Source document: https://docs-lawep.s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/1698751326776.pdf (Namibia)
Honourable Chairperson of the Whole House Committee, Honourable Members; It is my privilege to present the Budget Statement for Vote 16 for the Ministry of Justice to this august House.

In presenting this motivation, I am mindful of the need to fast-track the debate on the Appropriation Bill for immediate implementation.

I am further aware of the fact that we are at the Committee stage of the Bill where details should be addressed.
REPUBLIC OF NAMIBIA For this reason, I summarized the most important statistics relating to Vote 16 on the bookmark before you, and I will make reference thereto during my presentation.
BUDGET SPEECH BY THE HONOURABLE LlDWINA NDESHIMONA J .et me extend my gratitude to the Honourable Minister of Finance and his colleagues SHAPWA, MP, DEPUTY MINISTER OF JUSTICE, NATIONAL as well as the Minister responsible for National Planning Commission for having ASSEMBLY, VOTE 16, MINISTRY OF JUSTICE 17 APRIL 2018 produced volumes of information for consideration.
Hon Chairperson of the Whole House Committee, The Ministry of Justice is a key part of the Hararnbee Prosperity Plan under the Good Governance and Accountability Pillar.

You will recall that two lcgislations namely: the Whistler Blower's Protection Act 2017 and the Witness Protection Act 201 7 which are important in the promotion of Good Governance were passed in this house last year.

These important legal instruments will enhance good governance and transparency in our society once fully implemented.
The implementation of these Acts will depend on adequate budgetary allocation.

Regrettably, due to insufficient financial resources, the ministry is unable to implement these important legislation in the currcn t financial year.
-1 - The budget that I am prcsentinp to this august I louse also covers financial allocations The Directorate: Legal .vid is responsible for financing the cost of legal representation to the Ombudsman and other statutory functions that are carried out by the ;I. linistrv In over 80% of criminal trials in the High Court, Regional Court and i\la/-.ristrate's of Justice on behalf of other Offices, like the capital project' of the Office of the Courts.
During the 2017/2018 financial year, a total of 9'~87 (nine thousand four Judiciary, which was created in rcrrns of the Judiciary .vct, 2015 (Act No.

11 of 20 15).

hundred and eighty seven) applications for kgal aid were received.

In terms of the These responsibilities place additional demands on Vore 16 as their implementation Act, the Director provides legal aid by either instructing in-house Legal.

\ id Counsel, require both human and financial resources.
or instructing private legal practitioners who are remunerated on the basis of a tariff agreed with the legal profession and promulgated by the Minister of justice in the It is therefore.

important to point out that Vote 16 is sub-divided into four Governmenr Go:;:ette.

(Il11o.ge 2) Programmes in line with the ;l.kdium Term I':xpenditure Framework.
(III/(W I) The Programmes under \' ore '16 and the funds allocated to each of them arc as follows: Programme 01: Administration of [ustice: This Programmc has been allocated an amount of N$67,431,OOO (Sixty Seven Million, Four Hundred and Thirty One Thousand Namibia Dollars), Under this Programme, there arc two sub-programmes, namely: 1.

Legal Representation of Indigent Persons, (i.c.

Legal Aid) and 2. l\bnagcmcnt of Deceased J-::;tates, Insolvcncics, Trusts and.
Ydrninisrrarion of the Guardian's hInd, On sub-programme Legal Representation of Indigent Persons or Legal .vid.
I.egal .vid is a starutorv service provided in terms of the Legal Aid Act, 1990 (,\ct No, 29 of 1990), as amended, The .vct was passed in fulfillmcnt of .vrriclc 95(h) of the Narnibian Constitution, which impacts on the right to a fair trial as enshrined in Chapter 3 of the Narnibian Constitution, The service is provided by the Directorate: Legal, vid, Sub - Programme :Vbnagement of Deceased r:statcs, 1nsolvcncics, Trusts and Guardian's Fund is another statutory service provider.
The :\[aster of the Iligh COurt is required bv statute to supervise the administration of deceased estates, liquidation of insolvent estates, registration of trusts, appointment and administration pertaining to tutors and curators, and the administration of the C; uardiari's hind (in respect of minors and rncnrallv challenged persons), The Directorate of the I\Iaster of the Iligh Court proceeded with the dcvcloprncnr of an Integrated Financial and Case Management Svsrcm dunng 2016/ 17 to facilitate the speed I' tinaliz.Hion of deceased estates, protect informarion and cnsur« duilv reconciliation of (;llardlan's l-und accounts, The development of the >I'ste111 is completed and the (; uardian's hind module was launched during ,\ llgllSt 2017, l Iowcvcr.
due to an unforeseen dclav with the scanning and capturing of the historical data.

the Directorate will only be able to launch the Trust and Deceased I':states modules during.

