Chief justice slams 'dereliction of duty' at public works

Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng on Thursday lashed out at the “extremely poor quality” of service rendered by the department of public works and infrastructure.

Mogoeng, presenting the judicial accountability report at the Constitutional Court on Thursday, said he was not aware of a single department which was happy with the public works' performance.

“Sadly, this has been going on for far too long without a semblance of an effective consequences management system in place for this acute dereliction of duty,” he said.

Mogoeng made the comment in front of public works minister Patricia de Lille, who was attending the presentation.

“The deputy chief justice [Raymond Zondo] and I are appreciative of the conscientiousness and deliberate speed with which honourable Patricia de Lille has intervened when we had been failed by these officials,” said Mogoeng, adding that officials from the department had disregarded systems they had put in place.

“I am not aware of any department that has expressed overall satisfaction with their performance. I believe the time has come to examine very closely the commitment of these officials to discharging their responsibilities they are paid for,” he said.

Mogoeng was also critical of “persistent” budget cuts implemented on the judiciary.

“We are deeply concerned about persistent budget cuts which are routinely effected without any consultation with the judiciary. This must be addressed,” Mogoeng said.

He said the judiciary was underfunded when compared to other arms of the state.

“We cannot afford an annual judicial colloquium which other jurisdictions, even the most economically challenged around the world, hold without fail,” Mogoeng said.