Informing You
Volume 3 September 2013
From the desk of
the Chairperson
month we want to salute all the
women who laboured, sacrificed
and fought for transformation.
We applaud them for their efforts,
because their hard work was not in
vain.
Chairperson
Mrs Charmaine Mabuza
When you think of the Sheriffs’ Profession
you immediately think of a male dominated
industry. Yes, in the past that was the case.
However, we are quite delighted with how
the profession has evolved since the dawn
of democracy in 1994 and the appointment
of the new Board, in March 2012.
As we celebrate women’s month this
August, it is encouraging to see that the
number of women in the profession has
increased dramatically. This women’s
In July 2013, the Minister of Justice
and Constitutional Development,
Jeff Radebe, appointed 71 sheriffs
to fill vacant offices countrywide.
Of these 71 appointments made,
18 were women (25%) and 53 were
men (75%). We realise there is
a lot that still needs to be done and we
encourage all the women of South Africa
to join the Sheriffs’ Profession.
We fully support and congratulate the
Minister on taking this giant leap in the
transformation of the Sheriffs’ Profession.
We applaud him for his commitment to
addressing the injustices of the past.
We are going to ensure that the newly
appointed sheriffs are adequately trained,
in both the theoretical and practical
aspects of the profession, before they
assume office. We are also going to ensure
that a thorough handover process with the
outgoing sheriffs is properly facilitated. The
Board looks forward to working with all the
newly appointment sheriffs.
Deputy Minister’s Visit
Deputy Minister of the Department of Justice and Constitutional
Development, Mr John Jeffery, visited the South African Board for
Sheriffs (SABFS) offices on the 7 August 2013.
His visit comes after his recent appointment made by President
Jacob Zuma in July 2013. The meet and greet session was
accompanied by a presentation from the SABFS to familiarise the
Deputy Minister with the Sheriffs’ Profession.
The SABFS has successfully re-engineered itself and has become
a recognised and key stakeholder in the Department of Justice
and Constitutional Development cluster.
Back row: (Left to right): Mr Thaka Seboka, Ms Laura Best, Mr Nicholas Nxumalo, Mr Humprey
Ntsikeni, Mrs Petro Roodt, Mr Abel Mawela. Front Row: (Left to right): Mr Thami Thembe,
Mrs Charmaine Mabuza, Deputy Minister John Jeffery, Adv Hlako Choma, Ms Frieda Moeletsi
In this Issue
Volume 3 September 2013
• New Appointments
• Induction day
• Woman’s Day
• World Sheriff’s Day
The SABFS congratulates Deputy Minister John Jeffery on his
appointment. We pledge our support to him and his office.
• Road Show
• Demarcation Matters
• Annual report
SABFS WELCOMES NEW SHERIFFS
The South African Board for Sheriffs (SABFS) welcomes the announcement made by
the Honourable Minister, Jeff Radebe, of the 71 newly appointed sheriffs.
These appointments come eight
months after the 120 appointments
made in November 2012. This is
another major step in addressing the
injustices and imbalances of the past.
Of the 71 appointments, 47 are African,
11 are White, 6 are Coloured, and 7 are
Indian.
Mrs Charmaine Mabuza, Chairperson
of the SABFS, congratulated the new
appointees and wished them a long
and rewarding career. She encouraged
them to provide a valuable and
dignified service to the communities
they serve and make the Sheriffs’
Profession proud.
Sheriffs have an important role to play
in the civic justice system as they act as
a third party to serve court processes
and to execute the warrants and
orders of the court which are issued in
terms of the various statutes and the
regulations of the different Courts.
The details of the appointed sheriffs
including their contact details and
business addresses are available on
our website (www.sheriffs.org.za).
INDUCTION DAY
The South African Board for Sheriffs (SABFS) hosted an Induction Day for the newly appointed
Sheriffs on 19 August 2013. The event was simultaneously held in four provinces, namely Western
Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State and Gauteng.
Mr Desmond Nair, Chief Magistrate, Pretoria
Left to right: Mr Nic Swart, Chief Executive Officer of the
Law Society of South Africa; Mr Thaka Seboka, Sheriff of
Pretoria Central and Board member; Deputy Minister
Mr John Jeffery (DOJ & CD) and Ms Emily Dhlamini,
Regional Head Gauteng (DOJ &CD)
Left to right: Mrs Maritza Pretorious, Sheriff of Musina and
Mrs Cornelia Williams, Sheriff of Amersfoort
SIC Pretoria Group
Left to right: Mrs Mathoto Leah Lepadi, Sheriff of
Randburg West; Ms Frieda Moeletsi, Sheriff of Pretoria
West and Board Member; Mr Marks Mangaba, Chairperson
of SANAPS and Sheriff of Johannesburg Central and
Ms Dikeledi Buys, Sheriff of Centurion West
Left to right: Ms Maureen Cibe, Sheriff of Soweto;
Hendrick Tau, Facilitator and Sheriff of Rustenburg; Mrs
Mathoto Leah Lepadi, Sheriff of Randburg West and
Mrs Kgomotso Mphahlele, Sheriff of Sandton North
All the appointed sheriffs will undergo a three-week training
programme that will consist of a two-week classroom
session and thereafter a week’s mentorship.
