One surprising thing holding back South African businesses

An important issue in South Africa’s business environment is the ineffectiveness of the legal system, which is exacerbated by a significant shortage of judges.

This is according to Business Leadership South Africa CEO Busi Mavuso, who said this is an often overlooked issue in the country’s business environment.

“I have written often enough about crime and corruption, but a further frustration is simply the efficient operation of our courts,” she said.

To illustrate this, Mavuso explained that the Johannesburg High Court, the busiest commercial court in the country, can now only give court dates for commercial litigants over a year from now. Road Accident Fund litigants will have to wait over four years.

“The reason is capacity – there simply aren’t enough judges to hear cases. Deputy Judge President Roland Sutherland has taken to pleading with the legal community to provide experienced lawyers to help deal with the backlog on a pro bono basis,” she said.

“The swift resolution of commercial disputes is key to business and the backlogs in our courts mean investment and other commercial decisions get held up.”

She said that, along with a strict and uncertain regulatory environment, this is a further dampener on economic activity that will require a concerted effort from the government and funding to resolve. 

South Africa has made good progress in getting on top of crime and corruption.

For example, over the past few months, South Africa has seen the legislating of the investigating unit at the National Prosecuting Authority and the signing of amendments to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate Act.

However, the overall effectiveness of the rule of law depends on the country’s courts.

“Of course, there will always be strengths and weaknesses that affect our economic outlook. Our challenge, in working with our government partners, is to shift the dial more toward strengths,” Mavuso said. 

“That will result in further improvements to the growth outlook, which ultimately leads to more economic activity, jobs and taxes for government to use in improving social services.”

Detective crisis

South Africa’s justice system is facing issues and shortages on nearly all sides, with the country also experiencing a shortage of detectives.

Last year, it was revealed that South Africa’s detectives have declined from around 26,000 in 2016 down to 17,600 in 2023.

DA MP Andrew Whitfield told eNCA at the time that this crisis must be urgently addressed. 

“We have a crisis in SAPS, and the implications of that crisis for the Police Service and the South African public, more importantly, cannot be underestimated,” he said.

“Our detectives are some of our most highly skilled police officers who are required to ensure that investigations are conducted properly, effectively, and efficiently.”

“This is to make sure that we collect all the correct evidence, that the evidence is prosecutable in court, and that the NPA has a strong case to work with.”

He said this loss of skills in the Police Service can be seen in the country’s conviction rates, for which detectives are crucial.

For example, there have been 2,446 incidences of mass murder in the country since 2019.

Of the 2,446 incidents, only 1,511 individuals were arrested, with those accused presented before the courts.

Of the 1,511 people arrested and charged, only 103 were convicted for the murders – representing a conviction rate of only 6.8%. 

Whitfield said it is critical that South Africa drills down to the reasons why detectives are leaving SAPS in such numbers since it is not only a crisis for the Police Service but for the country’s criminal justice system.

“The goal is to ensure that there are consequences for criminals – that when we lock them up, they are locked up according to the sentence they’re supposed to serve because of good detective work,” he said. 

“Unfortunately, we just don’t have that at the moment.”