BCM municipal court to enforce its by-laws

Buffalo City Metro’s plan to start a municipal court is at an advanced stage.

BCM spokesperson Sam Ngwenya confirmed to the Dispatch on Thursday that when the new financial year started in July, all the infrastructure required for the court to be operational would be put in place.

The metro’s NU10 offices have been identified as the suitable venue.

BCM council started the process by merging law enforcement and traffic services and turning them into metro police in 2011, when BCM became a metro.

An application for the establishment of the fully-fledged policing unit was submitted to former safety and liaison MEC Sauls-August in August 2012, and was approved.

The division will see the city having its own holding cells and court to enforce its by-laws.

The municipal court will deal mainly with prosecution of traffic offences and offences in terms of municipal by-laws, such as those for zoning and building, water pollution, waste management, fireworks, informal trading and parking.

The national department of justice provides magistrates for the municipal court and BCM will provide the prosecutors, venue and administration.

The staff complement will include a deputy head, court manager, three prosecutors, two interpreters, three clerks of the court, three administration officers and a secretary to the deputy head.

An advert was placed in the Dispatch yesterday, and all the positions, but for the deputy head, were published.

Ngwenya said: “The idea behind establishing the court is to reduce the burden and workload at the magistrate’s court and give priority to offences regarded as less important by the magistrate’s court in their day-to-day operations.”