This time the Klerksdorp Magistrate’s Court housed at the PC Pelser Building has sparked outrage from the opposition parties in the area, citing inadequate maintenance. This outrage comes in the wake of the September 2018 tragic incident that took place in Johannesburg when a government building caught fire and resulted in the death of three firefighters who were tragically killed while trying to put the fire down.

In 2017, employees of the Labour Department, housed in the same building as the Klerksdorp Magistrate’s Court, were evacuated from the building citing safety and unfavourable working conditions. The Democratic Alliance (DA) leader in the province, Joe McGluwa, says the building is not conducive to a favourable working environment for the staff, lawyers, public, safety officers and police who are supposed to fulfil a very important responsibility to contribute to law and order in South Africa.

He says the building is old and dilapidated, with toilets and air-conditioners out of order.

McGluwa added that the elderly, disabled and ill people have trouble with the stairs and this resulted in some of the cases being postponed and continued in courts in surrounding towns.

Both the Departments of Public Works and Justice are yet to comment on a set of questions sent to them. On Wednesday, the spokesperson for the Department of Public Works in the North West, Matshube Mfoloe, told OFM News that the competency that speaks to the maintenance of public courts, the South African Police Services (SAPS) and the South African National Defence Force (SANDF) does not lie within the provincial competency but with the national department.

OFM News