justice system. He said, “A justice system that seeks to assist all
South Africans, black and white, rich and poor, urban and rural, in
accessing and enforcing their constitutionally guaranteed rights”.
The Gauteng event was addressed by the newly appointed
Deputy Minister John Jeffery who extended his appreciation
to the sheriffs who are going to provide guidance and
mentorship to the new appointees.
He encouraged the sheriffs to execute their duties ‘with respect,
dignity, compassion, due diligence and without fear’. He said the
role of the sheriffs was more than of the so-called ‘messenger’,
whose responsibility was to deliver documents.
In his address the Deputy Minister said the Justice
Department will continue making improvements to the
profession. He said the sheriffs play an important role
to the public as they formed an indispensable part of the
The new sheriffs, Mr Jeffery said, had an important role to play in
the strengthening and enhancing of the Sheriffs’ Profession.
Download the Deputy Minister’s speech on www.sheriffs.org.za.
Women Sheriffs: Changing the Face
of the Profession by Laura Best
Access to justice, or at least having a sense that the justice
system is fair and serves the needs of ordinary people, is
particularly important in South Africa given our history of
an authoritarian state that abused the legal system to deny
people their human rights. As a result of this, many people still
harbour a deep-seated sense of unease and mistrust towards
role-players in the justice system.
Ordinary people tend to see the
justice system as an integrated
whole. They do not - and should not compartmentalize it into its composite
segments, as public officials inside the
system are often inclined to do. As a
result, communities may view sheriffs
in a negative light, in line with their
past experiences and perceptions of
the justice system as a whole. Given
that until recently the entire justice
system, and the sheriffs’ profession in
particular, has seen a predominance
of men in positions of authority, it may
also come as a surprise to people when
they meet women who are sheriffs.
Members of the public would probably
also not be aware that there is the
South African Board of Sheriffs that has
a legislated duty to develop the sheriffs
profession, and that is mandated to
investigate complaints against sheriffs
who act contrary to the law.
Sheriffs thus have an important role to
play in changing public perceptions
about the competence and capability
of the justice system to protect and
advance their rights. Sheriffs need to
act in a manner that embodies and
reflects the broader transformation of
both the justice system and the sheriffs
profession. This was well articulated
by the then-Deputy Minister of Justice
and Constitutional Development, Mr
Andries Nel in his recent speech on
the Budget Debate (Vote 24: Justice)
in Parliament (29 May 2013). He
notes that One of the most dramatic
stories of transformation comes from
the sheriff’s profession: In 1994 there
were 475 sheriffs. The overwhelming
majority, 399, were white men. There
were also 40 African men, 4 coloured
men, 15 white women, 4 African
women, 1 coloured and 2 Indian
women. Furthermore, these few black
sheriffs were located mainly in the socalled homelands and in economically
non-viable offices. By 2012 this picture
had started to change significantly with
the appointment of 124 new sheriffs.
Of these appointees: 64 are African,
44 white, 12 coloured and 7 Indian.
Women constitute almost one third
(31,49%) of the new appointees.
The national picture today does indeed
show significant shifts. The number of
female sheriffs has quadrupled from
less than 5% (4.6%) in 1994 to more
than 20% (21.8%) of the current 340
sheriffs.
This injection of new members to the
sheriffs profession offers a unique
opportunity to introduce ways of
delivering services that can impact
positively on public perceptions that
justice has indeed become more
accessible and that a transformed
sheriffs profession has played a role in
achieving this shift.
Female sheriffs need to let their voices
be heard in this quest for continuous
transformation. Whilst the increase
in the number of women sheriffs
is encouraging, there is not yet a
critical mass to comfortably assume
a gender-impact on the professional
culture. Efforts towards gender equity
must continue. Women in the sheriffs
profession need to be the vanguard for
this.
Laura Best is the Chairperson:
Training and Communications
Committee of the South African
Board for Sheriffs.
Laura Best
The national picture today
does indeed show significant
shifts. The number of female
sheriffs has quadrupled from
less than 5% (4.6%) in 1994
to more than 20% (21.8%) of
the current 340 sheriffs.
