“We’ve also started to engage public works so they can address issues out of our scope in terms of the fire safety hazards we identified.”
Naidoo said in terms of dealing with load-shedding, six superior courts did not have backup generators.
These include the Thohoyandou high court, where the generator was removed by the provincial government but has since been replaced. The service was being shared with the provincial government.
The court is scheduled for a repair and renovation project which will start in January, and part of that project will include the installation of a new generator for the court.
The Palace of Justice in Pretoria also does not have its own generator but can use as a backup the generator from the Pretoria high court’s main building, MPs heard.
Middelburg, which is the local seat for the Mpumalanga division, is a new facility the OCJ has recently taken over. Naidoo said an application has been made to the department of justice to assist in funding the installation of a generator.
In the Western Cape High Court, consultants have been appointed for the installation of a generator. Naidoo said they expect the project to take between six and eight months.
The Labour/Labour Appeals Court in the Western Cape is a leased facility. Naidoo said he had engaged the landlord but there was no space for a generator to be installed.
Among the solutions the landlord was considering include the use of the existing generator capacity to at least run to court rooms, chambers and the general office so the court remains open.
In Pietermaritzburg a repair and renovation project has been registered and a generator has been included.
The Labour Appeals Court in KwaZulu doesn’t have space for a generator. The OCJ is in the process of finalising relocation for the labour court in Durban to a new site in the high court precinct next to the Durban high court by June 2024. The site is being equipped with a generator and other power supplies.
The Supreme Court of Appeal's generator does not have a full capacity for the court, but it is being upgraded. In the interim, the municipality assured the office it would not subject the court to mainstream load-shedding.
The OCJ was getting water tanks for courts, including the Constitutional Court and the land claims court.
TimesLIVE
Some superior courts have worse fire hazards than the Joburg high court, office of chief justice tells parliament
The office of the chief justice (OCJ) assured MPs it is addressing fire safety hazards in courts.
A senior manager told parliament’s portfolio committee on justice that some superior courts have worse fire hazards than the Johannesburg high court, which was flagged by a senior judge earlier this month.
News24 reported last week that Gauteng deputy judge president Roland Sutherland expressed concern about fire safety risks at the South Gauteng high court in Johannesburg, after emergency services found it would be unsafe to send firefighters into the building. The publication cited a City of Johannesburg fire inspection report from April 2022 which found the building “does not provide a safe environment for the occupiers/users. In case of a fire the safe evacuation of occupiers/users is not guaranteed”.
When the OCJ appeared before the committee on Tuesday, the ACDP’s Steve Swart asked about Sutherland’s concerns and what was being done to address fire safety hazards in the Joburg high court.
The OCJ’s director for facilities and security Neil Naidoo said after a fire demolished the Bank of Lisbon Building in Johannesburg in 2018, the office “took an initiative” and conducted an assessment of courts throughout the country.
So far 14 superior courts have had fire assessments and, according to Naidoo, some are worse than the high court in Johannesburg.
“But we treat them all the same. They are all a risk to us, not only to the judiciary but also to the litigants and stakeholders we have coming to court.”
Naidoo said they were taking a two-pronged approach, with some buildings which fall within the OCJ and depending on the type of required remedies directly attended to by the office and others by the department of public works and infrastructure, which is the custodian of most of the facilities.
“We have compiled action logs and distributed them to directors of court operations who are implementing the recommendations through either implementing them themselves, which is our responsibility, or alternatively engaging public works.”
To address issues in the South Gauteng court, Naidoo said they have drafted an action log and distributed it to the director of court operations, and are providing support in terms of addressing what is the OCJ’s responsibility.
They were also looking at digitisation as a solution with regards to the compounded filing problem at that court to minimise one of the biggest fire risks they identified. They are also looking at finding alternative spaces such as an off-site storage to store records.
“We are getting positive feedback. The issue is in terms of the implementation because of the volume of records we have.
“We’ve also started to engage public works so they can address issues out of our scope in terms of the fire safety hazards we identified.”
Naidoo said in terms of dealing with load-shedding, six superior courts did not have backup generators.
These include the Thohoyandou high court, where the generator was removed by the provincial government but has since been replaced. The service was being shared with the provincial government.
The court is scheduled for a repair and renovation project which will start in January, and part of that project will include the installation of a new generator for the court.
The Palace of Justice in Pretoria also does not have its own generator but can use as a backup the generator from the Pretoria high court’s main building, MPs heard.
Middelburg, which is the local seat for the Mpumalanga division, is a new facility the OCJ has recently taken over. Naidoo said an application has been made to the department of justice to assist in funding the installation of a generator.
In the Western Cape High Court, consultants have been appointed for the installation of a generator. Naidoo said they expect the project to take between six and eight months.
The Labour/Labour Appeals Court in the Western Cape is a leased facility. Naidoo said he had engaged the landlord but there was no space for a generator to be installed.
Among the solutions the landlord was considering include the use of the existing generator capacity to at least run to court rooms, chambers and the general office so the court remains open.
In Pietermaritzburg a repair and renovation project has been registered and a generator has been included.
The Labour Appeals Court in KwaZulu doesn’t have space for a generator. The OCJ is in the process of finalising relocation for the labour court in Durban to a new site in the high court precinct next to the Durban high court by June 2024. The site is being equipped with a generator and other power supplies.
The Supreme Court of Appeal's generator does not have a full capacity for the court, but it is being upgraded. In the interim, the municipality assured the office it would not subject the court to mainstream load-shedding.
The OCJ was getting water tanks for courts, including the Constitutional Court and the land claims court.
TimesLIVE
READ MORE: