Judiciary defends budget under spending amid challenges
Mpho Mokwape | Monday June 22, 2026 06:00
Chief Registrar of the High Court, Mompati Taolo, appeared before the Parliamentary Committee on Government Assurances this week, where members questioned the judiciary's spending patterns and the slow pace of infrastructure development despite pressing challenges facing court facilities.
Presenting the AoJ's annual performance and financial report, Taolo acknowledged that the judiciary spent only 54 percent of its development budget during the 2022/23 financial year. He attributed the underspending mainly to a shortage of technical professionals needed to implement infrastructure projects.
“The under-expenditure is attributable to the lack of skilled manpower in areas of architecture, engineering, and quantity surveying. The absence of these experts delays pre-contract processes and affects effective project management,” Taolo told the committee.
According to Taolo, the AoJ was allocated P60.5 million under the development budget for the financial year under review. However, only P8.59 million was spent.
The budget was reportedly intended to finance several projects, including the procurement of a transaction advisor for the construction of a purpose-built court in Serowe, staff housing projects under a public-private partnership arrangement, maintenance of court facilities, procurement of vehicles for newly established courts, security improvements and court computerisation initiatives such as e-filing systems.
Committee members questioned how the judiciary could fail to spend a significant portion of its development budget while courts in some parts of the country continue to face serious infrastructure challenges.
Among the concerns raised were recurring flooding problems at the Molepolole and Kanye magistrates' courts, which have reportedly affected court operations during heavy rains.
The committee sought explanations on whether inspections had been conducted and what measures were being taken to address the deteriorating conditions of some court facilities.
In response, Taolo maintained that the judiciary continues to face capacity constraints in implementing construction and maintenance projects. He said efforts are underway to strengthen the institution's technical capacity.
“To mitigate this challenge, we have identified some positions to rationalise and create the quantity surveyor and mechanical engineer positions,” he said.
Despite the budget implementation challenges, Taolo highlighted several achievements recorded by the Administration of Justice during the period under review.
He said court performance improved significantly following disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Performance of the courts improved by 8 percent in the magistrates’ courts and 5 percent in the High Courts for the year under review, describing the improvements as part of the judiciary’s recovery from the pandemic,” he said.
The judiciary also completed the second phase of establishing the Maun High Court Division, including the delivery and installation of an additional courtroom and an administration block.
Security upgrades were also undertaken at magistrates’ houses in Kasane and Bobonong through the construction of boundary walls, the installation of electric fences, and the provision of motorised gates.
Taolo further informed the committee that amendments to the High Court Rules had resulted in a 285 percent increase in fees paid to attorneys handling cases on a pro deo basis.
He said the revised fees had encouraged more lawyers to accept such cases.
“Initially, a considerable number of attorneys were not keen to take up the cases on a pro deo basis on account of the low fees,” he said.
However, he acknowledged that the increased fees had also created financial pressure for the judiciary because the higher costs were not budgeted for when the 2022/23 budget was approved.
“Since the courts cannot stop their business, this then crippled the Administration of Justice finances with the result that there were outstanding fees owed to lawyers who were defending accused persons in these pro deo matters,” Taolo said.
The Chief Registrar also cited manpower shortages as one of the judiciary's biggest challenges.
As the judiciary expands services to new locations, staffing levels have not kept pace with the growth.
“The Administration of Justice realised an acute shortage of manpower as it expanded its services to different locations,” he said.
“There was no provision of additional manpower to cater for the new courts and functions, resulting in severe manpower shortages in court administration personnel.”
Taolo said the judiciary's expansion programme has seen the establishment of new courts in areas such as Mohembo and Tsabong. However, accommodation challenges remain.
He revealed that the Mohembo Magistrate Court is currently operating from temporary facilities while efforts continue to secure land for the construction of a permanent court building.
“Currently, the court is housed at Shakawe Magistrate’s Court and Mohembo Rural Administration Centre,” he said.
On the recurrent budget, Taolo reported that the Administration of Justice had performed strongly, spending 99 percent of its allocated funds.
The judiciary received a recurrent budget allocation of approximately P344.8 million and spent P339.4 million during the financial year.
Revenue collection, however, fell short of expectations. The institution had projected collections of P35.3 million but realised P29.9 million, representing 85 percent of the target.
Taolo attributed the shortfall mainly to the fact that many criminal cases concluded during the year did not result in fines.
“The reason for the under-collection was that most criminal cases disposed of did not carry a sentence of a fine,” he said.