27 January 2009
Mafikeng: About 200 community members of Makgobistad and the surrounding
areas such as Leporung, Maiyaiyane and Logageng converged at Makgobistad
Community Hall to attend Public Education Day on 23 January 2009.
North West province is predominately a rural province; the majority of
people are unemployed and most rely heavily on social grants and maintenance
payouts particularly in the rural areas such as Makgobistad. The Department of
Justice and Constitutional Development hosted a Public Education Day to educate
Community members about services available to them at the Makgobistad
Periodical Court.
"As the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development it is our
constitutional mandate to make Justice accessible to the people, particularly
the most indigent communities based in the rural areas and to educate them
about their rights.
The people of Makgobistad and the surrounding areas attend court in Molopo
Magistrate Court which is 120 kilometres from Makgobistad and is therefore not
accessible. The most indigent members of our community in Makgobistad and
neighbouring areas have to pay for taxi fare to access our court in Molopo.
To address this challenge and to improve accessibility the Department has
established a Periodical Court in Makgobistad to serve Makgobistad and the
neighbouring areas.
The Periodical Court offers administrative services such as taking of
Domestic Violence, maintenance and small claims complaints and opening of
files, as well as maintenance payouts. However court will still take place in
Molopo, once the case is opened in the Periodical Court. Periodical court sits
periodically on Wednesdays in the community hall to hear criminal matters
emanating from Makgobistad and the neibouring areas. The department is still
finalising logistical arrangements to see that the criminal court also sits in
the mobile unit not in the community hall.
"Domestic Violence is rife at Makgobistad and I personally urge our people
to report such cases. The Department is still faced with those women who
withdraw domestic violence cases saying the perpetrator is a breadwinner. The
Domestic Violence Act provides for interim monetary relief to address this
problemâ Pleaded Molopo Court Manager Mr Godfrey Maseng.
"Personally I applaud the Department of justice and Constitutional
Development for hosting this information session. We are faced with a serious
problem regarding small claims court here at Makgobistad. As community members
we are used to assisting each other when faced with problems. Some people
behave nicely when they borrow money especially when problems such as funerals
arise and later fail to fulfil their promises. I now know were to go to when
faced with such a problem. May I over emphasise that our people will no longer
travel long distances to receive services" said Mr Kgosi Tau from Makgobistad
Traditional Council.
"The department introduced Justice Deposit Account System (JDAS), the system
is intended at saving the department time and doing away with manual work. The
beneficiary's information can be easily punched into the system and the user
can also notice if the payment has been done.
The Department has also introduced Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) where
beneficiaries can easily receive their maintenance monies through different
banks. They do not have to travel long distances to courts to collect money.
Beneficiaries can receive notice through their cell phones once the money has
been deposited into their accounts. We urge our communities to make use of this
system by opening bank accounts to receive their monies without hassle."
Our core business is to provide accessible, fair speedy, cost effective and
quality justice services for all and deviation from that will not be
tolerated."Concluded Regional Head Mr Tsietsi Malema
Media enquiries can be directed to:
Mr Isaac Mokaila
Tel: 018 389 83 55
Cell: 073 742 3906
Enquiries:
Mr Tsietsi Malema
Regional Head: North West
Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
Tel: 018 389 8301
E-mail: tzmalema@justice.gov.za
Issued by: Department of Justice and Constitutional Development
27 January 2009
