Public
Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia de Lille says her department has set
aside more than R260 million for the repairs and maintenance of court buildings
across the country.
Moreover,
the Minister said she will ensure that service providers are paid what is due
to them on time.
Addressing
media in Tshwane on Tuesday after meeting with Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng
and the department’s officials, De Lille said she is concerned about the sluggish
payment of service providers.
“This
government is supposed to support small businesses. The public must have
confidence in our government,” the Minister said.
Last
week, De Lille launched a full-scale investigation into the department’s
failure to pay some of its service providers within 30 days. Several reasons,
including processes being done outside of Supply Chain Management, issues with
verification and certification of work done, as well as late submissions of
quotations, have been given for these delays.
Turning
her attention to infrastructure, De Lille lamented the state of government
buildings, especially the ones that are used as courts, saying this impacts
negatively on the justice system.
The Chief
Justice welcomed the commitment from Public Works and Infrastructure to look
after the buildings, saying the state of court buildings affected the
administration of justice. He said some of the buildings are not suitable to be
used as courts.
Mogoeng
said going forward, senior Public Works officials must avail themselves for
meetings to discuss building maintenance.
“The
justice system is highly compromised by the poor maintenance of buildings.
Power outages affect court cases. It is time that we buy and own these
buildings,” the Chief Justice said.
The
Public Works Minister and her deputy are expected to meet with 200 regional
court heads, 15 district heads and 11 regional managers from the Department of
Public Works and Infrastructure.
He used the platform to reiterate the drive to root out corruption throughout the justice system. “I don’t understand how one can have a senior position and be incompetent,” he said. https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/over-r260m-set-aside-court-building-repairs
