Legal Aid SA budget cuts bad news for poor and vulnerable seeking justice

17 October 2018 - 13:18 By Ernest Mabuza
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Image: 123RF/Stockstudio44

South Africans who cannot afford legal representation have been dealt a blow as looming budget cuts will force Legal Aid SA to scale back on helping the poor get access to justice.

Legal Aid SA‚ which provides legal advice and representation to over 700‚000 people annually‚ will have its budget slashed by R503m over the next three years.

The organisation said the budget cuts would leave it unable to fulfil its constitutional obligations. It was hit with a 5% budget cut for the 2018-19 financial year from the national fiscus‚ as a result of financial challenges faced by government.

Legal Aid SA CEO Vidhu Vedalankar‚ presenting the organisation’s annual report to the portfolio committee of justice and correctional services on Tuesday‚ explained the impact of the cut.

“This will require a review and prioritisation of legal aid services so that we prioritise matters having a higher impact on our clients. The budget cuts will also require a reduction in budgeted staff posts – this will result in a reduction of services delivered which will impact on the efficiency of courts‚” Vedalankar said.

She said Legal Aid SA was concerned about the impact the cuts would have on the poor and vulnerable‚ and their ability to access justice.

She said after implementing various efficiency measures and reducing expenses‚ Legal Aid SA also had to cut staff expenditure.

About 80% of Legal Aid SA’s budget is spent on salaries for support staff and legal professionals who deliver legal services to clients. She said these budget cuts would lead to a reduction of staff posts.

She said 282 positions had to be cut from Legal Aid SA over the period 2017-18 and 2020-21‚ a reduction of 10% of its staff complement.

Vedalankar said the impact of reduced staffing was huge and its effect on service delivery was enormous. She said during the next three years‚ their capacity would be reduced by 51‚675 matters or 11.6%.

Court coverage will drop by 7% in district courts‚ to 79%‚ and regional court coverage would be reduced by a total of 10%‚ to 85%.

“We are requesting a reversal of budget cuts to our organisation for 2019-20 and 2020-21‚ and are also asking that further budget cuts planned for 2019-2022 are not implemented‚” said Vedalankar.

In the 2017-18 financial year‚ Legal Aid SA provided legal representation and advice to 731‚856 people.

The vast majority of matters that Legal Aid SA handled in 2017-18 were 371‚202 criminal matters (87%) and 55‚415 civil matters (13%). They also provided legal advice to 305‚239 people. During the same period‚ Legal Aid SA helped children in 16‚350 matters.

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