January 24, 2003
By Bongani Majola
JUSTICE Minister Penuell Maduna officially opened a Specialised Commercial Crime Court in Johannesburg on Friday, the city's first and the country's second after another one opened in Pretoria in 1999.
Maduna hailed the court as the government's best weapon against white-collar crime. "Those who will appear before this court are almost totally guaranteed a place in the country's prisons," Maduna said.
Located in a building in central Johannesburg donated by Nedbank on a rent-free basis, the new court currently houses 125 South African Police Services' (SAPS) Commercial Branch Investigators, 25 state advocates or prosecutors, three regional court magistrates and their support staff.
Already in its short spell, the court has heard 64 cases of fraud and corruption, made 11 convictions and "not a single acquittal", according to National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka, who also spoke on the occasion.
Established as a collective effort between the National Prosecuting Authority, the SAPS and the national Department of Justice, the court is expected to produce a high rate of convictions, "much faster case completion times" and act as a significant deterrent to white-collar crime.
"This court, like the Pretoria one, will deal with smart criminals, with people of all persuasions, not your typical tsotsi who is, as some people have said, a young Bantu male who would wield a knife at the slightest provocation," Ngcuka said amidst bouts of laughter from the audience, which included representatives from Business Against Crime, the banking sector and the Gauteng provincial government.
Johannesburg Executive Mayor Amos Masondo said the city would continue to monitor and act on corruption. "This court will ensure swift and sufficient justice," Masondo said, "and we call on our people to blow the whistle on any and every criminal activity".
Speaking on behalf of Business Against Crime, CEO Willie Scholtz said the private sector and "the banks in particular will do their best in their internal investigations to ensure that cases which come to this court are water-tight".
Representatives from the private sector and government at the opening
Gauteng MEC for Safety and Liaison Nomvula Mokonyane reaffirmed the provincial government's support for the initiative and said "only through cooperation among different spheres of government and the private sector can the country rid itself of organised crime".
"It does not matter who you are or who you know, we will spare no effort, no person, we will not only catch smart criminals but will confiscate their proceeds from crime and make it very clear to them that our society does not benefit from crime," Maduna said.
