and (c) when was the decision taken not to submit the letters;

(2) whether the President was consulted in the decision to submit the letters; if not, why not; if so, (a) why and (b) what was his decision;

(3) in respect of which (a) countries and (b) facet of the investigation were such letters withheld;

(4) whether his department intends to seek mutual legal assistance from these countries again; if not, why not; if so, when? NW2017E

REPLY:-

I wish to inform the Honourable Member that, in order for my Department to appropriately respond to the above-mentioned questions, he is respectfully requested to provide a copy of the statement referred to, as this has not been received by my Department.

QUESTION NO.: 1780

DATE OF QUESTION: 01 JULY 2011

1780. Mrs D A Schäfer (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) Whether his department is leasing Erf 2908, 255 Schoeman Street, Pretoria, or a part thereof; if so, (a) who (i) owns this property and (ii) is the landlord, (b) what is the (i) gross monthly rental amount being paid for this property and (ii) extent of the leased premises and (c) on what date did (i) the lease commence and (ii) his department take possession of the property;

(2) whether his department is paying for any security services for the premises; if so, (a) how much is being paid each month, (b) for what time period and (c) how many security guards are stationed at the premises;

(3) whether his department has taken occupation of the premises; if not, (a) why not and (b) for how long will this continue to be the situation; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW2010E

REPLY:-

(1) I wish to inform the Honourable Member that the building on Erf 2908, 255 Schoeman Street, Pretoria is being leased by the Department of Public Works on behalf of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.

(1)(a)(i)&(ii) In terms of the lease agreement, the lessor is Phomella Property Investments PTY LTD, who is also the landlord.

(1)(b)(i)The gross monthly rental for this property is R3,662,426.81 and the total m² leased is 29000m².

(1)(c) In terms of the lease agreement, the commencement date was 1^st January 2010.

(2) My Department is paying for the provision of the security services at the said leased building. In the security tender that was awarded to six (6) various security service providers, a provision for eleven (11) security guards for the dayshifts and six (6) for nightshifts to the total monthly value of R171, 346.96, was made. However, due to the tenant installations on site and the contracted service providers with the landlord, the security services commenced with effect from 01 April 2011 on a very minimal scale of deployment.

(2)(a) During the month of April 2011 and May 2011, amounts of R82,930.06 and R73,203.13 were paid respectively.

(2)(b) The payments cover services rendered for the period of 01 April 2011 until 30 May 2011.

(2)(c) In April 2011, there were only six (6) security guards for dayshifts and two (2) security guards for nightshifts. In May 2011, there were only three (3) security guards for dayshifts and two (2) security guards for nightshifts and the payment effected was R73 203.13. The total number of security guards stationed at the premises currently is five (5), which will be increased as per the approved needs, once the building is fully occupied.

(3)(a) My Department has not taken occupation of the premises as yet as we are busy with the required tenant installations.

(3)(b) All sections will have relocated to the premises by 30 November 2011.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1779

DATE OF QUESTION: 01 JULY 2011

1779. Mrs D A Schäfer (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) Whether his department has received the docket for a certain case (details furnished); if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, when;

(2) whether prosecution has been instituted; if not, (a) why not and (b) when does his department intend to prosecute the matter; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW2009E

Details referred to in question: Case Number CAS 279/05/2009 (Muizenberg SAPS) REPLY:- (1) I wish to inform the Honourable Member that I have been informed that the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions of the Western Cape received the docket in question on 14 February 2011. (2) Further investigations were requested and on completion thereof, a J175 summons was issued, on 11 July 2011, for the accused to appear in court on 29 July 2011 on one count of culpable homicide, alternatively reckless or negligent driving.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1707

DATE OF QUESTION: 24 JUNE 2011

1707. Mr J R B Lorimer (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(2) (a) what was the actual budget increase each year, expressed as a percentage, for funds allocated to this sub-programme and (b) how is the increase for each specified financial year justified? NW1921E REPLY:-

(1) I wish to inform the Honourable member that the detailed expenditure breakdown for the Ministry sub-programme for the requested years is as follows:

	a)	b)	c)	d)
	2007/08	2008/09	2009/10	2010/11
	R'000	R'000	R'000	R'000
Compensation of Employees	8 084	10 768	18 336	22 422
Goods and Services	10 532	9 672	15 180	12 178
Households	100	67	5	940
Machinery and Equipment	224	377	171	166
TOTAL	18 940	20 884	33 692	35 706

(2) The Honourable member should please note that the Ministry includes the Office of the Minister and the Office of the Deputy Minister.

(a) The actual budget increase over the three years was:

1. Increase from 2007/08 to 2008/09	2. Increase from 2008/09 to 2009/10	3. Increase from 2009/10 to 2010/11
10.2%	61.3%	5.9%

(b) The 10.2% increase in 2008/09 was based on the provision for salary increases and inflation related increases. The 61.3% increase in 2009/10 was aimed at catering for the specific restructuring of the Ministerial establishment in that period as well as the provision for salary and inflation related increases. In the following year (2010/11), the yearly increase dropped back to its usual, inflation-related level increases, and entailed 5.9% to cater for the salary and inflation related increases.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1684

DATE OF QUESTION: 24 JUNE 2011

1684. Mr P J C Pretorius (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) (a) How many conveyance permits were issued by the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) in each of the past three years, (b) in respect of which countries, as final destination of consignments, were such permits issued and (c) how many such permits were issued for each specified country in each of the past three financial years;

(2) (a) what was the monetary value of each consignment and (b) for what categories of armaments were the permits issued? NW1898E

REPLY

Section 23(2) (b) (i) of the NCAC Act 2002 provides that the Annual Report may only reflect the country and type of conventional arms involved and the total value per type exported to the country for the year. Section 23(2) (b) (ii) further provides that the Annual Report may reflect the quantity of conventional arms involved, except if disclosure is prohibited in terms of a confidentiality clause in terms of a contract of sale contain information such as the names of the importing states and the type, quantity and value of all the conventional arms in question. In this regard, the information contained in the Annual Reports reflects the country, category, value and an explanation. The NCACC Annual Reports for 2008, 2009 and 2010 were duly submitted by the NCACC to Parliament. It is submitted that in view of the fact that there is no legislative requirement to report on conveyance permits, information pertaining to said permits is not contained in said reports.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1683

DATE OF QUESTION: 24 JUNE 2011

1683. Mr P J C Pretorius (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and ConstitutionalDevelopment:

(1) Whether the National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC) has complied with the reporting requirements of the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms in terms of section 23(1)(a) of the National Conventional Arms Control Act, Act 41 of 2002, in each of the past three years; if not, why not; if so, on what date in each year did the NCACC submit its report to the United Nations;

(2) whether the NCACC simultaneously presented such reports to Parliament; if not, why not; if so, on what date in each year did the committee submit its report to Parliament? NW1897E

REPLY:

The NCACC duly complied with the reporting requirements of the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms as provided for in terms of section 23(1)(a) of the NCAC Act of 2002 (Act 41 of 2002). Furthermore, the information presented in the United Nations Annual Report is presented in a manner consistent with the provisions of the United Nations Assembly Resolutions 46/36 of 6 December 1991: The reports were submitted as follows:

Calender Year and not Financial Year based	Date submitted to United Nations

2008	9 Sept 2009
2009	25 Aug 2010
2010	8 Jun 2011

The information contained in the UN Reports for 2008, 2009 and 2010 is part of the NCACC's Annual Reports for the same year. The NCACC has submitted the 2010 UN Report to Parliament on 17 May 2011.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1618

DATE OF QUESTION: 15 JUNE 2011

1618. Mrs D A Schäfer (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) (a) Which company received the tender for the new Audio Visual Remand (AVR) system that was recently launched in Mitchells Plain, (b) what is the value of the tender and (c) how many companies applied for the tender;

(2) whether the tender includes ongoing maintenance of the system; if not, why not; if so, for what specified period must the said company provide maintenance?

