Magistrate’s Court to be rebuilt once funding is obtained
The National Department of Public Works says there are no tenders out as yet for the rebuilding of the court.
POLOKWANE – Review spoke to the Chief Directorate of the National Department of Public Works, Thamsanqa Mchunu, about the progress of the new building.
“We have no tenders out for the rebuilding of the court. The court will be rebuilt once funding is confirmed by the client. As no tenders have been advertised, we do not know how long this process will take, but the construction period should be no longer than two years. The new building will again be used as a magistrate’s court,” Mchunu said.
It has been almost five years since dark clouds of smoke billowed above the city at the Polokwane Magistrate’s Court, on 19 October 2012.
The event saw people evacuated from the building and sections around the building had to be cordoned off.
Since that time, all court cases had to be moved to the old high court in Seshego, and the Mankweng Magistrate’s Court, and the premises are now used only as parking space.
Read more: Magistrate’s court won’t be moving to Ladanna
Review spoke to various role players in the Polokwane justice system about the time it has taken to rebuild the court.
The biggest reason provided for the delay seems to be the capital involved in reconstruction, as both the Department of Justice and that of Public Works had to contribute.
A letter was only recently received confirming this information. In the meantime, the building that is currently used as a magistrate’s court poses limitations in terms of space.
Until earlier this year when the newly built Polokwane High Court was occupied, there were only five court rooms in the magistrate’s court that were used as district courts, regional court and high court.
District courts had to be established in other places.
Criminal cases were referred to other courts and civil cases were heard at the the Polokwane court. Once the former court, it would bring much relief for the Mankweng and Seshego courts, as some of their cases will then be heard in the city.