\ pril and June 2018, Staff members were trained on the Trust and part of the Deceased I .sratc modules, The system includes an l'-filing svsrcrn which allows the ref.,ristrarion of Trusts and Deceased I':st,ucs vi" rill' inrcrncr.

The turnaround rime for application, wii!

be reduced to one day.


(;uardIans will be able to VIew at any r1O'H..' the accounts of the minors under rhcii earl' and to arrly for qua rrcrlv which considers applications l» inuigent pCf,om and provides legal representation in allowances onlinc.
defined instances, The objective hereof is to ensure a fair trial for all by providing legal advice and legal representation re>eligible applicants, The Directorate will furthermore have a wcbsite which will enable members of the - 2 - to view information relating to deceased estates and rrusrs.

public - 3 - The Directorate intends to focus on the review of the Intcstatc Succession legal framework, the Administration of Estates Act, 1965, the Wilb Act, 1953 (Act No.
7 of 1953), the Trust Monies Protection Act, 1934 (Act No.

34 of 1934), and the implementation of tile Integrated Financial and Case Management System during 2018/2019 financial year.

Programme 02: - Legal Services: This Programme has been allocated an amount of NS43,373,000 (Forty-Three Million, Three Hundred and Seventy Three Thousand Namibia Dollars).

Under this Programme, there arc three sub-programmes, namely: 1.
Legal Service" including international cooperation, community courts, boards and committees .

and the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Human .

Rights and International Humanitarian Law; 2.

Legislative Drafting; and 3.

Law Reform and Development.


The objective of this Programme is to translate policies into legislation, recommend reform of the law, provide legal services and promote international cooperation in legal matters such as extradition, mutual legal assistance in criminal and civil matter, and reciprocal enforcement of judgments in civil and maintenance cases.
The conclusion of bilateral agreements on cooperation in judicial matters with our neighboring States, suSh as Angola, Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe, other S,-\DC States; as well as African and cross-regional States is a high priority.

In this regard, the Directorate: Legal Services will prepare draft agreements and coordinate the exchange of drafts and information between States.

This Directorate .

is also responsible app roval to be c:bt:lincd for conclusion for the preparation of Cabinet submissions .
of these agrccn1cnts os wc ll cs submissions for tu Parliament for ratification thereof.

- 4- Community Courts: Community Courts are tools which could reduce the workload in the district Courts as an alternative measure to resolve disputes.

We have engaged some of our Traditional Authorities and will continue with consultations so that we improve the access to and administration of justice at Community Courts level.
Sub-programme Legislative Drafting: The mandate of the Directorate Legislative Drafting is to translate Government policies into legislation; which includes drafting of Bills and subsidiary legislation such as proclamations; regulations; rules; and drafting of administrative notices in the form of government notices.

The Directorate has set itself strict standards for finalising bills, since its function directly impacts the constitutional mandate of Parliament (That of making and repealing laws).
Performance standards for Bills arc 1 day to 3 months for less complex Rills 'and 1 day to 6 month, for complex Bills.

In 2017/2018, the Directorate received 8 Bills and finalised 3 on t;me as per performance standards.

The target is 59% and the actual is 34%.

Delays in the finalization of bills for consideration by Parliament have hampered the law-making process.
Arnor g others, some of the obstacles to finalization of Bills are: lack of proper consultations with clients; incomplete and unclear instructions; clients delay in submitting the required information on policy decisions; complexity of Bills a, some Bill, require extensive research.

Some Bills are supervised by experienced drafters meaning that the Bill goes back and forth between supervisor and drafter.
In addition to these factors the Ministry has been experiencing a continuous shortage of experienced drafters who can draft Bills without supervision.

It is important to mention that this challenge is receiving our undivided attention.

(Image 3) Sub-programme Law Reform and Development: The Law Reform and Development Commission (LRDC) is a statutory body with a full time Chairperson who is appointed at the level of a judge of the High Court of Namibia.
- 5- The main functions of the LRDC an: to do in-depth research and anal"sis of all branches of the Namibian Laws and to make recommendations to the Narnibian Government through the :\linistcr of justice.

'I 'he Commission is further tusked to conduct consultations with the members of the public and other relevant stakholders.

Such consultations are costly and often involve extensive travelling throughout the countrr.
The LRDC has undertaken the foliowing projects during the period 2017/ I 8: The Ombudsman also educates and sensitizes the public around the issues within its mandate.

The importance of the Office of the Ombudsman cannot be over emphasized.

However, with the current budget aUocation, the Office of the Ombudsman can hardh function optimaUy.

During the 2017/18 financial year the Ombudsman received 3,976 complaints as new enquines.

;\la 11\' of these complaints relate to 1.


Laws that contain provisions that impede and or retard devdopment in Namibian children.

The position of Children's Advocate in the Ombudsman's Office Namibia; 2.

Namibia Legal Information Institute (N,\!vlIBUI) websire; 3.

Road Safety and i\lanagement Bill; -1-.

Uniform Default i\latrimonial Property Project; 5.