NW1821E

REPLY:-

(1)(a) I wish to inform the Honourable Member that "Digital Voice Processing" was awarded the tender for the new Audio Visual Remand System and that all the necessary prescripts with regard to tender processes have been adhered to.

(1)(b) The value of the tender is R8 320 708.00.

(1)(c) Fourteen companies applied for the tender through a bid process. The tender process was done through SITA.

(2) The tender includes ongoing maintenance of the system for a period of 3 years.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1616

DATE OF QUESTION: 15 JUNE 2011

1616. Mr M J Ellis (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

Whether the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) carried out an investigation in 2010 into the sale and misrepresentation of products which contain fully hydrogenated fats and were passed off as genuine dairy products; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what were the (a) findings and (b) outcomes of the investigation?

NW1819E

REPLY:-

In order to establish which matter the Honourable Member is referring to, he is respectfully requested to provide further details. The question has been referred to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) but they could not, on the vague information presented, respond to it.

It should be noted that before the NPA can investigate a matter, a representation should have been submitted to the NDPP for them to make a decision and give an opinion on whether anyone should be prosecuted or not. The NPA has indicated that they have enquired from their various units and offices but could not establish which sale and misrepresentation of products, which contain fully hydrogenated fats and were passed off as genuine dairy products (or which company), is being referred to.

The question is therefore too vague and as such the NPA has requested that more details be obtained on the information provided or representations made / submitted to the NPA, including information such as the name of the company involved, the region, the date when the representation was submitted and by whom, or possibly a copy of the representation documents submitted to the NPA.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1510

DATE OF QUESTION: 10 JUNE 2011

1510. Mr L W Greyling (ID) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) Why did his department place a certain report (details furnished) on compensation for victims of crime by the SA Law Reform Commission (SALRC) under embargo for seven years;

(2) why did his department previously state the need to rework the report of an independent entity;

(3) whether his department released the report on 19 May 2011 in response to a certain programme of the United Nations on assessing the feasibility of victim empowerment legislation (details also furnished); if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW1674E

Details referred to in question:

(1) The South African Law Reform Commission Report (Project 82) Sentencing (A compensation Fund for Victims of Crime)

(2) The United Nations Development Programme's Victim Empowerment Legislation Feasibility Assessment (Project Number XAMT15) which is currently being undertaken to access the feasibility of launching a civil society advocacy initiative for the passing of a Victim Empowerment Legislation Act in South Africa.

REPLY:- (1)&(2) I wish to inform the Honourable Member that it is incorrect that my Department placed an embargo on the South African Law Reform Commission's (the Commission) report on a compensation fund for victims of crime, as indicated by the Honourable Member. The Commission, in terms of its enabling legislation, makes recommendations to the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development for consideration on investigations it has carried out in terms of a programme approved by the Minister. After studying the Commission's report under discussion and after obtaining advice, my predecessor was of the view that a number of critical aspects thereof needed further investigation. I endorsed this approach, as did Cabinet. On that basis, I requested the Commission to consider investigating the aspects in question and possibly to address them by means of a supplementary report or even a new investigation and report. The Commission has informed me that my request in this regard would indeed be considered by it, in terms of the Commission's criteria, for the inclusion of new projects on its programme. However, the Commission has also informed me of its view that the publication of the original report should not be held in abeyance until the publication of a supplementary or new report. While the Commission is an independent statutory body, its mandate is to do research with reference to all branches of the law in order to make recommendations for the development, improvement, modernisation or reform thereof. In the past, there have been occasions where the Minister has requested the Commission to revisit some areas of its investigations. The Department has not stated that there is a need to rework the report as indicated.

(3) The Commission, of its own accord and for its own reasons, decided to release the report. My Department did not release the report, as indicated by the Honourable Member.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1498

DATE OF QUESTION: 03 JUNE 2011

1498. Dr W G James (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) Whether the study on the Review of the Role, Responsibilities and Terms of Reference of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Tribunal was submitted on 17 February 2011 as specified in the Request for Proposals; if not, why not; if so,

(2) whether the study will be made public; if not, why not; if so, (a) when and (b) what are the further relevant details?

NW1665E

REPLY:- (1) I wish to inform the Honourable Member that a final report regarding the study on the Review of the Role, Responsibility and Terms of Reference (the Review) of the SADC Tribunal was presented to the Ministers of Justice/Attorneys-General on 14 and 15 April 2011. From 21 to 25 February 2011, the SADC Secretariat convened a Workshop of SADC Senior Legal Officials. The purpose of the workshop was to consider the draft report on the Review. Furthermore, I would like to advise the Honourable Member that there was never any meeting scheduled for 17 February 2011 to discuss the draft report. (2) The SADC Heads of State/Government will decide on whether the report will be published.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1468

DATE OF QUESTION: 01 JUNE 2011

1468. Mr J R B Lorimer (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(a) On how many occasions since 1 March 2010 did his office hire a vehicle to transport (i) him and (ii) his Deputy Minister and (b) in each case, (i) what was the cost of hiring the vehicle, (ii) for what reason was the vehicle hired, (iii) for how many days, (iv) what (aa) make and (bb) model of vehicle was hired and (v) what total distance was travelled? NW1635E

REPLY:- (a)(i) I wish to inform the Honourable Member that I hired a motor vehicle on 34 occasions for 89 days and the total cost of hiring the motor vehicles was R396 509.90. All travel was undertaken for official duties and 15 284 kilometres were traveled, mainly in a Mercedes S Class or E Class vehicle. (a)(ii) The Deputy Minister hired a motor vehicle on 10 occasions for 33 days and the total cost of hiring the motor vehicles was R34 611.50. All travel was undertaken for official duties and 2 011 kilometres were traveled, mainly in a Mercedes C180 or similar Class vehicle.

The hiring of motor vehicles was occasioned for the purpose of undertaking official duties by the Deputy Minister and I, outside Cape Town and Pretoria where we could not make use of our official motor vehicles. The Honourable Member should also please note that the information is for the period of 1 March 2010 to 31 March 2011.

QUESTION 1420

DATE OF QUESTION: 01 JUNE 2011

1420. Mr M H Hoosen (ID) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) Whether any court appearances have had to be postponed due to the 2011 local government election; if so, how many;

(2) whether the postponement affected the dates of other court cases; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) whether sufficient notice was given to the parties affected by these postponements; if not, why not; if so, what are the (a) dates to which the court appearances were postponed and (b) further relevant details?

NW1583E

REPLY:-

(1) The Honourable Member is kindly informed that to obtain information on how many court cases, initially put down for 18 May 2011 countrywide, were postponed, will not only take a long time to obtain, but will also require huge amounts of human resources to go through all the available statistics.

