09 Mar 2016

The National Assembly recently approved the Department of Administration and Justice budget proposal presented before the parliamentary Committee of Supply, after a submission by the Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Mr Shaw Kgathi, and deliberations by members of parliament.

Mr Kgathi presented budget estimate proposals of close to P356 million before parliament, with over P254.5 million requested for the recurrent budget and over P101 million for the development budget.

“The development budget represents a P44.8 million increase or a 44 per cent net increase above the 2015/16 budget.  

This covers the construction of boundary walls for Mahalapye Magistrates’ houses, Kanye Magistrate Court, as well as the extension of Broadhurst Magistrates Court.  

These represent 67.1 per cent of the total development budget,” Mr Kgathi said. 

He said that remaining 32.1 per cent of the development budget would cover other projects which include maintenance of both court facilities and judges’ houses, procurement of vehicles, mobile courts, law books as well as temporary office accommodation.

Mr Kgathi also cited gym facilities for Lobatse and Francistown judges, Court Records Management System,  real time recording system (stenograph machines),  computerisation of Administration of Justice as well as improvements to the Library as some of the development projects they intended to finance.

He said the recurrent budget was 30.25 per cent above the 2015/16 budget due to the six per cent salary adjustment being factored into the 2016/17 budget, having not been provided for in the 2015/16 budget and financed then through savings.

Recurrent spending would cater for traveling and transportation costs, general expenses and supplies, and special expenditure,  Mr Kgathi revealed.

He said the expansion and growth of the organisation,  an increase in the budget for service charges and computer system support, and an increase in the budget for computer replacement had been factored into the 2016/17 budget. 

MPs were unanimous in accepting Mr Kgathi’s budget proposal for the department. Ends