Legal_Aid_SA_Annual_Report_2017-_2018_F

PERFORMANCE INFORMATION
LEGAL AID SOUTH AFRICA INTEGRATED ANNUAL REPORT 2017-2018
24
as well as formulating strategies for the speedy finalisation of
their cases. The RDs are tracked by our Legal Aid SA Local
Offices on an individual basis. Reports are then provided by
Legal Aid South Africa to all National and Provincial Efficiency
Enhancement Committees for discussion and interventions
by all stakeholders. One of these reports is a summary report
of the top 20 longest serving RDs per province.
The representation of children as a special vulnerable
group has always been a matter of priority for Legal Aid
SA. We have capacitated all our practitioners by offering
them training in dealing with matters involving children
in conflict with the law. We have practitioners available
to help with the representation of children in all Child
Justice Courts, as well as in all Preliminary Inquiry Courts,
whenever our assistance is required. We also guarantee
legal representation to all children in civil matters.
Our civil units continue to provide legal representation for
children, most of whom are children in need of care, in
the Children’s Courts. Through our partnership with the
Master’s Offices, we continue to help in the administration
of estates in which children are beneficiaries, and have in
the year under review deposited millions of rands with the
Guardians Fund for the benefit of these children.
Our Quality Management Programme ensures that we
continue to render services of the highest quality to our
clients, to realise maximum client satisfaction.
This programme is reviewed and refined annually to
ensure that it is continuously improved, and remains
relevant to our operations. The Legal Quality Assurance
Unit (LQAU), located within the Internal Audit Department,
conducts independent quality audits of our practitioners,
thereby providing a measure of independent assurance
of the quality of our services. We are assured that the
majority of our practitioners meet and exceed the quality
targets we have set for ourselves. The quality assurance
programme has been extended to include a review of
the work of all practitioners handling cases on behalf
of Legal Aid South Africa clients, including Judicare
practitioners, Co-operation Agreements and fixed–fee
Agency Agreements. The effectiveness of our Quality
Management Programme can be seen from the positive
feedback received in client satisfaction surveys, as well
as the reduced number of complaints received.
We continued to participate in the activities of the Criminal
Justice System Review Committee, so that we can
provide input into the improvement of the criminal justice
system. We have implemented all recommendations and
protocols developed as a result of the work of the CJS
Review Committee.
Legal Aid SA is also represented in all specialist
committees such as the Intersectoral Committee on Child
Justice, the Sexual Offences Committee, as well as a
number of other ad hoc committees that deal with issues
affecting specific vulnerable groups. We also monitored
and provided input to proposed legislative changes.
The end of the financial year saw the announcement
of further budget cuts to our baseline funding, which
will further threaten our ability to provide quality legal
services to all qualifying clients at the level we do now.
In particular, the reduction in funding will directly affect
our ability to staff the courts at the level we cover them
currently. We are continuously devising ways to minimise
the impact that any staff rationalisation will have on our
ability to deliver our services.
3.2 ORGANISATIONAL ENVIRONMENT
The organisational environment remained stable in the
year under review despite our business facing significant
and increasing pressure due to budgetary constraints
which led to a reduced organisational capacity as a
result of reduced staffing. The operational budget was
also significantly reduced and the lifecycles of assets
increased so as to offset the impact of the budgetary
reductions. Notwithstanding the budget constraints, Legal
Aid South Africa maintained a high performance. That was
made possible by the resilience of a capable leadership
and committed staff. Our ability to retain the intellectual
capacity at all levels of Management proved valuable in
advancing the strategic goals of the organisation. That
resulted in Legal Aid SA again being accredited as Top
Employer for the ninth time, as well as being named an
Industry Leader in the Public Sector.
Our business model depends heavily on the stability of the
IT systems to function effectively, particularly since our Legal
Aid SA Local and Satellite Offices are spread nationwide,
which necessitates the efficiency of our IT platform.
We have, however, been able to maintain stability of our IT
platform with limited funding. The development of eLAA
2016 which was initiated in 2016-2017, is still on course
and targeted for completion in the 2018-2019 financial
year. The eLAA 2016 project, once fully rolled out, will
bring more online, self-service access to clients and
Judicare practitioners. It is pleasing to report our current
legacy Ad Infinitum system which will be replaced by
the eLAA 2016 system is still demonstrating the ability to
meet our business needs in the short term.
Legal Aid South Africa has an established brand which
conveys its distinguished symbols, logo, name, colours
and payoff line as a combination to express its meaning
and recognition.