6th World Sheriffs’ Day
Determined to lend a helping hand to the
communities they serve, sheriffs rolled up
their sleeves and dedicated the 6th of June
to community service. All around the country,
sheriffs shared their goodwill and handed
out blankets, hosted soup kitchens, and
donated books to schools all in the name of
helping their communities.
Sheriff of Bellville South: Opening of the Trauma Centre at the Delft Police Station.
The Sheriff of Bellville South, Ms Davina Cupido, donated
toys and furniture at the Delft Police Station for the Trauma
Centre that was officially opened on the 07 of June 2013.
Mr Rishaad Singh, sheriff of Stanger, hosted a soup
kitchen at his local Magistrate Court.
A number of sheriffs served court documents and
subpoenas free of charge. These varied from labour,
maintenance, family violence to protection orders.
Mr Johan Fourie, sheriff of Simons Town, made a financial
contribution towards the Maintenance and Violence
Sections of the justice system and served all documents
free for the period from the 3rd of June to the 7th of
June 2013.
Sheriffs around the country heeded the call of the SABFS
and celebrated the 6th World Sheriffs’ Day. This event is
organised by the International Union of Judicial Officers
(UIHJ).
This year’s theme was ‘The Sheriff: Legal interface between
Litigants’. The topic provided an opportunity to show the
public that the sheriff is a true vector of communication
between litigants, creditors and debtors, and also between the
government and litigants.
World Sheriffs’ Day is intended to bring recognition to the
Sheriffs’ Profession and raise awareness and understanding to
the public about the role of the Sheriff.
This year’s event has been supported
greatly by the sheriffs. The South African
Board for Sheriffs thanks all the sheriffs
who participated in this event.
Sheriff of Malmesbury: Serving soup at the Malmesbury Magistrate Court.
Sheriff of Stellenbosch: Handing out blankets and warm clothes to the community.
Sheriff of Port Elizabeth North: Serving out soup at New Brighton Magistrate Court.
Sheriff of Ladybrand: Hosted the soup kitchen at the Ikaheng Disabled Social Organisation.
Sheriff of Ondendaalrus: Hosted a soup
kitchen.
SABFS Visits KZN
Sheriff’s Offices
As part of the on-going initiative of strengthening
communication relations within the Sheriffs’
Profession the SABFS hosted its 3rd Road Show in
Durban on 12 June 2013.
Mr Mandla Goodman Mkhize, Sheriff of Umbumbulu
The third leg of the road show began on a different note as SABFS
board members paid courtesy visits to four sheriffs’ offices namely,
Pinetown, Durban Coastal, Durban West and Durban North.
These visits are part of a broader plan of the SABFS in improving
its accessibility and visibility status in the profession. During the
visits, the Board members interacted with staff members and got a
chance to witness first-hand the quality of service they rendered to
the public.
The Board members were warmly welcomed by the staff in the four
offices. Ms Happy Mqadi from the Durban Coastal Office said she
appreciated the visit from the SABFS.
Sheriff and staff of the Pinetown Sheriff’s Office
“I’m very delighted to see that the Board has our interests at heart
and took this step of coming to see where we are working and under
what conditions”.
She further said she trusts the Board will continue with this initiative
and visit all the sheriff’s offices including those offices in the rural
areas.
The courtesy visits were followed by a dinner for all the KwaZuluNatal sheriffs. The event was a huge success as the sheriffs of the
Kwa-Zulu Natal province came out in huge numbers to support the
Board.
Mrs Brenda Barnabas, Sheriff of Pietermaritzburg said, “I enjoyed my
evening with the Board and got the chance to mingle and acquaint
myself with the new sheriffs”.
Durban North Sheriff’s office staff
She added, “I have been in the sheriff industry for 47 years; a lot has
changed and I applaud the Board for moving with times and thinking
of new ideas to strengthen the profession in KZN”.
Representatives from the Department of Justice and Constitutional
Development were, Mr T Hartzer on behalf Ms T Ramela, who is the
KZN Regional Head for Justice. Mr S Carslow, Mr M Mabuya and
Mrs N Mogwera represented the Chief Magistrate of Pietermaritzburg,
Mr T Mabaso.
The next road show will be in November 2013, in
Johannesburg.
