Johannesburg Master’s Office remains without leadership

One of the busiest offices of the Master of the High Court will remain without a head of office until November, and potentially beyond that, leaving it without a permanent head for half the year.

The Johannesburg Attorneys’ Association (JAA) threatened to approach Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Mmamoloko Kubayi directly in order to obtain stability and secure an appointment.

When their urgent request remained unanswered by Monday (21 September), they approached the minister directly.

Read: Stakeholders demand stability in Master’s offices

Katherine Gascoigne, heading the Master’s Office portfolio at the JAA, sent a letter to Acting Chief Master and Acting Director-General of Justice Kala Pillay more than a week ago – pleading for an appointment to be made as a matter of urgency.

Gascoigne says they have received no response from Pillay.

In her letter she expressed surprise and disappointment that the vacancy had not been considered earlier.

Currently there isn’t even an acting master in the position. Gascoigne previously pointed out that this is the second time in less than a year that the Johannesburg office has been without a master.

Impacting ordinary people

When Pillay was appointed – more than a year ago – she faced up to the fact that the Offices of the Master were buckling under several challenges and deficiencies.

Read: Six months on and Joburg Master’s Office is no better

The functions of the Master’s Office impact the lives of millions of South Africans on a daily basis.

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These functions include:

The administration of deceased estates and insolvent persons;
The protection of the interests of minors and legally incapacitated persons;
Supervision of the administration of companies and close corporations; and
The appointment of executors, trustees, curators and liquidators.

A major deficiency is outdated legislation, acknowledged by Pillay shortly after her appointment. She has also been appointed as acting Director-General, giving her the power to address these challenges.

Work in progress

From the response to Moneyweb’s questions relating to progress with the outdated legislation, it appears to still be a work in progress.

Ministerial spokesperson Palesa Rammitlwa says the Draft Regulation of Trusts Bill was published for public comment in August.

“Rather than amending the Trust Property Control Act, the Bill proposes to repeal and replace it entirely with a modern framework governing the creation, administration and supervision of trusts.”

The public comment period closed on 11 September, and the bill is now expected to be revised before formal introduction to parliament.

In addition, the Administration of Estates Act has undergone “targeted modernisation”, but is in the process of being reviewed in totality.

The most recent amendments came into operation in April 2024. “Further policy directives are still being developed, indicating that the review process remains ongoing.”

More work in progress

Then there is work on insolvency reform, which has been under way for many years.

“A comprehensive Unified Insolvency Bill was developed following extensive research and consultation, with the objective of consolidating personal and corporate insolvency laws into a single modern statute,” says Rammitlwa.

Read: Is this the worst Master’s Office in SA?

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Although detailed draft legislation and explanatory reports have been prepared, the proposed new insolvency legislation has not yet been enacted and the current Insolvency Act remains in force.

It appears that fixing the broken and outdated information and communication technology system is also a work in progress.

“Work is underway to strengthen network stability through the contracted service provider where contracts have been awarded and other interventions which are underway through a Supply Change Management process,” says Rammitlwa in response to a question on the improvements made to the system.

Joburg not the only problematic office

Another busy Master’s Office is that of Pretoria.

The office relocated in May this year and has been without functioning telephone lines ever since. Apparently, staff have been provided with mobile phones and data, but the numbers are not readily available to the general public.

Read:
Johannesburg Master’s Office: Claims of corruption and incompetence
Johannesburg and Pretoria Masters’ offices still without permanent heads

The contact numbers listed on the Department of Justice’s website continue to fail.

Pillay’s progress

Interventions by Pillay as acting Director-General include:

Embarking on a work-study process looking at the current Master’s offices, their respective resources, workloads, post establishments and services;
Exploring collaboration with the private sector to improve “our technological infrastructure” and enable faster, more efficient service delivery;
Reviewing and streamlining procedures and processes in the Master’s environment to promote consistency and efficiency, while reducing opportunities for misconduct and malpractice; and
Procuring laptops and desktops to replace outdated equipment.

“We have filled numerous vacancies in offices across the country,” Rammitlwa adds.

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