The department did not keep full and proper records regarding to the reported achievement of targets.
The Office of the Auditor-General (A-G) has found the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development wanting in meeting its own targets while the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) lacked alignment between financial spending and actual performance.
This emerged when the A-G made a presentation to the select committee on security and justice on the audit outcomes of the department and its entities.
Aphendule Mantiyane, a senior manager in the A-G’s office, said the department did not keep full and proper records regarding the reported achievement of targets.
This was blamed on systems for collecting, collating and verifying the performance information that were ineffective.
According to the report tabled at the meeting, targets not met by the department included a failure to finalise maintenance matters within 90 days and serve new domestic violence interim protection orders electronically by a court clerk on the respondent not later than 24 hours after they were granted.
There was also the number of state capture and complex corruption matters enrolled, and value of freezing orders obtained for corruption or related offences by the NPA, and a number of cases brought by the SIU in the Special Tribunal. The report noted the department’s failure to meet targets delayed justice and left children’s maintenance needs unmet.
“Not issuing protection orders timeously exacerbates the issues of gender-based violence.”
Mantiyane noted that the integrated justice system was not achieving the objectives of delivering a modern, accessible and people-centric justice service for all.
“Significant expenditures continue to be incurred but there is lack of throughput and delivery of projects across the programme.”
She said member departments were not fully and digitally connected and exchanging meaningful information to fulfil integration of business processes was challenging.
Mantiyane revealed that they found there was a backlog of 37497 cases as at the end of March, increasing to 37838 by June 30.
“Managing these cases is challenging due to insufficient data, and while case backlogs are documented, confirming the completeness of the data is difficult. This is due to the lack of an integrated system within the criminal justice system to track a case from registration with SAPS through to judgment, incarceration, and eventual reintegration into society.”
She said there was a disparity in the backlog figure as the director-general for court services had indicated that there was an actual backlog of around 100000. Mantiyane told the MPs the impact of the backlogs was that some alleged perpetrators in these cases were out on bail, creating significant challenges as they may meet the victims, leading to mental strain.
“Some may even take advantage of this situation to intimidate victims and witnesses or disrupt ongoing investigations. Additionally, there are reports of offenders committing further crimes while on bail. It is crucial to address these issues decisively to protect victims and uphold the integrity of the legal process.”
Mantiyane also said their audit found that the NPA spent 101% of its approved budget, while achieving only 80% of its planned targets. “This outcome indicates a lack of alignment between financial spending and actual performance achievements.”
Cape Times