Courts crippled by load shedding
Parliament yesterday heard how more than 400 courts across the country cannot function during load shedding. KZN has the highest number of courts without generators (83), followed by the Free State (79) and Eastern Cape with 65. The Western Cape has 45 courts that don’t have generators, Mpumalanga 41, Limpopo 36, North West 27, Northern Cape 22 and Gauteng 19.
In response to a written parliamentary question from the EFF, Justice & Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola confirmed that only 139 of the country’s more than 500 courts are able to operate when the power goes off.
Last week, Lamola indicated that he would ask new Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa to consider exempting the courts from load shedding. In a written reply to Parliament, Lamola said that he was working hard to minimise the impact of the power outages on the administration of justice. The department plans to install 80 generators at various courts.
EWN reports that Lamola said that the department had also embarked on a pilot programme to install inverters and solar power through a delegation received from the Department of Public Works & Infrastructure (DPWI).
The Minister said that he wrote to the Ministers of Co-operative Governance & Public Enterprises to urge them to keep the power on in courts.
Meanwhile, emergency lights have been procured for holding cells and other dark areas within court buildings. In the Free State, only eight of its 87 courts function during load shedding. In Mpumalanga, only two courts have an alternative power source. In KZN, only 19 out of 102 courts can keep the lights on during load shedding.
The Office of the Chief Justice is working closely with the Department of Justice & Constitutional Development and the DPWI to procure generators for all superior courts.
The Cape Times reports that several superior courts were provided with the generators to mitigate the risks of power failures and/or load shedding.
Currently, eight are without generators. These include the KZN High Court (Pietermaritzburg), the Labour and Labour Appeal Court in Durban, the Gauteng High Courts in Johannesburg and Pretoria, the Mpumalanga High Court in Middelburg, the Limpopo High Court in Thohoyandou, the Western Cape High Court, the Labour and Labour Appeal Court in Cape Town and the Eastern Cape High Court in Bisho.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
