Statement by Damien Klopper MP – DA Deputy Spokesperson on Justice & Constitutional Development:
The Democratic Alliance is deeply alarmed by the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development’s written replies to our parliamentary question on the state of the Master’s Offices.
The DA will now request that the Master’s Office appear before Parliament to account.
The Minister’s responses confirm long‑standing systemic dysfunction that leaves beneficiaries in limbo for months, often years, while the Department shows little urgency in addressing the crisis. Despite these issues being well‑known, the Master’s Office appears to be stuck in the planning, consideration, and evaluation stages of potential interventions.
The Minister further confirmed that no statistics are kept on open estate matters and admitted that finalisation frequently takes years.
In another reply, the Minister stated that turnaround times beyond six months are not tracked, highlighting an alarming absence of basic performance measurement.
There is also no approved caseload ratio for estate controllers, and the average workload per official has not been determined.
If the Department is not properly measuring delays, despite knowing they exist, how can it effectively respond to the inefficiency crippling service delivery?
Master’s Offices handle matters that directly affect the daily lives of South Africans, and delays have serious personal and financial consequences.
While interventions such as procedural reviews, reducing bureaucratic red tape, exploring partnerships with legal associations, and future digitisation efforts are welcome, thousands of South Africans cannot wait for long‑term reforms that remain in planning.
Time is of the essence, and repeated acknowledgement of the problem is no substitute for action.
There should be no vacancies in Master’s Offices already under severe strain.
Posts must be filled urgently, and immediate support must be provided to overburdened offices while structural reforms proceed.
The DA will continue to demand urgent, measurable action to restore efficiency, accountability, and dignity in these critical offices.
chocolate thunder
There was a postman who is always happy. in the other side there is harry who would just stares at the happy postman everyday and asks himself \”What\’s the secret of this man\”.
One day Harry decided to stop the postman and ask him why he\’s always smiling and happy, what he did.
the postman answered:\”Whenever I\’m handing a mail to a women I kisses her and I get more than just a kiss sometimes.\”
Harry liked the idea and went to a poste office and proposed for the job then he got it . In his first delivery Harry was so excited try the kissing thing out, and as he thought, there was a hot women in front of the first door, he went directly towared her and pasted her a kiss staight in the lips, in the center of that her husband suddenly appeared in front him and asked:\”WTF ARE YOU DOING.\”
\”I\’m just delivering a \’kiss\’ was sent from China\” Harry answered in a sporadic tone.
\”Very nice, you came on time, I want to send a \’Fuck\’ with you to South Africa\” the husband responded while draging Harry into the house.
Kinged
It is wise to remember that firefighters fight fire with water before you fight fire with fire