National register for sex offenders is up to date, says Lamola

Justice and correctional services minister Ronald Lamola says the national register for sex offenders is up to date.

Lamola, who was responding to parliamentary questions from DA MP Anna Maria van Zyl, said the register built on the integrated case management system, which captured cases as courts convict offenders of a sexual offence.

The register was established to fight sexual offending and reoffending after demands by women who marched under the umbrella of #TheTotalShutDown Movement in August 2018.

“The particulars of all convicted sex offenders are now entered into the register,” said Lamola. 

“Before then, only entries of sex offenders convicted of sex crimes involving child survivors and survivors with mental disabilities were made. With the recent legal developments, the scope of protection afforded by the register has been extended to vulnerable people.” .

Lamola said there was no backlog of entries on the register. However, there was a backlog for clearance certificates caused by a malware attack in 2021. 

“Since [the] 2022/2023 financial year, the justice and correctional services department has included an indicator in the annual performance plan to eliminate this backlog and the plan is to achieve this goal in this financial year.”

The registrar, within 10 working days after the receipt of application, is required to issue a clearance certificate as soon as is reasonably practicable. 

Any application not considered beyond 10 working days after the date of receipt is classified as a backlog application, he said.

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