Acting Chief Master of the High Court, Kalayvani Pillay has acknowledged that the Masters’ Offices have been a burning platform, severely affecting service delivery and the lives of ordinary people.

Deficiencies in these 16 offices have impacted the economy and disproportionately affected marginalised communities, she told delegates at the 15th Annual Conference of the Fiduciary Institute of Southern Africa (Fisa).

According to Moneyweb, Pillay said the outdated legal framework under which the Masters’ Offices operate has set the scene for how the offices are structured and operate.

Challenges facing the offices include fraud and corruption, a largely paper-based system and a lack of proper infrastructure and resources.

A burning issue throughout the Department of Justice, in which the Masters’ Offices are situated, is a broken and outdated information and communication technology system.

‘The mostly paper-based system leads to the loss of records, the incorrect storage of information, the inability to find records and the challenge with fraud and corruption, where records are easily manufactured and changed according to who wants to beat or cheat the system,’ says Pillay.

However, it is not only the Masters’ Offices that have been blamed for the problems.

There has also been finger pointing at the Government Printing Works, the Department of Home Affairs, the Department of Justice (which oversees the Masters’ Offices), SARS and commercial banks for their role in causing delays.

A major challenge is that 70% of all the estates the Masters’ Offices deal with are administered under section 18(3) of the Administration of Estates Act. 

Pillay says her office is in discussions with the Project Management Office in the Presidency and National Treasury to increase the section 18(3) threshold.

She also wants to see a direct link between the modernisation and digitisation of the offcies and improved service delivery.

Full Moneyweb report