Gov't 'defiance' of court orders irks PAC
Goitsemodimo Kaelo | Tuesday May 24, 2022 06:01
PAC member, Mephato Reatile lambasted government last week for failure to comply with several court orders in cases it had lost against public officers.
Reatile, who was the acting chairperson at the Ministry of Labour and Home Affairs appearance before PAC last Friday, said it has now become a norm for ministries and government departments to ignore court orders.
He questioned the commitment integral of the State to the rule of law. Reatile gave an example of a case in which the ministry lost against Immigration and Gender Affairs officers who had approached the court seeking remuneration for performing extra duties assigned to senior officers in the department.
The Court of Appeal (CoA) resolved the matter in August 2021, ordering the State to pay the workers. However, the officers are yet to get what is due to them almost a year later, as government has stalled in implementing the court orders. “There is a tendency and trend by government not to comply with court orders, especially of cases you (the State) have lost against workers. Why is this the case? When do you do your budgeting to cater for these cases to be able to comply with the orders?” he asked.
Reatile said the matter was worrisome because the State is supposed to be the custodian of the law and the country, as such should lead by example by respecting and complying with the Judiciary’s decisions.
In his response, the accounting officer and permanent secretary, Jimmy Opelo said the government has no intention to defy court orders. He said in most instances, they struggle to implement the orders due to a lack of resources.
“We have no intentions not to comply with court orders. Let me say oftentimes, there is a time frame attached as to when things would have to be done. Then we consult stakeholders like the Attorney General and civil society to help look into the matter and also refer to come up with a collective solution,” he explained.
He added that these processes and the lack of resources sometimes stall the implementation of court orders within government. In the specific case that Reatile had mentioned, Opelo explained that they are about to complete the negotiations with the Directorate of Public Service Management on how best the court order is to be implemented.