(2) I can assure the Honourable Member that all court cases that had initially been set down for 18 May 2011, before the day had been declared as the Election Day, were postponed to a later date. As the notice regarding the election date was given so far in advance, no cases were set down for that day.

(3) Sufficient notice was given to parties affected by the postponements.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1406

DATE OF QUESTION: 27 MAY 2011

1406. Mrs S V Kalyan (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) Whether, with reference to the reply to question 956 by the Minister of Water and Environmental Affairs on 18 April 2011, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has completed the process of reviewing the case docket; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) whether the DPP intends pursuing a criminal prosecution against the directors of a certain company (name furnished) for the various alleged transgressions in terms of the National Water Act, Act 36 of 1998, and the National Environmental Management Act, Act 107 of 1998; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW1574E

REPLY:-

(1) I wish to inform the Honourable Member that the DPP has indeed, after the docket was received back from the investigator, done a thorough review of the case docket in the matter. It has, however, emerged that further investigations still need to be conducted. This is due to a lack of clarity on the various possibly overlapping/concurrent roles of the relevant Departments involved in the matter (the Department of Water and Environmental Affairs and the Department of Minerals and Energy). The management of Coal of Africa Limited (COAL) seems to allege that they received authorisation from the Department of Minerals and Energy to commence with the developments at the proposed mining site. If that is the case, it may be problematic for the prosecution to establish any culpability on their part, particularly in view of the fact that authorisation for listed activities must be granted or refused by a competent authority responsible for granting or refusing environmental authorisations of listed activities in terms of the National Environmental Management Act, 1998 (Act No. 107 of 1998) (NEMA) or by the Minister of Minerals and Energy as the case may be.

(2) The decision as to whom to charge can only be taken after the investigations referred to above have been completed.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1357

DATE OF QUESTION: 27 MAY 2011

1357. Mrs D A Schäfer (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

Whether he intends taking any action in relation to the four men who entered the courtroom at the South Gauteng High Court with exposed semi-automatic rifles during the week commencing 11 April 2011; if not, (a) why not and (b) how does he intend to deal with this issue; if so, what action?

NW1482E

REPLY:- I wish to inform the Honourable Member that I requested my Department to investigate whether any persons entered the South Gauteng High Court with exposed fire-arms in their possession, during the week commencing 11 April 2011. I have been informed that the allegations are based on incorrect information. Six armed men were seen accompanying a certain person on 11 April 2011, to the South Gauteng High Court for a court appearance. However, due to the security in place at the Court in question, no people with guns were allowed to enter the South Gauteng High Court. The men referred to in the question were stopped at the main building entrance and thus did not enter any courtrooms. As they were not allowed into the building with the semi-automatic rifles, no action needs to be taken. Furthermore, I wish to inform the Honourable Member that, in terms of the approved Departmental Security Policy, all buildings occupied by my Department have been declared gun-free zones. In this regard, in terms of section 2(2) of the Control of Access to Public Premises and Vehicles Act, 1985 (Act No. 53 of 1985), any authorised officer may require from a person entering any public premises, to declare whether he or she has any dangerous object in his or her possession or custody or under his or her control. The authorised officer may also require of the person concerned, to hand to the authorised officer, anything that he or she has in his or her possession or custody or under his or her control, for custody until he or she leaves the premises. It can be noted that the South Gauteng High Court is equipped with physical security measures such as Walk-Through Metal Detectors, X-Ray Machines and Gun Safes. My Department has supplemented these security measures through the appointment of competent security service providers who provide full security guarding services, including the provision of special protection services during high-threat trials. The South Gauteng High Court has 37 contracted security officers and 8 in-house security officials. A process has further been initiated between my Department, the National Prosecuting Authority, the South African Police Service, Metro Police and the Department of Correctional Services to ensure that a Risk Plan is in place to enhance the capacity and performance of security related functions in case of high-threat trials in courts.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1289

DATE OF QUESTION: 21 APRIL 2011

1289. Mr J H van der Merwe (IFP) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(a) How many staff members are working for a certain official (details furnished) at the Pretoria Magistrates' Court and (b) what are their functions? NW1430E

Official referred to: Chief Magistrate: Pretoria REPLY:- (a) I wish to inform the Honourable Member that there are currently three (3) officials that are rendering administrative support to the Chief Magistrate of Pretoria. (b) These officials are allocated to perform office work at the Pretoria Magistrates' Court and to, in particular, assist the Chief Magistrate for Pretoria to perform the various functions he is required to deal with. The three officials that are rendering administrative support to the Chief Magistrate: Pretoria, perform, amongst others, the following duties:

1. Acting Secretary:

· Keeping of diary;

· Scheduling and arrangements of meetings;

· The preparation and administration of documents required in terms of the various duties of the Chief Magistrate;

· Managing the incoming and outgoing mail;

· Managing the incoming and outgoing calls;

· Rendering support to the Chief Magistrate Forum members with all travelling and accommodation arrangements; and

· Rendering administrative support in relation to contract magistrates.

2. Administrative Officer:

· Keeping of daily statistics for about forty-five (45) magistrates;

· Compiling the monthly statistics for the Pretoria Sub-Cluster;

· Co-ordinating and updating of leave records for magistrates;

· The preparation and administration of documents required in terms of the various duties of the Chief Magistrate;

· Capturing of leave of magistrates on the PERSAL system as per the Regional Office's project on the decentralisation of the leave function; and

· Daily filing and photo-copying of documents for the office and all structures that the Chief Magistrate is participating on.

3. Chief Typist:

· Responsible for all typing work for the office of the Chief Magistrate;

· Overseeing the work performed by other typists; and

· Managing the performance of typists.

It may be of assistance to the Honourable Member to note some of the additional functions which the Chief Magistrate of Pretoria has to perform and which places the allocation of the administrative support to him in perspective:

SUB-CLUSTER HEAD: PRETORIA

The Chief Magistrate of Pretoria is the Head of the Sub-Cluster: Pretoria and the duties regarding this post include the following:

· Oversee and administration of +45 magistrates;

· Capturing and updating of leave of the magistrates;

· The statistics of magistrates in respect of their court work; and

· The quality assurance of court work done by magistrates.

MISCONDUCT ENQUIRIES: MAGISTRATES COMMISSION AND COURT WORK

The Chief Magistrate: Pretoria, as per the request by the Magistrates Commission, is responsible for the various misconduct enquiries relating to Judicial Officers which include:

· The preparation and administration of the records;

· Drawing of similar cases relating to the misconduct / case;

· The preparation of judgments; and

· Court hours and delivering of judgment / sentencing.

CHAIRPERSON: CRIMINAL COURT FORUM

The Chief Magistrate is responsible for the training and dissemination of information in respect of ±300 criminal court magistrates throughout Gauteng which include:

· Arrangement of steering committee meetings of ±15 criminal courts;

· Arrangement of workshops for criminal court magistrates on a quarterly basis for ±300 magistrates; and

· Distributing of information and outcomes / resolutions taken at workshops.

EXECUTIVE MEMBER OF THE CHIEF MAGISTRATES FORUM

The Chief Magistrate: Pretoria is responsible for the administration of the Chief Magistrates Forum, comprising of 23 Chief Magistrates, which include:

· Arrangement of meetings;

· Taking of minutes; and

· Following up on resolutions taken, be it dissemination of information; requesting information from magistrates throughout South Africa (which needs to be collated and forwarded to the person requesting the information).

ADVISORY MEMBER OF THE MAGISTRATES COMMISSION: APPOINTMENTS COMMITTEE AND ADVISORY MEMBER OF NICRO

The Chief Magistrate is a member of the Appointments Committee of the Magistrates Commission and it entails assisting the Magistrates Commission with appointments of magistrates.

As a member of the South African National Institute for Crime Prevention and the Reintegration of Offenders (NICRO), the Chief Magistrate also needs to assist with Alternative Sentencing options and attend various meetings and workshops relating to this aspect.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1282

DATE OF QUESTION: 18 APRIL 2011

1282. Mrs D A Schäfer (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) Whether, since the National Prosecuting Authority's 2010-11 annual report, there has been a decrease in the number of Sexual Offences Courts; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what is the number in this regard;

(2) whether he intends to conduct an investigation into the efficiency of specialised Sexual Offences Courts; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) whether he intends to increase the number of such courts to combat sexual crimes; if not, why not; if so, what are relevant details?

NW1365E

REPLY:-

(1) It is presumed that the Honourable Member is referring to the National Prosecuting Authority's 2009/10 Annual Report, as the 2010/11 Annual Report has not yet been released. The 2009/10 Annual Report of the National Prosecuting Authority indicates, under the heading "Sexual Offences and Community Affairs (SOCA)", that there were 42 "dedicated courts", for 2009/10. This needs to be placed in proper context.

Firstly, it needs to be pointed out that there are no "Sexual Offences Courts", or "specialised Sexual Offences Courts" as such, in the hierarchy of courts in South Africa. These are normal magistrates courts (on regional court level) that have been provided with additional infrastructure (such as audio-visual aids, including CCTV equipment/rooms with one-way mirrors, through which victims, especially children, can testify) and additional staff (including intermediaries appointed to assist children in terms of Section 170A of the Criminal Procedure Act, 1977, Act 51 of 1977, and Court Preparation Officers to assist children). Where required, assistance with training in dealing with such cases was also provided. The aim of the additional assistance is to decrease the possibility of secondary victimization of all victims appearing in such courts. These courts are thus normal magistrate courts but dedicated to deal with a specific crime category that requires particular assistance (such as equipment or additional prosecutors etc) that is not normally required for all courts. These courts have consequently colloquially become known as "sexual offences courts", though they also deal with other cases. Another example of such courts is the dedicated commercial crime courts.

Secondly, as they are normal magistrate courts, their number can and will change when circumstances change. It should be noted that the Department (in line with the requirements for specific infrastructural services and staffing outlined in the Sexual Offences Blue Print, developed several years ago inter-sectorally for roll-out in all the Courts dealing with sexual offences matters) has adopted an approach that entails that all those additional resources required to assist in dealing with sexual offences matters should in fact be provided at all regional courts and not just some courts. This is because, by law, any criminal regional court can deal with sexual offences matters as well as any other matter within its jurisdiction. The various Regional Courts Presidents have also adopted an approach that sexual offences matters should preferably be spread over all the court rolls. If this approach was not followed, the situation could arise that if only certain courts deal with sexual offences and its roll for the day is completed, they cannot deal with any other matters. Regional Court Magistrates and other court staff in courts dealing mainly with such cases have also complained of being traumatised by dealing only with such cases day after day with no break and no alternation of other matters.

The aim is thus the capacitation of all relevant courts in general through such resources and a movement away from having only a few courts that have such resources and which are then typified as specialist sexual offences courts.In order to address the general need to deal with such cases through specific resources, including CCTV cameras, one-way glass mirrors, witness testifying rooms, anatomically correct dolls and intermediaries, my Department has consequently continued to roll-out the provision of such resources to all main court centres country-wide. In this regard it may be of interest to note that 130 intermediaries have been appointed and trained country-wide to provide services in the courts. In addition, 397 social workers have been trained to also provide intermediary services and are available on an ad hoc basis to the regional courts. The current data in respect of the procurement of infrastructure resources in the courts indicate that there are now 335 courtrooms with CCTV cameras, 49 courtrooms with one-way mirror-glass and 239 witness-testifying rooms that are used specifically for those courts handling sexual offences and matters involving children. All these courts are thus, to some extent or another, dedicated courts to deal with sexual offences matters.

(2) An investigation into the efficiency of specialised Sexual Offences Courts is not required at present as the efficiency of the criminal justice system, including the courts, in dealing with sexual offences is the regular subject of discussions at the Directors-General Inter-sectoral Committee on the Management of Sexual Offences, that was established in line with the provisions of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences and Related Matters) Amendment Act, 2007 as well as the Justice Crime Prevention and Security Cluster sub-committee meetings.

(3) Please see the responses under question 1.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1280

DATE OF QUESTION: 21 APRIL 2011

1280. Mrs D A Schäfer (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) What (a) steps is he taking to fill the position of Head of the SA Judicial Education Institute after Mr Justice Meyer Joffe's departure, (b) are the expected time frames for filling this position and (c) interim arrangements have been made;

(2) what effect has this vacancy had on the functioning of the Judicial Education Institute?

NW1344E

REPLY:-

(1) (a) I wish to inform the Honourable Member that the post of the Director of the South African Judicial Education Institute was advertised in January 2011 within the serving Judges and the Council met on 15 February 2011 to consider the applications received for the filling of the post. It has transpired at the latter meeting that only two applications had been received from serving judges, which is indicative that judges are not keen on the administrative functions relating to the Institute, but show that judges would prefer to concentrate on judicial function, such as providing training and contributing to the development of the South African jurisprudence.

(1)(b)&(c) As a result of the limited pool of applications, the Council resolved that the post will not be filled on a permanent basis, but that the Chief Justice and the Deputy Chief Justice would perform the coordinating and management functions of the Institute and would employ an Administrative Head who will be responsible for the day-to-day administrative tasks including the management of finances, facilities, procurement and logistics. The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development would continue to provide administrative support functions on an ad hoc basis, pending the appointment of the Administrative Head to perform such administrative functions. The post for the Administrative Executive will be advertised soon after the Council meeting of 13 May 2011, which is expected to approve the draft advertisement.

(2) There is minimal impact on the functioning of the Institute. My Department continues to provide administrative support to the Institute and there are processes underway to transfer the administrative support functions to the Office of the Chief Justice, which has an enhanced status of a National Department to enhance organisational efficiency. This will enhance efficiency and minimise the span of control as the administrative support functions will be performed within the proximity of the Institute and the Chief Justice.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1281

DATE OF QUESTION: 21 APRIL 2011

1364. Mrs D A Schäfer (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

Whether a Chief Master of the High Court has been appointed; if not, (a) for how long has the position been vacant, (b) what are the reasons for the position not being filled and (c) what steps are being taken to ensure that the position is filled as soon as possible; if so, (i) when has the person been appointed and (ii) who was appointed?

NW1364E

REPLY:-

I wish to inform the Honourable Member of the following:

(a) The post has been vacant since 31 August 2007.

(b) The reasons for not permanently filling the position were due to the possible restructuring of the Masters Branch. The restructuring process was completed and the Department undertook several unsuccessful attempts to fill the position culminating in the last advertisement in October 2010 and the headhunting process in January and February 2011.

