80 generators a shot in the arm for Justice Department crippled by load shedding

At least 80 generators are expected to be installed at various courts around the country to ensure that the country’s long arm of justice was not limited by load shedding.

Justice Ministry spokesperson Chrispin Phiri issued a statement saying that the department was trying to minimise the impact of load shedding on the functioning of the courts and other service delivery points.

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Phiri confirmed that the KwaZulu-Natal Division of the High Court in Pietermaritzburg, the Labour Appeal Court in Durban and Cape Town, the  Gauteng Division of the High Court in Pretoria, the Mpumalanga Division of the High Court in Middelburg, the Limpopo Division of the High Court in Thohoyandou, the  Western Cape Division of the High Court in Cape Town, and the Eastern Cape Division of the High Court in Bisho were all earmarked for generator installations.

He confirmed that the processes to procure generators for these Superior Courts have already started. 

Exemptions from load shedding

Phiri also said the department has written to the Minister of Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) as well as the new electricity minister to explore the possibility of justice service points being red-flagged and not to put the power-off during the times in which the courts and other service delivery points need to function. 

According to the Judiciary Annual Report for the year 2021-22, the Land Claims Court only achieved a 49% performance, by finalising 98 matters out of a total of 201 matters. This, the report said, was an underachievement of 11% against the set annual target of 60%.

The report attributed this to the combined impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and load shedding during the period under review.

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“The absence of a generator until November 2022 meant that often cases could not be heard during the frequent bouts of load shedding during the period under review. These challenges and a 35% increase in the caseload, account for the number of cases that were able to be finalised over the period,” the report read.