Left to right: Mr Rishaad Singh; Sheriff of Stanger, Mr Nabiel Adams;
Sheriff of Durban West, Mr Rantesh Rajkumar; Sheriff of Ladysmith
Left to right: Mr Nithiananda Govender, Sheriff of Durban South; Mrs Brenda Barnabas,
Sheriff of Pietermaritzburg; Mr D Barnabas and Mrs Yvonne Martin, Sheriff of Empangeni
Left to right: Mr Sazi Sishi, Sheriff of Ndwedwe; Mr Allan Murugan, Sheriff of Durban
North and Mrs Yvonne Martin, Sheriff of Empangeni
Durban Coastal Sheriff’s office staff
Left to right: Mr Glen Manning, Sheriff of Chatsworth and Mr Thami Tembe,
Board Member
Left to right: Mr Graduate Sibonsio Ndlovu, Sheriff of Durban Coastal; Mr Allan Murugan,
Sheriff of Durban North and Mr Lance Ngcobo, Sheriff of Howick
Demarcation disputes a solution
for effective service delivery
Over the past several
months various sheriffs
have raised a number
of concerns about
demarcation-related
matters to the South African
Board for Sheriffs. These
demarcation disputes have
resulted in service delivery
being affected, as well as
the issue of economically
viable sheriff offices.
3.To make a recommendation to the Minister
of Justice and Constitutional Development.
In this instance it must be understood that the
appointment of the project manager is purely
to gather facts on disputes in question and to
present the DoJCD with a holistic picture of
what can and cannot be achieved. The Project
Manager must consult with all stakeholders and
affected role players.
On our part the SABFS urges all sheriffs to actively
participate and support the work of the project
manager. The Terms of Reference of the project
manager is clear and concise and the areas
affected under review have been pre-determined
by the DoJCD based on broad discussions with
the SABFS and the Sheriffs profession.
In a partnership with the DoJCD and the SABFS a
project manager was appointed to investigate all
disputes with the objective of:
The SABFS looks forward to a final report by the
project manager and we hope that this report will
lay the basis for a lasting solution to all disputes.
1.Advising the DoJCD on the nature of the
disputes;
2.Finding the root cause of the disputes;
BOARD MEMBER PROFILES
Executive Committee
Fidelity Fund Committee
Chairperson: C Mabuza
Members:
H Choma (Deputy Chairperson), A Mawela,
P Roodt, T Tembe, T Seboka, L Best
Chairperson: P Roodt
Members:
H Mohamed, A Mawela
Training and Communication Committee
Legal and Liaison Committee
Chairperson: L Best
Members:
H Choma, H Ntsikeni
Chairperson: T Seboka
Members:
H Mohamed, T Tembe
CONTENTS
Finance and Human Resources Committee
Standing Disciplinary Committee
Chairperson: A Mawela
Members:
F Moeletsi, T Seboka
Chairperson: T Tembe
Members:
Contents
Page
Vision, mission and values
4
Core business
5
Governance and organisation
6-10
• Organisationalstructure
P Roodt, N Nxumalo
Board members’ remuneration and meeting attendance
Board
Exec
L&L T&C
F&
HR
Cons
Forum
SDC
FF
3
C Mabuza
10
2
H Choma
8
1
L Best
5
11
A Mawela
8 3 1 5 2 Chairperson’s report
12-14
F Moeletsi
8
6 Executive Manager’s report
15-16
H Ntsikeni
8
3 Committee reports
17-34
N Nxumalo
7
2 P Roodt
8
2 1 Telecon
Other
2
Remuneration
12
R113 351
4
8
R65 807
3
1
R24 288
2 4 6 R81 694
2 4 R57 062
3 6 R56 180
2 5 1 1 10 R63 543
1 3 4 2 14 R90 507
4
3
•FidelityFundCommittee
17-20
•LegalandLiaisonCommittee
•StandingDisciplinaryCommittee
•TrainingandCommunicationsCommittee
21-24
25-29
30-32
T Seboka
8 1 2 6 1 3 6 T Tembe
7
2 6 3 6 H Mohamed*
7 2 1 n/a
•FinanceandHumanResourcesCommittee
33-34
R684 821
Audited Financial Statements
10
South African Board for Sheriffs
Annual Report 2013- The Annual Report of the South African Board for Sheriffs
is available on the SABFS website: www.sheriffs.org.za
Phone: 021 462 3209, Fax: 021 462 2099
email: [email protected]
Address: South African Board for Sheriffs,
5th Floor, No 4 Church Square, Cnr Spin and
Parliament streets, Cape Town 8001
www.sheriffs.org.za
R54 536
* Advocate H Mohamed is the Regional Head of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJCD)
in the Western Cape and as a Government employee is not eligible to claim meeting allowances.
41-96
CONTACT US
R77 853
Note as from
7 October 2013 our
contact details are
as follows:
Phone: 021 426 0577
Fax: 021 426 2598
Physical Address:
88 Loop Street, Cape Town,
8001