Corrie Kruger

The Budget fiasco reveals the state of the nation’s finances. South Africa has run out of money. This comes at a time when many state institutions have failed. It is not newsworthy to list them all, but we need to add the failing justice system to the list, as extraordinarily little media coverage was given to this very tragic tipping point that we have reached. 

1. A new directive was issued.

In April 2025, from “OFFICE OF THE JUDGE PRESIDENT GAUTENG DIVISION OF THE HIGH COURT OF SOUTH AFRICA” as per DUNSTAN MLAMBO, JUDGE PRESIDENT.

The problem stated is: 

“The caseload of the Division continued to rise and has now reached unmanageable levels. The state of the Civil Trial rolls is a source of serious concern. Civil Trial dates in the Division are currently issued as far ahead as 2031, i.e., seven years in the future. This situation is self-evidently unacceptable and intolerable. The Office of the Judge President decided that a revision of Court processes must be made. From the date of this Directive, the Mediation Protocol for the Gauteng Division (the Protocol), published herewith, shall be in force. 

With effect from the date of this Directive, no case shall be issued a trial date unless the request is accompanied by a report on the mediation as contemplated in the Protocol, given by either an accredited mediator or, in the case of matters certified to be heard in the commercial court, a report on the mediation as contemplated by the Protocol, by the judicial case manager.

This Directive is issued in conformity with and in terms of the authority vested in the Head of Court in terms of Section 8(4) (b) of the Superior Courts Act, 2013, Act 10 of 2013, as amended. The Directive is also in line with Section 173 of the Constitution authorising the Judiciary to regulate their own processes. The possibility that this directive to be challenged by affected parties is high. Many attorneys and advocates have spent months and even years preparing cases for Road Accident Fund matters, who are now unable to get justice for their clients and who face financial ruin for being unable to be awarded fees for work done. The directive will give rise to a great sense of disillusionment from legal practitioners who are already concerned with the quality of certain judgements, the inability of the National Prosecution to bring criminals to account. Former President Jacob Zuma has appeared in court so many times that most people will be unable to recall. The Zondo commission into State Capture has brought in terms of criminal charges in a court. 

2. The right to justice

The right of access to Courts is guaranteed in section 34 of the Constitution. In the current situation, the State is not capable of properly honouring this guarantee due to the lead-time for dates of hearing, described above. The phrase “justice delayed is justice denied” has become the reality for South African citizens and the business community alike.

A democracy can only function if certain pillars are in place and standing strong. One of those is its legal/ judicial system, which is assisted by a capable police and other enforcement agencies. The citizens of the country are already embarrassed by the humiliating exit of our defence force, ousted by a rebel group. If the rule of law is lost in this country and we can not trust the Courts to uphold our civil rights and claims, we are left to our own devices, and chaos will become even more prevalent.

3. Implications and consequences.

A country has many institutions that contribute to the well-being of the country. The Judicial system is one of them, but its importance goes well beyond the legal practitioners. The entire financial system also depends heavily on a properly functioning justice system. The total value of civil default and consent judgements for debt annually exceeds R3,6 billion. As of June 2024, South Africa’s total debt (including government, household, and corporate debt) amounted to a record high of R12,870.8 billion ($699.5 billion). Most of this is linked to the public sector, but all debt relies on a properly functioning justice system to ensure that the debt repayments can be legally enforced. “South Africa was ranked as having the seventh fastest-growing level of government debt since 2009. This is not a great way to be referenced in an international economic research document.” -source; International Finance released their Q2 2024 estimates.

It will be interesting to see if the Banks decide to acknowledge that they need to increase their reserves in respect of bad debts due to arise from the latest directive. The unfortunate position is that our whole financial system is at risk.

4. Unemployment and immigrants

According to Stats SA, to the QLFS Q3: 2024 results, there was an increase of 294,000 in the number of employed persons to 16,9 million in Q3: 2024. The expanded unemployment rate in the third quarter of 2024 decreased by 0,7 of a percentage point to 41,9% when compared with the second quarter of 2024. The number of the not economically active population is at 16,5 million. Estimates of the number of immigrants to South Africa in the last 30 years are estimated to be close to 10 million, of which 1,6 million are legal immigrants and the rest are illegal immigrants.

If one deducts the immigrant number from the unemployment numbers, there is only one conclusion: our unemployment rate would have been substantially lower than the official numbers. 

Several countries have been tightening their immigration policies in recent years due to various factors such as economic challenges, security concerns, and political pressure. These countries include the USA, Germany, the UK, Australia, Italy, Denmark, and several others.

5. Finding the money to balance the budget.  

The government salary bill now tops R870 billion, but the political will to curb it is not there. President Cyril Ramaphosa’s management style is that of a consensus seeker. He will not find consensus from an oversized cabinet to cut government positions and salaries.

Whilst all the politicians gather and argue and pretend to look for items that they could cut from the budget, the answer lies in front of their eyes. The Electricity, gas, and water supply industry pays almost 200% higher salaries than the average for other sectors. The sector is predominantly state-owned and is without doubt the worst-performing sector in the South African economy. Each of the three individual sectors is beset with poor performance and ever-increasing prices for services.

They have funded the salaries by charging the consumer high prices. The voters will punish the politicians in the times to come.

We need decisive and strong leadership, someone who can take unpopular but necessary decisions.

* Kruger is an independent analyst.

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