(c)(i) The successful candidate will be announced after competency assessments and vetting has been completed and the prescribed Cabinet process for appointment of Heads of Department and Deputy Director-Generals has been followed. It is envisaged that the appointment process will be concluded by the end of May 2011 and the incumbent may be able to commence duties in July/August 2011.

(c)(ii) It is envisaged that the Cabinet will announce the appointment in June/July 2011.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1280

DATE OF QUESTION: 21 APRIL 2011

1280. Mrs D A Schäfer (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(2) what effect has this vacancy had on the functioning of the Judicial Education Institute?

NW1344E

REPLY:-

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1226

DATE OF QUESTION: 15 APRIL 2011

1226. Mr I M Ollis (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

What measure has been put in place since the past year's Annual Report to deal with the qualification by the Auditor-General in respect of the management of third party funds?

NW1366E

REPLY:-

I wish to inform the Honourable Member that my Department has strengthened the financial management of Third Party Funds (TPF) through the appointment of 1 Chief Director, 1 Director, 3 Deputy-Directors and 4 Assistant-Directors (additional to the existing Director, Deputy-Director and Assistant-Director). A further contract position of Director for Financial System Design has been advertised and to strengthen regional financial management, a further 45 positions are in the process of being filled. My Department is also in the final stages of performing a thorough review of staff required to perform this function at National, Regional and Court levels, through a work study exercise.

My Department has also appointed a service provider (PriceWaterhouseCoopers) to conclude the financial statements for TPF and concurrently facilitate a skills transfer and provide technical assistance in concluding the mid-year and year-end final statements. (The financial statements for 2010/2011 are due by the end of September 2011.) Two-hundred (200) officials (Financial and General Management Staff) have been identified for dedicated training and skills development between June 2011 and September 2011.

A new, upgraded administrative and financial management system is in the development stage, in collaboration with SITA (State Information Technology Agency) with a planned piloting date of 1 October 2011. Control weaknesses in the current system will be addressed in the new system.

A formal application for approval of the new system has been submitted to National Treasury as prescribed in the National Treasury Regulations and such approval is awaited. Comprehensive training will be initiated for personnel working in the TPF environment and for those who will be operating the new system.

My Department, in order to reduce turnaround times, has further implemented a decentralised EFT (Electronic Funds Transfer) functionality with appropriate segregation of authority. In the courts where this system was deployed, (Umlazi, Roodepoort, Upington, Worcester, etc), it resulted in a substantial reduction in the payment cycle time. (There was, on average, a 5 day reduction.)

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1207

DATE OF QUESTION: 15 APRIL 2011

1207. Mrs D A Schäfer (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) What (a) amount was spent in the 2010-11 financial year on the Presidential Programme: Nation in Dialogue and (b) is the breakdown of the costs;

(2) (a) how long is the programme expected to continue and (b) what is it expected to cost? NW1343E

REPLY:-

(1)(a) I wish to inform the Honourable Member that the amount spent on the Presidential Programme: Nation in Dialogue (the programme) in the 2010-11 financial year is nil since the roll-out plan of the programme has not commenced yet. The programme seeks to facilitate the implementation of the Constitutional injunction of "unity in diversity" and to fully understand the obligations it imposes on all of us as citizens. The purpose of the national dialogue is to:

· Provide a platform for all South Africans to discuss, internalise and promote the Constitutional injunction that "South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity";

· Promote an understanding and respect among South Africans for all respective cultures, languages, religions, and other practices which are accepted as parts of South Africa's social, political and economic landscape; and

· Provide a platform for all South Africans to define for themselves what is common among them and how their diversity can be harnessed for the common good.

My Department established an Inter-departmental Steering Committee comprising of relevant Government Departments to co-ordinate the implementation of this project. Substantial preparatory work has been done in this regard and the relevant governance structures are in the process of interacting with the documentation that outline the project scope and envisaged roll-out of the project.

(2)(a) The Inter-departmental Steering Committee envisages that the programme is expected to continue for approximately a period of eighteen months.

(2)(b) The projected cost for the duration of the programme is R66.9 million.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1206

DATE OF QUESTION: 15 APRIL 2011

1206. Mrs D A Schäfer (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

How many vacancies for senior managers currently exist in his department?

NW1342E

REPLY:-

I wish to inform the Honourable Member that the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DOJ&CD) has 36 senior management vacancies as at 01 April 2011. The Department has adopted Recruitment Strategies to accelerate the filling of vacancies.

A summary below provides a profile of the Departmental vacancies and outlines some of the reasons that contribute to the delay in filling vacancies, such as the restructuring process.

SUMMARY OF DOJ&CD SENIOR MANAGEMENT VACANCY RATE

SALARY LEVELS

TOTAL NUMBER

STATUS

Advertised

Not Advertised

Unfunded

Abolishment process

Restructuring

Level 15

Level 14

Level 13

TOTAL

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1152

DATE OF QUESTION: 15 APRIL 2011

1152. Mrs C Dudley (ACDP) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

Whether, with reference to a certain person's campaign for legalizing active euthanasia, he intends introducing legislation in this regard; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW1275E

Person referred to: Prof Sean Davidson

REPLY:-

It is suggested that the Honourable Member direct the question to the Minister of Health since that Portfolio would be responsible for the administration of any legislation dealing with euthanasia. I may however, mention that in November 1998, the South African Law Reform

Commission, after a comprehensive investigation into euthanasia and the artificial preservation of life (Project 86), submitted a report on this issue to my predecessor at that time. My predecessor submitted it to the then Minister of Health for consideration.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1123

DATE OF QUESTION: 04 APRIL 2011

1123. Mr P van Dalen (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and

Constitutional Development:

(1) Whether the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is investigating corruption within Eskom; if not, why not; if so,

(2) whether SIU is conducting its investigation at the request of Eskom; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so,

(3) whether it is procedure for the SIU to conduct investigations at the request of state entities; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details;

(4) whether it is procedure for state entities to pay for such investigations; if not, why not; if so, what are the reasons for this;

(5) whether the investigation uncovered any corrupt actions; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant

details?

NW1246E

REPLY:-

(1) Yes, I wish to inform the Honourable Member that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is investigating a number of concerns at Eskom which include allegations of corruption, fraud and maladministration.

(2) The SIU was approached by Eskom to assist it to dealmore effectively with allegations of corruption, fraud and maladministration.

(3 The SIU is mandated by the President to investigate allegations of corruption, fraud and maladministration in any context in which public funds may have been placed in jeopardy. This includes the public service and state entities. Although investigations are instituted at the request of State Institutions, it is the decision of the President whether to authorise an investigation. The SIU itself often receives allegations directly and should they prove to be credible after an initial investigation, it will make a request to the President for a formal proclamation enabling it to use the full range of its powers.

(4) The SIU receives a budget from National Treasury but it has supplemented this by entering into innovative partnerships with State Institutions that are willing to contribute to the cost of investigations. Many State Institutions have been willing to do so as they normally rely on the private sector to do forensic investigations and the SIU can provide a similar quality of service at less than half the cost. These partnerships currently contribute about half of the SIU budget and have enabled the SIU to double its capacity to investigate corruption in the state. The SIU, however, ensures that it does not become too dependent on funding from one institution as it may impact on its independence.

