Programme Director
The Honourable Judge President of the Eastern Cape, Judge Sangoni.
Regional Court President, Chief Magistrate and all judicial officers
Member of the NCOP, Hon Siphiwo Mazosiwe
Councillor Mathyila representing the Executive Mayor
The A/ DDG Court Services
Regional Head (DOJ&CD)
Officials from the Justice Family and representatives from other Government Departments
Representatives from the University of Fort Hare
Representatives from NGO’s
Ladies and Gentleme
Comrades and friends
Molweni!
I greet you this morning. Allow me to take this opportunity to convey greetings and kind regards of Mr Jeff Radebe, the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development.
I was fascinated to learn that Fort Beaufort was established as a town in 1837, and as one of the first municipalities in the country in 1883.
It is even more significant that we are opening this small claims court in Fort Beaufort during the year in which we celebrate the centenary of the African National Congress.
As we gather here today, the President of the Republic and President of the African National Congress Cde Jacob Zuma will be delivering a centenary lecture in Aliwal North, celebrating the great legacy of one of the finest sons of the Eastern Cape, former President Thabo Mbeki.
We also celebrate the great heroine of our struggle, Charlotte Maxeke (7 April 1874 – 16 October 1939), one of the great heroes of our struggle for national liberation, democracy and social justice.
Charlotte Maxeke had very close ties to Fort Beaufort. She was an activist, the first African women graduate in South Africa, and one of the first Black South Africans to fight for freedom from exploitation and social conditions for African women.
The great African-American intellectual, WEB du Bois, wrote the following about Charlotte Maxeke in the Preface to Alfred B Xuma’s Biographical sketch: Du Bois says “I regard Mrs Maxeke as a pioneer in one of the greatest of human causes, working in extraordinarily difficult circumstances to lead a people, in the face of prejudice, not only against her race but against her sex. I think that what Mrs Maxeke has accomplished should encourage all men, especially those of African descent.
As a young girl growing up in nineteenth century South Africa, she did not allow herself to become discouraged at the limitations of the day imposed upon Africans in general and women specifically.
One of her major achievements was to be the first black woman to obtain a BSc degree – this at a time when few women of any race were graduating from university and most were training to become teachers or nurses.
She was also the first South African black woman to be appointed as a probation officer – thus opening up the way for others to do the same work.
She put gender on the agenda of the national liberation movement – first by founding the Bantu Women’s League, and then by being elected the first President of the National Council of African Women, successor to the Bantu Women’s League.
She was the first African to appear before the Native Pass Laws Commission and she also testified before numerous other government commissions on matters concerning African education in general and on African women’s issues in particular.
In her testimony to the 1915 Moffat Commission – called to investigate the causes of the first strike wave on the Witwatersrand – she delineated the predicament of urban women, substantiated by figures on wartime inflation, wage cuts, and escalating transport costs. These inputs were another first for an African of any gender.
Programme Director
I think it is very appropriate that today as we are gathered here in the deep rural areas of the Eastern Cape in Fort Beaufort to officially launch the Small Claims Court for Fort Beaufort, one of the 41 Small Claims Courts formally established in the Eastern Cape, and one which now brings our overall total of Small Claims Courts country-wide to 256, that we dedicate this launch to Charlotte Maxeke.
This launch epitomises realisation of our objective of taking justice to all corners of our country, with a specific focus on the rural areas. It marks another milestone in our quest for access to justice in our country. Access to Justice is at the heart of the enforcement of the rights in the Bill of Rights which could be done by bringing the courts closer to the community they must serve.
Ladies and gentlemen, a government that is responsive to the needs of the people is critically important in a country like South Africa where the majority of people were ignored for many decades because they were black. It is for this reason that we are committed to ensuring that you are not exposed to further injustices.
You have access to the Magistrates Courts and High Courts, but the fact of the matter is that access to these courts requires people to have the financial resources for transportation as well as for the lawyers. This means that the majority of you cannot access courts because court buildings are far from where you stay. Besides this, court procedures are complex for the ordinary people.
Because we are determined to promote access to justice in the interest of all the people, especially the poor; we cannot tolerate a situation whereby poor people cannot enjoy justice in their country simply because they do not have money for lawyers and transportation to court buildings or; or procedures are complex. Hence, our government has made various interventions to promote access to justice. Among these is creation of branch courts and the Small Claims Courts in the immediate localities of poor and vulnerable sections of population.
But, why Small Claims Courts?
These courts are based on speed, simplicity and cost effectiveness and were created to eliminate time-consuming adversarial procedures before and during the trial. They are important mechanisms which provide a forum for the resolution of civil disputes with the monetary jurisdiction of R12 000. No legal representatives are required or allowed to appear on behalf of the litigants.
The words ‘small claims’, are perhaps slightly misleading and somewhat of a contradiction as the great majority of the people in South Africa do not earn R12 000 a month, whilst many of the people in the rural areas, especially the farm and domestic workers, do not even earn R12 000 a year! For them access to and speedy resolution of a case before the Small Claims Court is most often a ‘bread and butter’ issue as their livelihood is dependent on the outcome of the decision of the Court.
It is therefore of critical importance that the Commissioner, supported by the Clerk of the Court, the interpreter, the security officer and other court officials, ensure that cases that serve before the Court are not unnecessarily postponed. This can only happen if all the role players responsible for small claims, work together, perform their duties with diligence and care, and receive the necessary support from the court manager and the other administrative heads, including the Regional and National Office.
We are aware that some of the successful litigants in the Small Claims Courts experience difficulties not only in the execution process if the judgment debtor does not adhere to the order of the court, but also in serving the initial summons on the defendant if they do not have the financial means to pay the sheriff. Very often the sheriff that must enforce the execution of movable property to settle the debt will also require security from the judgment creditor.
