a) The Committee on the Rationalisation of Areas and Judicial Establishments of the Division of the High Court of South Africa held the following meetings:
(i) Virtual meeting held on 13 July 2021. Introductory meeting with Deputy Director-General Court Services.
(ii) Virtual meeting held 29 September 2021: Discussion of the draft Road map with the DDG Court Services
(iii) Physical meeting 5 November 2021 at Protea Hotel Fire and Ice, Pretoria: Department’s detailed submission to the Committee outlining the following aspects:
(iv) It is expected that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Office of the Chief Justice (OCJ) will present their submission regarding the above, at the date to be confirmed.
(ii) The Committee was expected to submit its Interim Report on or before 15 October 2021 and its final report by 31 December 2021. Subsequent to the presentation by DoJ&CD the Committee then had a sense of the work to be completed and then it was agreed that the Terms of Reference be amended to provide for new dates for submission. In terms of the Committee’s roadmap the OCJ and NPA were supposed to make similar submission to the Committee. There was hesitation from both the OCJ and NPA which derailed the commitments made on the roadmap. The Terms of Reference (ToRs) were thus amended to provide for new dates regarding the submission of reports by the Committee. The dates in the new ToRs were revised to 15 April 2022 for the submission of its Interim Report, and 30 July 2022 for the submission of its Final Report.
b) (i) (ii) Expenses incurred to date
Item |
Amount |
Venue for meeting (Protea Fire and Ice, Pretoria) |
R16 524.00 |
Accommodation |
R4 478.77 (Only done for one members for 2 nights. Others members did not require accommodation) |
Flights |
R9 233.49 (for 2 members) |
Shuttle |
R2 732.24 |
Ten (10) Laptops |
R232 387.10 |
Ten (10) Wi-Fi Routers |
R53 880.00 |
Printers |
R56 575.00 |
Payments to Members of the Committee |
R767 103.95 |
Total |
R1 142 914.55 |