(5) As the investigation has only commenced recently, there are no results to share at present.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 1057

DATE OF QUESTION: 25 MARCH 2011

1057. Mrs S V Kalyan (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) With reference to the reply of the Minister of Labour to question 572 on 17 March 2011, on what date did the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) receive the report from the Department of Labour;

(2) whether the NPA has concluded its review of the report; if not, why not; if so,

(3) whether the NPA intends prosecuting any persons who or entity that may be deemed to have been responsible for the working conditions at the factory that impacted on the health of workers; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW1175E

REPLY:-

I wish to inform the Honourable Member that the response will be forwarded to the Honourable Member as soon as it has been finalised by the NPA.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 819

DATE OF QUESTION: 11 MARCH 2011

819. Mr J R B Lorimer (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

Whether (a) his department or (b) any of its affiliated entities have purchased any tickets for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011; if not, why not; if so, (i) what process has been followed to purchase these tickets, (ii) how many tickets have been purchased, (iii) for which matches, (iv) what has been the total cost of these tickets, (v) what are the reasons for purchasing these tickets, (vi) to whom will each of these tickets be allocated and (vii) on what was the decision for the allocation of these tickets based?

NW891E

REPLY:-

(a) Department of Justice and Constitutional Development:

I wish to inform the Honourable Member that to the best of my knowledge, my Department did not purchase any tickets for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

(b) National Prosecuting Authority (NPA):

The National Prosecuting Authority did not purchase any tickets for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

Legal Aid South Africa (LASA):

LASA did not purchase any tickets for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 670

DATE OF QUESTION: 23 MARCH 2011

670. Mrs D A Schäfer (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

What is the status of the appeal of a certain person (name furnished) that was lodged in March 2009 against his conviction for corruption in the Cape Town Regional Court on 6 March 2009?

NW717E

Person referred to: Mr Thalisizwe Buthelezi MPL

REPLY:-

I wish to inform the Honourable Member that the Director of Public Prosecutions: Cape Town is aware of the delay with regard to this matter. The delay has been caused by the furnishing of a record in an incomplete state to the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions: Cape Town by the Appeal Clerk of Cape Town's Magistrate Office. This has necessitated the Director of Public Prosecutions, on more than one occasion, to return the record to the Clerk for corrections. The office of the Director of Public Prosecutions: Cape Town undertakes to expedite the reconstruction of the record and the finalisation of the appeal.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO: 669

DATE OF QUESTION:

Mrs D A Schäfer (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

Whether, with reference to his reply to question 3045 on 29 October 2010 stating that only (a) 263 of the 386 equality courts have magistrates and (b) 247 out of 386 have clerks, his department is still committed to the equality courts; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what (i) plans and (ii) timeframes for these plans are in place for the proper resourcing of these courts? NW716E

REPLY:-

I would like to inform the Honourable Member that the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ&CD) is still committed to Equality Courts. The Promotion of the Equality and Prevention of Unfair Discrimination Act, 2000 (the Equality Act) (Section 16), makes provision for the designation of magistrate's courts as Equality Courts by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development.

You may be aware that as from August 2009, all magisterial districts have been designated as Equality Courts. Furthermore, the Heads of the Administrative Regions must designate any magistrate or additional magistrate as a presiding officer of the equality courts. However, such designation is conditional to section 16(2) of the Equality Act, that only a magistrate or additional magistrate who has completed a training course as presiding officer of the Equality Court can be so designated.

My Department has recently conducted a number of Provincial Equality Court Izindaba aimed at identifying issues around the functioning of the Equality Courts. It was found, amongst others, that little interest is shown by some judicial officers in dealing with equality court matters. The recommendations from the Izindaba were that the judicial training on the Equality Act should be made compulsory.

To this end, my Department has written to the Chief Magistrates' Forum to:

(a) request the Chief Magistrates' Forum to encourage and ensure that magistrates attend and complete a training course on the Equality Act to create a pool from which the heads of administrative regions may designate magistrates as presiding officers of the Equality Courts; and

(b) consider magistrates' training on the Equality Act compulsory.

This initiative seeks to ensure that my Department is able to effectively and efficiently resource the Equality Courts and to deal with any interruptions which may result from any loss of a designated magistrate/s.

My Department and the Foundation for Human Rights are also implementing a project that would promote constitutional development and strengthen participatory democracy to ensure respect for fundamental human rights.This project would focus on the following:- the functioning of the equality courts, Education and Awareness, Radio Programmes, Workshops, Training, Round-Table Discussions, development of an Equality Law Journal; establishment of an Equality Working Group, Monitoring and Evaluation. This project is funded by the European Union.

The Honourable Member is furthermore referred to pages 58-59 of my Departments Strategic Plan for details on its commitment to issues of equality and human rights in general.

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 634

DATE OF QUESTION: 25 NOVEMBER 2011

634. Mr M W Makhubela (COPE-Limpopo) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

Whether his department will furnish audited details relating to the expenditure on (a) subsistence and travel (i) within and (ii) outside of South Africa and (b) entertainment that has been incurred by (i) him and (ii) his deputy minister from 1 January 2011 up to the latest specified date for which information is available; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

CW779E

REPLY:-

(a)(i)(ii)&(b) I wish to inform the Honourable Member that my Department is not immediately able to furnish the audited details relating to expenses incurred by (i) myself and (ii) the Deputy Minister as outlined above. This is due to the fact that the area was identified as low risk area in relation to other focus areas of the audit and as such, it was not specifically conducted or scheduled for auditing as the audit plan is risk based. In the light of the audited report on the above request not being immediately available, the information can only be provided after an audit has been conducted and arrangements can be made to have it done and completed if requested.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 607

DATE OF QUESTION: 23 MARCH 2011

607. Mr D J Stubbe (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) (a) Which travel agencies or travel service providers does his department use currently and (b)(i) how and (ii) when were they appointed in each case;

(2) what was the (a) budgeted amount and (b) actual amount paid to each specified service provider for epartmental travel expenditure in the (i) 2007-08, (ii) 2008-09 and (iii) 2009-10 financial years?

NW650E

REPLY:-

(1) (a) I wish to inform the Honourable Member that my Department uses Travel with Flair Travel Agency for its travel related services.

(b)(i) The Travel Agent was appointed through an open bid process; and (ii) The Travel Agent was appointed initially on 1 February 2008 and re-appointed in August 2010 as the successful bidder in a subsequent open bid process.

(2) The table below reflects the budgeted amounts and actual amounts paid for the respective financial years:

Financial Year:

(a) Budgeted Amount:

(b) Service Provider Fees:

(i)2007-2008

R97 000

R95 000

(ii)2008-2009

R12 000 000

R11 577 745

(iii)2009-2010

R13 000 000

R8 745 905

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 285

DATE OF QUESTION: 18 FEBRUARY 2011

285. Mr J R B Lorimer (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) How many documents have (a) his (i) ministry and (ii) department and (b) any (i) institution or (ii) agency which receives transfers from his departmental budget classified as (aa) top secret, (bb) secret, (cc) confidential and (dd) restricted under the provisions of the Minimum Information Security Standards that were adopted by the Cabinet on 4 December 1996 in the (aaa) 2005-06, (bbb) 2006-07, (ccc) 2007-08, (ddd) 2008-09 and (eee) 2009-10 financial years;

(2) what is the (a) name and (b)(i) rank or (ii) employment level of the official who decided on the classification at each specified public body?