National Eguitable Economic F,mpo\Verment Frameworks (NL'J':I':I'); 6. ,\dministrative.1 u sticc: 7.

Red Cross.
Red Cross.

Honourable Chairperson of the Whole House Committee, remain unfunded and therefore the work relating to Namibian children ha, stagnated.

Anorhcr issue is the collection of child maintenance.

(Image 4).

There are a toral of 31 104 (thirty one thousand onc hundred and four) active maintenance cases in Namibia.

In places such as \.Vindhoek half of the active cases are defaulted on and the maintenance is never paid.
In places such as Katima i\lulilo the collection rate is exceptional with only roughly 160 defaults on 5500 cases.

The Office of the Ombudsman requires funds to carry out investigations into the reasons for the defaults in different parts of Namibia and to ensure that such defaults Honourable Members, are minimized.

.\ llow me now to proceed with Programme 03: - Promotion of Good Governance (Office of the Ombudsman).
This Progamme has been allocated an amount of NS19,408,000 (Nineteen Million, Four Hundred and Eight Thousand Namibia Dollars), The Ombudsman is a constitutional Uffice which exercises its powers and Honourable Chairperson of the Whole House Committee, Honourable Members, Over and above the day to day activities, the staff of the Ombudsman, wen: planning to conduct the following activities although the budget allocation to the Ombudsman functions under Chapter 10 of the Narnibian Constitution as well as the Umbudsman no longer allows it: .Ycr , 1990 (Act No.
7 ofl 990).

The main activities in the Office of the Ombudsman arc; The investigation of Keetmanshoop, Oshakati, Otjiwarongo and Swakopmund rq.,'ional offices; complaints relating to maladministration; human rights violations; misappropriation 2.

Continuation of the implementation of the National!

Iurnan Rights Action 1.

Complaint intake clinics by Windhoek head office as well a, of public res ou rces -6· funds and the environment; including the ovcr-utilizati.on of the natural Plan; 3.
Investigation into solid and liquid waste managemer.r by town and village councils; and ·7· 4.

Special investigation - comparative study of all education facilities in rural Other upgrading works executed entail construction of additional new offices at and urban areas as well as the long delays in the finalization of criminal cases Omaruru Magistrate's Court in the Erongo Region and Kamanjab Periodical Court in against police officers.
the Kuncne Region, respectively, The above mentioned upgrading activities have reduced a lack of office space and dilapidated conditions at these stations.

Programme 04: - Supervision.

Coordination and Support Services: This programme has been allocated an amount of NS174,617,000 (One .Hundred and The l\1inistry has also acquired a building known as the Schonlein Building, situated Seventy Four Million, Six Hundred and Seventy Thousand Namibia Dollars).
at Schonlein Street, Windhoek-West, which is now the Headquarters of the newly The objectives of this Programme are to ensure an.enabling environment and high created Office of the Judiciary.
The Ministry has also concluded a Memorandum of performance culture, to provide administrative, technical and technological support Understanding with the City of Windhoek for the use of the former City Police to ministerial programmes and to ensure propcr financial management, gender building in Bismarck Street to be used as a Traffic Court by the Office of the Judiciary.
mainstreaming, Capital Projects as well as an equitable distribution and effective This initiative is envisaged to reduce a backlog of traffic court cases in the Khornas utilization of resources.

This programme also covers development projects for the : Regi~n.

The building was renovated by the Ministry of Justice on instructions of the Ministry of Justice as well as the Office of the Judiciaq'.

Office of the Judiciary.


On Capital Projects, construction works for phase 1 were carried out for the new Honourable Chairperson of the Whole House Committee, Magistrate's Court at Katima Mulilo in the Zambezi Region.

The project is scheduled Honourable Members, for completion in June 2018 and it will cost a total amount of NS 53 million.
Alterations & Additions for Phase 1 were also carried out at the High Court in The Ministry of Justice is entrusted with numerous functions under a number of Acts Windhoek in the Khornas Region during the period under discussion.

This project of Parliament.

Wc therefore require sufficient human and financial resources.
which is estimated to cost a total amount ofNS 35 million is expected to be completed However, wc do understand the economic hardship we are facing currently as a in 2018/2019 financial year.

country and will strive to do our best under the circumstances.

The completion of this project was jeopardized mainly by the tardiness of the Honourable Chairperson of the Whole House Committee, contractor.
The situation had to be rescued and the Ministry of Works and Transport Honourable Members, was requested to terminate this contract in order for the process to engage a new contractor to complete the project.

This resulted in the non-spending of a significant T now seck the indulgence of this august House to support and approve the allocation amount of funds, which were allocated for this purpose.
However, once the new totaling N$304,829,000 (Three Hundred and Four Million, Eight Hundred and contractor is on site, the project w~lI continue as soon as possible as 'the current Twenty-NineThousand Namibia Dollars) for Vote 16. situation at the High Court is unconducivc.

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