Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi revealed this week in parliament that the government spent more than R76 million on interpretating services for criminal court proceedings involving foreign nationals during the 2024/25 financial year, with Shona accounting for the highest share of the expenditure.
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development spent R76.4 million on foreign-language interpreting services in criminal court proceedings across South Africa during the 2024/25 financial year.
The expenditure comes as courts recorded nearly 40,000 new criminal cases involving foreign nationals during the same period.
The figures were disclosed this week by Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi in response to parliamentary questions from the African Transformation Movement (ATM).
Responding to ATM MP Vuyo Zungula, Kubayi said the department's Electronic Case Management System showed that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) recorded 1,074 new cases involving foreign nationals in regional courts and 37,967 in district courts during 2024/25.
