9 July 2025
Honourable Chairperson,
Members of the House,
Fellow South Africans.
This year marks thirty years since the establishment Constitutional Court. Adjudicating its first case in State v Makwanyane, the court explicitly acknowledged ubuntu as a fundamental principle informing the interpretation of the Bill of Rights and other areas of South African law. The court unanimously declared that the death penalty was unconstitutional. In his judgment, Justice Langa expressed:
“During violent conflicts and times when violent crime is rife, distraught members of society decry the loss of ubuntu. Thus, heinous crimes are the antithesis of ubuntu. Treatment that is cruel, inhuman or degrading is bereft of ubuntu”. Justice Langa made a call for a “return to Ubuntu”. The court made this response against a background of the loss of respect for human life” as had been carried out by the apartheid government.
Chairperson,
The fourth quarter crime statistics reflect the antithesis of the philosophy of ubuntu. While some progress in crime reduction is noted, we remain deeply concerned about the increases in sexual offences, including rape and contact sexual offences and commercial crime. In respect of sexual offences, rape increased, with Gauteng and Kwa Zulu Natal contributing 19.1% and 19.9% respectively to the national total[1]. Guised as statistics, behind the numbers are human beings – abantu who are entitled to ubuntu.
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development is the lead stakeholder in the implementation of the objects of Pillar 3 of the GBVF National Strategic Plan (2020-2030).
Recognising the difficulty witnesses experience in testifying about the intimate details of these crimes, the department saw the necessity of establishing and rolling out sexual offences courts and having special facilities such as private consultation rooms. Our government recognised the impact of sexual abuse on victims, especially child victims which often has far-reaching, short-term and long-term physical, emotional, psychological and developmental effects.
To this end, the department will continue by establishing 16 sexual offences courts in 2025/26. It has been reported that an additional 90 sexual offences courts will be established in communities with the highest incidence of sexual offences to ensure a dedicated focus on these cases and provide for a victim-friendly court model and support systems. The Sexual Offences and Community Affairs Unit plans to increase the number of Thuthuzela Care Centres to 74 over the strategic cycle.
In response to one of the Public Protector’s remedial actions to the department, a simplified and shorter version of the application form for a protection order will be introduced. We appreciate that the undertaking that the Department will continue to encourage vetting of persons who work with or conduct businesses that give direct exposure to vulnerable persons against the National Register for Sex Offenders. All these efforts are critical because the true measure of any society is found in how it treats its most vulnerable members.
Chairperson,
A vote in favour of this budget reflects our commitment to fighting crime and corruption. There are contested meanings of “state capture”. Transparency International described state capture to be “one of the most pervasive forms of corruption, where companies, institutions or powerful individuals use corruption such as the buying of laws, amendments, decrees or sentences, as well as illegal contributions to political parties and candidates, to influence and shape a country’s policy, legal environment and economy to their own interests.” As we deal with the dire consequences of state capture, we note the progress made which includes:
- Asset recovery linked to state capture with the value of R11-billion by March 2025;
- Four state capture commission cases have been concluded all with guilty verdicts. Eleven other cases involving 51 natural persons and 27 companies are enrolled in court.
- The National Treasury imposed a 10-year (2022-2032) ban on Bain & Co. on doing business with the state, which Bain is challenging in court.
- The establishment of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption which is a permanent entity within the NPA and received its allocation from this budget; and
- The National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council has concluded research into the institutional reform recommendations of the state capture commission.
While the wheels of justice may be said to be turning slowly, they certainly do turn.
Chairperson,
In his state of nation address, President Ramaphosa committed that a whistleblower protection framework would be finalised and a Bill introduced to Parliament in 2025/26. We are of the view that legislative reforms are needed to strengthen whistle-blower protection. We know the important role of whistleblowers as well as the grave risks attached thereto. Whistleblowers are often seized with serious repercussions such as the loss of jobs, career prospects, compromises to their safety and that of their loved ones. In some cases, whistleblowers even risk their own lives. We echo the sentiments of our former Chief Justice who said “Whistle-blowers helped to stop state capture.” They must be duly protected.
A vote in favour of this budget ensures that:
The Special Investigating Unit continues with its investigations. It saved government of approximately R8 billion in the 2023/24 financial year. This vote ensures that the NPA is capacitated well to successfully prosecute without fear, favour or prejudice. It ensures that the Asset Forfeiture Unit continues to hit criminals where it hurts that most by removing profit from crime. A vote in favour of this budget vote will ensure that indigent litigants are afforded proper legal representation in line with the dictates of justice. This vote ensures that the Public Protector and SAHRC are capacitated and protect our constitutional democracy and magistrates are compensated. This vote ensure that our courts are capacitated and run efficiently, ensuring that justice is served to all people in our country.
The ANC supports this vote.
[1] Minister Mchunu Address, Fourth Quarter Crime Statistics, May 2025.