R31 million spent on suspended magistrates sparks uproar

The Select Committee on Security and Justice has raised grave concerns over the payment of R31 million to suspended magistrates, with some individuals having received substantial salaries since 2018 without performing any work. 

Committee chairperson Jane Mananiso, last week, expressed her dismay, stating that the public money cannot continuously be used to fund suspended magistrates.

"This is taxpayers' money that could have been used for much-needed programmes," Mananiso said. 

"The Magistrates Commission, a regulatory body for the Lower Court Judiciary, updated the committee on disciplinary proceedings and measures to reduce the length of time these disciplinary proceedings take."

According to Mananiso, one magistrate has been on suspension with full remuneration since September 2018, having received over R8 million since then for doing nothing. 

The magistrate from KwaZulu-Natal has taken home R8 million in salary since his suspension in 2018.

The committee indicated that seven magistrates are currently under suspension, with six still receiving pay and one having been suspended recently. 

Other magistrates that have also received substantial payments, includes R7.3 million for a magistrate who was suspended since May 2020, and R5.5 million for another magistrate suspended since February 2020.

"The committee heard that disciplinary hearings have started in all instances. However, the commission told the committee that, because of the legislation governing them, none of them are full-time and must deal with these matters in their own time," Mananiso said.

Mananiso noted that the committee had concerns over the delays in disciplinary proceedings, with some cases dating back to 2018 and 2020. 

She said the commission conceded that not all postponements were due to the suspended magistrates, but sometimes due to presiding officers retiring or evidence leaders being unavailable.

"The committee noted the concession but maintained that cases dragging back to 2018 and 2020 were not acceptable," Mananiso said.

Department of Justice and Constitutional Development spokesperson Terrence Manase had not responded to requests for comment by the time of publication.

However, the commission’s ethics committee chairperson Naome Manaka reportedly said that, unlike in previous instances, all the disciplinary hearings against the suspended magistrates have commenced.

Manaka said the commission was discussing suspending the judges without pay.

The DA has also called for urgent action to stop the misuse of public funds. DA MPL Nicholas Gotsell said that there had to be accountability on the matter.

"R31 million wasted on salaries for suspended magistrates. No accountability as disciplinary cases drag on without resolution,” Gotsell said.

The DA has demanded a written explanation from the Chairperson of the Magistrates' Commission's Ethics Committee regarding a particular magistrate who has not been investigated despite allegations of negligence in a case involving a minor who was convicted of rape and later accused of murdering Deveney Nel.

mashudu.sadike@inl.co.za