By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa met with Chief Justice Mandisa Maya and senior judges to strengthen collaboration between the executive and the judiciary.
Ramaphosa was joined by Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mmamoloko Kubayi and Deputy Minister Andries Nel, at Mahlamba Ndlopfu, the President’s official residence in Pretoria.
Also present were Ministers Khumbudzo Ntshavheni (Presidency), Enoch Godongwana (Finance), Inkosi Mzamo Buthelezi (Public Service and Administration), and Dean Macpherson (Public Works and Infrastructure). Chief Justice Maya was supported by senior members of the Judiciary, including Justice Mahube Molemela (President of the Supreme Court of Appeal), and Judge Presidents Cagney Musi (Free State), Dunstan Mlambo (Gauteng), and Pule Tlaletsi (Northern Cape).
Ageing court infrastructure, inadequate human resources, security issues, concerns about judicial independence and long turnaround times in the courts are among the longstanding challenges raised by the judiciary.
Ramaphosa emphasised that the Executive’s role includes creating an environment where the Judiciary can fulfil its mandate without obstruction.
He reaffirmed the State’s duty to uphold the institutional independence of the Judiciary and ensure it has the resources to administer justice effectively.
The discussions also advanced the agenda to unify South Africa’s Judiciary into a single, independent institution, while enhancing the capacity of the Constitutional Court, Supreme Court of Appeal, and High Courts.
Maya prior to her appoitment, she was forthright in describing the administrative and infrastructural challenges facing the judiciary.
She explained how she and her support staff at the Constitutional Court had been forced to run a parallel office and physically manage court files to ensure that basic but essential administrative functions were carried out – work that is not meant for judges.
She described the court’s internet as “highly unreliable” and recounted an instance where an online hearing was only made possible when one of the lawyers lent the court an internet router. She added that the court did not even have a working telephone system.
A 2022 research report by the University of Cape Town’s democratic governance unit shows that other judges echoed Maya’s concerns about poorly maintained libraries, no telephones, outdated computers and the crumbling state of high court buildings. The challenges faced by judges in the higher courts are even more prevalent in magistrate’s courts.
Maya welcomed the willingness of the Executive to respond to the practical needs of the court system. “This meeting is significant in that it happened days before we are due to host dignitaries of the Judiciary from across the globe, to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the Constitutional Court on the 20th of this month,” she said.
Kubayi doubled down on commitments to building a stronger, more effective justice system.
“It has been quite a great moment, terms of the meeting, having been supported by some of the colleagues in cabinet, in dealing with issues such as infrastructure capacitation in the courts but also more important, some of the issues that ensure that the judiciary is able to function effectively and in practice, there’s independent. So the meeting has been successful.”