The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development's pursuit to bring services closer to the people today gained momentum when Minister Jeff Radebe officially opened the Galeshewe Magistrate Court.  The Department has set as one of its priority the construction and upgrade of court infrastructure in areas that were previously marginalised and under serviced.
In his speech, Minister Radebe described the building of this court as government's effort to reverse the apartheid legacy where government and other services were deliberately skewed in terms of racial profiling. "In building this court closer to the people, our single aim was to ensure that we bring all the services that this court is meant to offer closer to the people. In doing so, we have fulfilled our guiding policy principle, which is to ensure access to justice to all our people irrespective of race, gender, social status or geographical location" he said.
The department invested R58 Million in the construction of this fully fledged court, which consists of 8 courtrooms, of which 1 is dedicated for sexual offences, 3 are district criminal courts and 4 are family courtrooms. A dedicated ramp and lift at the entrance of the building have also been put in place to ensure easy access especially for the people with disabilities. The court building also has facilities which are made especially to ensure the protection of the vulnerable and victims of crime. These facilities include a one-way mirror and CCTV cameras in the dedicated sexual offences courtroom, a witness room and play area for child witnesses.
The Galeshewe Magistrate Court, which serves a population of over 100 000 residents of Galeshewe township near Kimberley, offers services ranging from Maintenance, Estates, Applications for Divorce, Application for Protection orders, Payment of traffic fines and admission of guilt. The court also deals with Regional criminal matters, Equality and Small Claims cases.
The court, which was built in 2009 and began its operation in 2010, has since dealt with 647 Maintenance cases and 1949 Domestic violence cases. On average, 1800 beneficiaries receive maintenance at this court every month.
The Minister urged members of the community to take care of the facility and report any kind of vandalism for criminal prosecution. He emphasized that the launch of this court was a concrete message to those inclined to breaking the law that they will be apprehended.
At the same event, Minister handed over unclaimed maintenance cheques to some beneficiaries who have been successfully traced as part of the department's Maintenance campaign of tracing beneficiaries and defaulters.
The Minister also warned those who commit crime or have an inclination to do so, that government remains resolute in the fight against crime. That commitment will find expression in many ways, even at the level of putting physical infrastructure such as courts buildings in place. The opening of the court in Galeshewe means more courtrooms will deal with cases more speedily or efficiently, especially the finalisation of criminal cases. On the whole this will address case backlogs.