Chairperson and hon members, thank you for your inputs on this Budget Vote, which is my maiden Budget Vote in justice. I also want to take this opportunity to acknowledge the leadership from the Bench, represented by Justice Tshabalala and Justice Mthiyane. Thanks for your presence here.
I think many colleagues have made their inputs; I just want to respond to a few issues. There is a lot that is being said about the postponement of the interviews. I think many colleagues are making a mountain out of a molehill. I have stated repeatedly, and I have discussed this with the heads of courts and the chief justice, my understanding is that they understood - Judge Tshabalala was there as well. I don't understand why colleagues keep harping on this issue. At the end of the day, it was not my decision to postpone it. It was the Judicial Service Commission's decision and they understood my reasoning and my motivation and we all agreed on the postponement. The interviews are happening before the end of July. The hon Van der Merwe was present at that meeting. [Laughter.]
The hon Van der Merwe, being the democrat that he is, with the majority accepted my proposal. There is nothing sinister about that at all. So, I want to assure this House that there is no other agenda except what I stated there. The issues of transformation are still dear to my heart, and I want to use my best endeavours to participate with full information when we accelerate the transformation of the judiciary.
On the issue raised by the hon Van der Merwe, that there is a perception that we want judges that are loyal to the ANC, that is not correct, Mr Van der Merwe. As you know, the Constitution is very clear that judges must be appropriately qualified women or men, fit and proper. That is the only criterion that we in the ANC know of when appointing judges to the High Court.
On the issue of reserve judgements, the JSC is seized with this matter and it is of deep concern to us and I am sure, when the regulations are promulgated by August, we will be able to speed up all the issues around the conduct of judges. So, I will be one of those that will be working together with the JSC to make sure that those judges that are not working in accordance with the Constitution will be brought to book.
On the issue of the criminal justice system review, I think we have highlighted the issues before this House, we have to make sure that we accelerate the implementation thereof. The priority is to bring back that Criminal Law (Forensic Procedure) Amendment Bill in order to ensure that we can apprise Parliament of the issues around this criminal justice system. As you know, the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Development is championing this cause, but we are not alone. We will be working very closely with the police, correctional services and all other law- enforcement agencies in making sure that we speed up this fight against crime.
On the issue of vacancies, in this current financial year we will be able to accelerate the filling of many posts for prosecutors and magistrates.
On the issue raised by the hon Ntapane, you will be happy to know that, contrary to what you think of the former Directorate of Special Operations, DSO, the majority of those law-enforcement officers are being integrated into the SA Police Service. The information that I got when I met with the leadership of the National Prosecuting Authority, NPA, on Monday is that more than 75% of the former DSO personnel have already been transferred to the new unit headed by Anwa Dramat. So, I believe that, even before the fixed date of 6 July 2009, we will have even more who will be crossing over. So, there is no crisis at all. The co-operation between the former DSO and the SAPS task team is working very well. So, I am satisfied, and the Minister of Police is satisfied as well that the transition is happening in a very dynamic manner.
The issue of case backlogs is a matter of grave concern to me as well, that is why the filling of these posts and the appointment of prosecutors and the building of more courts, and the implementation of state of the art IT systems in the court administration will go a long way in ensuring that we minimise case backlogs in South Africa, thereby increasing the rate of convictions, especially for serious crimes.
The so-called Mbeki Bills, I don't know what is being referred to by that. I had a meeting with the chief justice and the heads of courts specifically to discuss this issue. I have agreed with them that we will have a further consultation. I have an open mind, so I want to hear from them what the issues and arguments are. If I am convinced that a particular direction has to be taken, I will be the first one to agree with them. So, let us wait for that consultation. But as I have indicated, it is one of the priority Bills because and hon members will agree with me we can't allow a situation where more than a decade will elapse before we roll out such a very important piece of legislation.
In terms of forensic powers of the SAPS, I agree with the hon Swart that, in fact, it is a travesty of justice in South Africa that the police do not have a database that is readily available in transport through the electronic National Traffic Information System, eNatis, in Home Affairs through the National Identification System, Hanis, that can be utilised for the detection of crime in South Africa, not only to convict criminals, but also that those who are improperly accused can be able to prove their innocence. So, it is a very important initiative, and we will endeavour as the justice department to put our shoulder to the wheel and make sure that we accelerate this particular process.
On the issue of qualified audits, I agree with the hon Landers, I think there is no reason why we should continue to have qualified audits. So, I will work closely with the director-general to make sure that we assist those who report to us in order to ensure that this does not recur.
With regard to language, I have already expressed my feelings on this issue and I am happy that the pilot projects are working very well, but I think it is incumbent upon all South Africans to recognise that English is not the only official language in South Africa. We have 11 languages that need to be promoted in promoting the Constitution of South Africa.