Three key organisations have raised the alarm that Johannesburg and Pretoria Master’s Offices could be left “rudderless”.
The acting appointments of the Masters of the High Court in Johannesburg and Pretoria expired at the end of January, and permanent appointments are yet to be made.
The Johannesburg Attorneys’ Association (JAA), which represents over 1,000 attorneys and other legal professionals, the Fiduciary Institute of Southern Africa (FISA) and the South African Restructuring and Insolvency Practitioners Association (SARIPA) have warned against prolonged reliance on acting positions.
The Master of the High Court oversees key legal functions, including curatorships, deceased estates, insolvencies, trusts and the Guardian’s Fund.
Beatrice van Wyk is acting Master of the Johannesburg office, and Nthabiseng Ntsoane is acting Master of the Pretoria office, according to the department’s website.
According to FISA, Van Wyk and Ntsoane have been acting in their positions since at least April 2024.
Katherine Gascoigne, JAA head of the Master’s Office portfolio, said the absence of confirmed appointments could leave the two offices “rudderless”.
She said having top officials continuously acting was “unsettling” for the staff and stakeholders alike.
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development confirmed that the acting appointments reached the end of their term at the end of January.
“All acting appointments are being extended to ensure continuity, stability and uninterrupted delivery,” the department said in a statement.
The department said the Master’s Offices in Bloemfontein, Mahikeng and Mbombela also operate under acting arrangements, while a permanent head has now been appointed at the Kimberley Master’s Office.
Gascoigne said Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi had undertaken in 2025 to address permanent positions, staff vacancies and other challenges at the Master’s Offices as a matter of urgency.
“The JAA is disappointed there has been little or no resolution to the issues identified,” said Gascoigne.
FISA chief executive Jan du Plessis said the organisation is aware of staff shortages and increasing workloads at the offices. He said several senior positions are unfilled.
GroundUp asked the department whether there are backlogs at the Masters’ offices, but we received no response.
René Bekker, chief operating officer of SARIPA, which represents more than 750 practitioners in the liquidation, insolvency and business rescue sectors, said extended acting appointments in senior roles are demoralising for staff and detrimental to the quality of the Masters’ service.
“SARIPA urges that these critical positions be filled with permanent appointments to ensure stability, efficiency and the continued integrity of service provision.”
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Lack of economic opportunities: Limited opportunities for economic growth and development.
Icy Avenger
A British man on safari walks into a bar far out in the reaches of a game reserve in Southern Africa, he stays at the bar for a while shooting the shit with the bartender and drinking like a fish, he offer to buy the barkeep a round and since no one else is within 2km of their small oasis of liquor the barkeep obliges. The englishman goes off to the bathroom to have a good old go at the porcelain, he\’s back and ready for a few more whiskeys. He\’s just sat down when suddenly in the distance he hears a scream. He looks over his shoulder and dismisses it as nothing, he turns to the barkeep and orders a drink, takes a sip and hears the scream again. He looks at the barkeep who just shrugs it off. A minute or two later he and the barman hear it again and go outside to take a look. They see a lone figure running towards them screaming, he spots them and lets out a cry, RUN!!!!! HE\”S COMING!!!!!
The barkeep and the Englishman both look at the terrified bedraggled sight before them, and try to calm him down, but he\’s completely inconsolable. They give him water and finally manage to get a word out of him but he struggles free from their grasp and run away screaming.
A few minutes later the same thing happens with a whole group of men running in and screaming, he\’s coming, he\’s coming the barkeep grabs hold of one of the men as he tries to sprint past the bar and tries to get information out of him, again no response other than terrified gibberish.
The barkeep and his customer are starting to get worried, they start to pack up before another group of horrified natives run up to the bar most of them flee but one tries to hide behind the bar, the barkeep pulls out a shotgun and points it at the terrified man\’s face, finally managing to coax some words out of him. \”He\’s coming for us, Vernon Koekemoer is coming for us, we have to hide!!! We have to get out of here.\” He gets up and tries to run but the barkeep grabs him, feeling trapped in a panic he grabs the barkeeps shotgun and blows his own head off. The Englishman and the barkeep look at each other starting to really panic now.
They look out of the window and off in the distance they see a tornado coming towards the bar, at the bottom of the tornado they see the hugest beast of a man they have ever seen, as he gets closer they spot that he is riding a rhinocerous and using a crocodile as a riding whip, with each smack of the crocodile across the back of the rhino the louder is screams and the faster it runs, the tornado following it getting ever larger.
The 2 look at each other and start to fortify their position, they\’ve got a gun and they\’re waaay to drunk to run, so they start piling bar stool and tables and anything they can get their hands on to make sure they\’ll be safe when he arrives. They\’re not gonna make it, they can see the man slowing down his rhino, by now the crocodile is nothing but reptile paste on the bruised rump of the half dead rhino, the rhino drops down dead from exhaustion and crashes to the ground right outside the bar the tornado loses it\’s last breath in a cloud of dust as the huge man crashes his way through the make shift barricade and charges up towards the bar where the 2 men have taken shelter, he grabs a bottle of the hardest liquor on the shelf and down the entire litre in 1 gulp, he peers over the bar sobbing and sees the 2 defenders cowering down behind the crates of beer, they look up at the mans\’ face and he stares at them with a look of complete and utter hopelessness, he stares at them for a half second and half screams, half sobs, \”Oh my god what are you still doing here!!! WE HAVE TO GET OUT OF HERE NOW!!!! Vernon Koekemoer is coming!!!!\”
Lincoln Rider
Fun South African Fact: The Dutch and the British fought over South Africa.