NW307E

REPLY:-

(1) I would like to inform the Honorable Member that:

a. In all the areas indicated in the reply (top secret; secret; confidential and restricted documents), my Department receives and classifies documents in terms of the provisions of the Minimum Information Security Standards (MISS) as adopted by Cabinet on 04 December 1996.

b. Since MISS came into being my Department has established units such as Information Security management and Integrity Management to advise on classification and handling of sensitive documents or information within the Department.

c. The programmes of these units are implemented incrementally. To date my Department has dealt with approximately 37 017 classified documents which mostly consist of Cabinet memoranda and security clearance documents in which are safely kept in lockable safes as required in terms of MISS.

d. The Departmental Security Policy is also in place and there are information security awareness sessions that are conducted to create better vigilance around the management of security infrastructure (People, Assets and Information).

(2) My Department employs one hundred and twenty eight (128) staff members to perform duties as set out in the Cabinet decision of 04 December 1996 and the subsequent version of the Minimum Information and Security Standards (MISS) and security related duties. In the Regions, the Provincial Security Managers are responsible for this function and report to the Regional Heads. The table attached indicates the list of officials responsible for this function:-

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 285

DATE OF QUESTION: 18 FEBRUARY 2011

285. Mr J R B Lorimer (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(2) what is the (a) name and (b)(i) rank or (ii) employment level of the official who decided on the classification at each specified public body?

NW307E

REPLY:-

(1)(a) I wish to inform the Honourable Member that my (i) Ministry and (ii) Department are in the process of compiling the information which will be provided to the Honourable Member as soon as it has been finalised.

The Office of the Public Protector:

(1)(b)(i) The Office of the Public Protector has adopted a Security Policy in compliance with the Minimum Information Security Standards (MISS) document. The MISS policy is applied in conjunction with the Security Policy of the office in management of information and documents held in the office, although the Guidelines on Classification and Categorisation of Information to determine various levels of classification have not yet been adopted. Currently, the documents generated in this office are all treated as confidential and the PPSA staff has signed declaration of secrecy with the intention of discouraging and guarding against the compromise of security of information held by the Public Protector.

(2)(a)(b)(i)(ii) The information required is not available as the Guidelines on Classification still have to be approved, which would determine different levels of classification and spell out who will have the powers to classify documents in the office as required by the MISS document.

Legal Aid South Africa:

(1)(b)(i)(aa) None.

(1)(b)(i)(bb) None.

(1)(b)(i)(cc) Law Societies are in terms of Section 74 of the Attorney's Act 53 of 1979, empowered to make rules which are to govern the conduct of practitioners. The rules on Code of Ethics state that Legal Practitioners are required to respect the legal privilege and confidentiality of their clients. This Code of Ethics for Legal Practitioners is governed by common law and thus applicable to Attorneys and Advocates in our employment. All information relating to consultation with clients by Legal Practitioners is thus treated as confidential.

(1)(b)(i)(dd) None.

(2)(a)(b)(i)(ii) All Legal Practitioners are in terms of the Code of Ethics of the profession, required to respect the legal privilege and confidentiality of their clients.

The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC):

The SAHRC has not implemented the system of classification due to the fact that the draft security policy is not yet approved. Once the security policy is approved, the Security Manager will be instructed to oversee the proper implementation of the system of classification.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA):

As the Honourable Member may be aware, there are a number of officials that have different levels of Security Clearance and as such receive documents that are classified. The NPA is not able to determine at this point who they are and how many classified documents they receive.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 255

DATE OF QUESTION: 23 FEBRUARY 2011

255. Mr M M Swathe (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development: [Interdepartmental Transfer on 25 February 2011]

(1) How many cases were investigated by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) in the 2009-10 financial year;

(2) of these cases, how many (a) led to convictions and (b) have been heard by a court, but have not led to any convictions;

(3) whether the financial expense to the State can be determined for cases where an investigation has led to a failed conviction; if not, why not; if so, (a) how many cases have led to failed convictions and (b) for such cases, what were the respective costs to the State for each case in the 2009-10 financial year?

NW276E

REPLY:-

(1) I wish to inform the Honourable Member that it is unfortunately not possible to indicate how many cases the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) investigated in total without a large administrative burden.

The SIU received 1 Proclamation for the 2009-10 financial year. The SIU, however, investigated 4 373 cases in which prosecutions were finalised during the 2009-10 financial year.

(2) Of the 4 373 cases that were finalised during the year, there was a conviction rate of 94.1%.

(2)(a) There was a conviction in 4 117 cases.

(2)(b) There was an acquittal or "failed prosecution" in 256 cases.

(3) It is not possible to determine the financial expense to the State due to the exorbitant costs associated with attempting to make such calculations.

(3)(a) Answered in Question 2 (b) above.

(3)(b) It is not possible due to the exorbitant costs associated with attempting to make such calculations.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 230

DATE OF QUESTION: 16 FEBRUARY 2011

230. Prof B Turok (ANC) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) Whether he has been informed of any conflict between the laws of the three spheres of government relating to the regulation of noise pollution caused by live and recorded music in public bars and restaurants in the Western Cape; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) which authority is in charge of enforcing these laws, regulations and by-laws?

NW246E

REPLY:-

I wish to inform the Honourable Member that the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has not been informed of any conflict regarding the legislation of noise pollution. It is recommended that the Honourable Member approach the Ministers of Corporate Governance and Traditional Affairs and of Environmental Affairs and Tourism in this regard.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 178

DATE OF QUESTION: 10 FEBRUARY 2011

178. Ms L H Adams (Cope) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) Whether the investigation into the cause of a fire at the Pretoria Magistrate's Court has been finalised; if not, why not; if so, (a) what was the outcome of the investigation and (b) to what extent did the fire influence the operations of the court;

(2) whether any assessments had been done to determine the safety of all court buildings?

NW194E

REPLY:-

(1) Yes, I would like to inform the Honourable Member that a preliminary report on the cause of the fire at the Magistrate's Office: Pretoria has been forwarded to the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development by the South African Police Services (SAPS). It is not known when the SAPS will finalise the forensic investigation into the cause of the fire.

(1)(a) The preliminary report has concluded that the probable cause of the fire was due to the electrical malfunctioning and/or short circuiting of conductors in the roof void at the Court. It should, however, be noted that this is not the final report of the investigation into this incident.

(1)(b) The operations at the court are not running at full capacity as the repairs to the court must still be completed. It is expected that the repairs will be completed by 2014. My Department has however relocated the staff and operations of the Pretoria Magistrate's Court to another part of the court building that has not been affected by the fire. The Domestic Violence matters are currently being dealt with at the Municipal Traffic Courts in Visagie Street, Pretoria.

(2) It should be noted that the inspections and/or assessments in respect of the safety of the buildings is the responsibility of the Department of Public Works as it is the custodian of all State owned immovable assets. All facilities are to be inspected once a year to ensure their safety. However, my Department has established a unit that works closely with the Department of Public Works and the Department of Labour to ensure compliance with the Occupational Health and Safety standards, on a regular basis.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 134

DATE OF QUESTION: 10 FEBRUARY 2011

134. Mr J R B Lorimer (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

What (a) statutory provisions, (b) regulations, (c) policy instruments and (d) practices govern the (i) classification, (ii) protection against the release or access, (iii) protection for other purposes such as preservation and (iv) release upon request for access of (aa) documented information and (bb) undocumented information held by (aaa) his department or (bbb) any other entities who receive budgetary transfers from his department?