This negates the purpose of small claims and leaves the judgment creditor with a hollow sense of justice as he or she does not have the money to provide security. I will soon be meeting with the Chairperson of the Rules Board for Courts of Law, Justice Bees Nkabinde, to see what can be done in the short term to address this impediment. However, our department will, as part of the Review of the Civil Justice System, also look at the ways and means of addressing these problems.
To date, we have established Small Claims Courts in 256 magisterial districts throughout the country. We have 69 additional places of sitting for Small Claims Courts, nine of which are in the Eastern Cape. Next Friday, 16 November 2012, we will Gazette Kirkwood (also in the Eastern Cape), and Northam in Limpopo, as Small Claims Courts, to bring the total number to 258.
As part of the department’s programme in this regard we have established 27 more Small Claims Courts throughout the country during the past year. The majority of these courts have been established in the rural areas. For example, Victoria East, Motherwell, Cathcart, Willowmore and Fort Beaufort in the Eastern Cape, Botshabelo, Vrede and Edenburg in the Free State, Ntuzuma, Ingwavuma and Ubombo in Kwazulu-Natal, Waterval Boven and Eerstehoek in Mpumalanga, and Koster , Ganyesa, and Bloemhof in the North West.
The Eastern Cape is the second-largest of South Africa’s provinces, with 79 magisterial districts. There are currently, as I have indicated earlier, 41 Small Claims Courts in the Eastern Cape. This means that there are 38 magisterial districts in the Eastern Cape which still need fully established Small Claims Courts. In the interim, fortunately there are also 9 additional places of sitting that are operated from nearby main courts. I have been informed by the Regional Office (DOJ&CD) that they are hard at work ensuring that Small Claims Courts are established in the remaining 38 magisterial districts. On a congratulatory note, let me mention that Gauteng recently became the first province to have Small Claims Courts in all its magisterial districts. I challenge the Eastern Cape to do all in its power to also reach a similar achievement.
Let me hasten to say, one of the challenges in establishing Small Claims Courts in rural areas is that it is dependent on the voluntary services of attorneys or advocates availing themselves as commissioners. This is not always possible in small places and often there will be a conflict of interest in cases where the plaintiff or the defendant is also a client of the attorney. The department has therefore introduced an amendment to the Small Claims Court Act that will now make it possible for a Commissioner to be appointed for all of the Small Claims Courts in the Province for which he or she is appointed.
As I have stated, at the heart of establishing and launching Small Claims Courts is to promote access to justice. While bringing the courts closer to the people enhances access to justice, it is of critical importance that courts function well and that cases are not unnecessarily delayed. I am therefore pleased to note that the Judiciary, under the leadership of the Chief Justice, has on 18 August 2012, resolved, amongst others, to work in conjunction with all other role players to clear backlogs and to limit the postponement of cases. They also committed themselves to the adoption and immediate implementation of a judicial case management system to enable judicial officers to dictate the pace of litigation for speedy finalisation of the cases, and to the overall pursuit of excellence in administering and dispensing of quality justice to all. This will also enhance stakeholder relations and community outreach.
As the department, we are currently running the Justice on the Airwaves programme on 11 Radio Stations (SABC) in all the official languages. Through these communication programmes we promote initiatives such as informing the public about the existence of the Small Claims Courts, the kind of civil claims that can be lodged with the court, and also how these courts function.
As part of the department’s Access to Justice Programme to ensure a better life for all:
- We also continue to build additional courts and service delivery points that are more accessible to users, including people with disability.
- We have given the Regional Courts that could previously only hear criminal matters, civil jurisdiction. This has further enhanced access to justice as people can now approach a Regional Court that is in close proximity, instead of the High Court.
- We further converted 18 of the 90 Branch Courts into full services courts where the community now have access to a wide range of legal services including maintenance, deceased estates, protection orders and civil matters.
- 15 new Community Advice Centres have already been established in the joint initiative under the Access to Justice Programme with the Foundation for Human Rights and the European Union.
- We have also designated all magistrates’ courts and high courts as equality courts to adjudicate on matters of unfair discrimination.
One of Government’s most important vehicles of making access to justice a reality is through Legal Aid South Africa. But let me state that the demand for legal aid assistance in civil cases still remains a challenge and our Department is indebted to the legal practitioners who are assisting their communities by providing pro bono assistance to persons who are unable to afford the cost of their own legal representatives.
Ladies and Gentlemen, in conclusion let me state that the Small Claims Court for Fort Beaufort was established on 20 July 2012, through Government Notice No. 545 of 2012.
Mr B I Vogel, the Magistrate, Fort Beaufort was appointed as the Chairperson of the Advisory Board and Mr Z A Msengana, the Court Manager, was appointed as the Vice-Chairperson. Mr V C Njobe, the Administration Clerk, was appointed as a member of the Advisory Board. Mr Njobe will have the important task of electronically capturing the Small Claims Court’s case statistics on the Departmental Integrated Case Management System.
Three Commissioners were appointed, namely Mr Z C Mbanjwa, Mr M Nkibi and Mr L K Marenene. Messrs Nkibi and Marenene are employed by Legal Aid SA.
I would like to make use of the opportunity to convey the Department and Government’s sincere appreciation to everyone mentioned for their willingness to serve their community and our country.
I now have the pleasure of officially declaring the Fort Beaufort Small Claims Court open. Let us all go forth from here and in the spirit of Charlotte Maxeke, and tell our people about this Small Claims Court and how to use is so that everyone will greater access to justice.
Enkosi.
I thank you.
