The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development has established two more specialised commercial crimes courts in Mthatha and East London, in the Eastern Cape, to bolster efforts to fight corruption.

The Department said two specialised commercial courts in Palm Ridge and in Pretoria North, in Gauteng, were also enhanced.

Such courts are in line with the commitment that was made by President Cyril Ramaphosa to the National Council of Provinces when he responded to questions pertaining to Covid-19 corruption and procurement irregularities.

Minister of Justice and Correctional Services Ronald Lamola directed that the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development coordinate and facilitate the establishment of the new Special Commercial Crime Courts (SCCCs) to give effect to the commitment made by the President.

To date, SCCCs have been established in provinces where such courts did not exist before, such as in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, the Northern Cape and the North West.

Lamola oversaw a Special Commercial Crimes Court Project Plan, which provided for a two-phased approach in establishing and enhancing existing SCCCs.

The first phase was the establishment of new SCCCs in the provinces where there were none, which was scheduled for implementation during the 2020/2021 financial year. The second phase entailed the enhancement of existing SCCCs in all other provinces, which was scheduled to commence in April 2021.

“Phase one was successfully implemented with the establishment of new SCCCs in Limpopo, Mpumalanga, Northern Cape, and North West. All provinces in the Republic now have dedicated SCCCs,” Lamola said.

He continued to add that much success had been derived from the existing SCCC model which allowed for close integration of the work between prosecutors and investigators and dedicated courts which can, once matters are enrolled, process them speedily and effectively instead of matters having to await space on the open court roll.

To date, the SCCC Clusters achieved an overall 92% of convictions for all cases finalized with a verdict. The new SCCCs in East London and Mthatha commenced operations on April 6, 2021 while the Pietermaritzburg court commenced operations on January 3, 2022.

“When one looks at the number of matters heard and the conviction rate to date, it is clear that Specialised Commercial Crimes Courts are a crucial mechanism to ensure that complex commercial crimes which often extend to corruption and white-collar crime are prosecuted effectively in dedicated courts,” Lamola said.