The DA will be demanding a full briefing in Parliament on the wasteful legal expenditure incurred by the Department of Correctional Services’ (DCS) meritless legal appeals. The Department must stop using taxpayer funds to fight hopeless legal battles and instead focus on fixing our broken correctional system.
The Department has had two significant judgments handed down this August, both of which dismissed the its attempts to appeal previous rulings regarding the Mangaung Correctional Centre.
The Labour Court has officially refused the DCS and the Minister leave to appeal a judgment declaring the state’s takeover of the facility a transfer of business as a going concern. Judge Gandidze ruled that the state had no reasonable prospects of success, confirming that G4S employees will automatically transfer to the DCS under section 197 of the Labour Relations Act. The court further noted that the state’s attempt to explain its late filing was “not candid,” ultimately refusing condonation for their delay.
Parallel to this, the Pretoria High Court dismissed the Minister and National Commissioner’s application for leave to appeal the setting aside of the March 2023 Section 112 intervention. The court reaffirmed that the decision to appoint a temporary manager was procedurally unfair, irrational, and motivated by an ulterior purpose – specifically to manage “reputational damage” after an embarrassing escape. Crucially, the court found the state’s notice of appeal “fatally defective” and “impossibly vague”. The DCS is now liable for restitution of R1 716 479.07 plus interest and costs for two counsels on scale C.
These judgments represent a massive victory for the rule of law against administrative overreach. It is clear the DCS acted with disregard for the jurisdictional facts of the Correctional Services Act.