NW146E

REPLY:-

(a)(b)&(c) I would like to inform the Honorable Member that my Department does comply with the following statutory provisions, regulations and policy instruments, amongst others:-

· Protection of Information Act, 1982 Act No. 84 of 1982;

· Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 Act No. 02 of 2000;

· National Archives and Records Service of South Africa Act, 1996 Act No. 43 of 1996;

· Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 2002 Act No. 25 of 2002;

· Minimum Information Security Standards (MISS), approved by Cabinet on 04 December 1996;

· Departmental Security Policy; and

· Departmental Records Management Policy.

(d) The classification of documentation is governed in accordance with the Cabinet decision of 04 December 1996 on Minimum Information Security Standards (MISS), including the applicable processes of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Act No. 02 of 2000).

REPLY BY LEGAL AID SOUTH AFRICA:-

(a) I wish to inform the Honourable Member that the right to information held by the public entity, namely Legal Aid South Africa (LASA), is vested in terms of section 11 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act 2 of 2000) (PAIA). This right is however subject to restrictions and limitations by other provisions of the Act, for example grounds for refusal to access as set out in chapter 4 of the Act. Section 40 of PAIA contains a specific restriction that is pertinent to LASA in that it is prohibited from disclosing privileged client information relating to legal proceedings unless the relevant client waives the privilege.

(b) Regulations: GNR.187 of 15 February 2002: Regulations regarding the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 as amended by Notice 25411 of 22 September 2003, Notice 29278 of 13 October 2006, and Notice 29914 of 1 June 2007;

(c) In terms of section 14 of the Act, public entities/departments are required to develop a policy manual setting out their functions and responsibilities as well as the process, procedures, conditions and contact details on how to source information in possession or within their authority. This policy manual must be forwarded to the South African Human Rights Commission, and published on the entity/department's website. LASA had complied with the provisions of section 14. The 2009 Legal Aid Guide sets out in its General Policy Section (Paragraph 10.1 on page 120) that information obtained from a client must be treated as confidential and privileged and may only be disclosed if the client consents, a statute orders disclosure or a court order directs disclosure.

(d) The practice classification, protection against the release or access, protection for other purposes such as preservation and release upon request for access of documented and undocumented information is regulated by the provisions of the Promotion of Access to Information Act, 2000 (Act No 2 of 2000) read with the regulations and policy manual of LASA. Where there are inconsistencies between the provisions of the policy manual and Act, the provisions of the Act and the regulations prevail.

The information from other entities, who receive budgetary transfers from my Department, will be submitted to the Honourable Member as soon as it has been finalised.

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 113

DATE OF QUESTION: 11 MARCH 2011

113. Mr D V Bloem (COPE-FS) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

Whether the Government has requested any annual reviews from the judiciary on the Constitution in order to share important information with the citizens; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details?

CW148E

REPLY:-

Honourable Member, I am not aware of any responsibility emanating from the Constitution in terms of which the Judiciary is required to conduct annual reviews on the Constitution and advise the Government thereon, and I have therefore not requested any report from the Judiciary in this regard. The Judiciary therefore does not have a similar role as the Constitutional Review Committee of Parliament which is required to review the Constitution at least annually and report to the two Houses of Parliament as required by the Constitution.

The courts are subject only to the Constitution and the law which they must apply impartially, without fear or favour. The courts are therefore required to interpret the Constitution as is. I however wish to point out that the Department continues to study the decisions of the Superior Courts, in particular the Constitutional Court, relating to the interpretation of the Constitution. Where such interpretation necessitates a review of certain aspects or values of our Constitution, we would, as the Department responsible for Constitutional Development, undertake the necessary study and promote the matter with Cabinet and Parliament if it is necessary.

The Department and the institutions supporting democracy, including the South African Human Rights Commission and the Commission on Gender Equality, continue to conduct public awareness and constitutional education programmes as part of deepening our constitutional democracy.

NATIONAL COUNCIL OF PROVINCES

QUESTION FOR WRITTEN REPLY

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 70

DATE OF QUESTION: 25 FEBRUARY 2011

70. Mr D B Feldman (COPE-Gauteng) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) Whether the disbandment of the Scorpions has affected his department's ability to successfully prosecute relevant cases; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, what are the relevant details;

(2) whether cases that were opened by the Scorpions as far back as 2007 and 2008 will be given priority in order to ensure that justice is still served for those who are affected; if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(3) whether he will investigate a certain matter (details furnished) that has been dragging, where home owners are losing their homes as a result of the delay; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, when can any actions be expected?

CW85E

Matter referred to: RMC (private company based in Gauteng) vs Absa Bank et al REPLY:-

(1) No. I wish to inform the Honourable Member that all cases that were in court are proceeding. Prosecutions were not stopped. In respect of in-complete investigations, those cases were handed over to the Directorate of Priority Crime Investigations (DPCI) to continue with the investigations.

(2) All cases within the National Prosecuting Authority receive the priority that the circumstances of that particular case dictate.

(3) The information related to this matter will be forwarded to the Honourable Member as soon as it has been received by my Department.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 66

DATE OF QUESTION: 10 FEBRUARY 2011

66. Mr S Mokgalapa (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) whether the Government intends to review any extradition treaties entered into with other countries; if not, why not; if so, what aspects will be reviewed;

(2) whether these treaties are honored by the signatories; if not, (a) which countries have not honored the treaty and (b) in which way have they not honored the treaty; if so, what are the relevant details?

NW76E

REPLY:-

I wish to inform the Honourable Member of the following:-

(1) There are currently no treaties under review. When treaties are negotiated, it is done with the view that it is compatible with South Africa's domestic law. The Constitutional Court has also ruled in the case of Van Rooyen, Brown and Quagliani, that the procedure that the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development follows, to bring an extradition treaty into force, is constitutional.

(2) All extradition treaties that are in force are honoured by the relevant States.

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION NO.: 53

DATE OF QUESTION: 10 FEBRUARY 2011

53. Mrs D A Schäfer (DA) to ask the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development:

(1) Whether he received any requests to establish why the joint estate of certain persons (names furnished) had not been settled; if so,

(2) whether he has launched an investigation into the matter; if not, why not; if so,

(3) whether he received a report on the findings of the investigation from the Master; if not, why not; if so, what were the findings;

(4) whether the contents of the findings have been conveyed to a certain person (name also furnished); if not, why not; if so, what are the relevant details;

(5) whether any steps have been taken to resolve the problems revealed by the investigation; if not, why not; if so, what steps?

NW62E

Name : Joint Estate of JIN Botes and MJ Botes REPLY:- (1) I wish to inform the Honourable Member that my Department has received numerous correspondence relating to the insolvent estate from the period 27 June 2010 to date. (2) An internal investigation by the Masters Office: Johannesburg is currently underway, having commenced in January 2011. (3) I have been advised that this matter has not been finalised yet. It is expected that the Master: Johannesburg will submit the report to my Department on 18 March 2011.

(4) No, the contents of the findings have not been conveyed to the Department or interested parties as the report is still pending finalisation.

(5) At this stage, it is not possible to comment on the investigation until the report has been issued.

2011-11-17

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