🇿🇦South AfricaSouthern Africa
South Africa spends R76.1 million on foreign language interpreters for court proceedings
via The Citizen2 min read
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development DJCD spent R76.1 million on interpreters and translators for court appearances during the 2024-25 financial year. This expenditure is for foreign national suspects, as the department uses in-house interpreters for South Africa's 12 official languages. Shona translators were the most frequently used, accounting for R8.7 million of the cost and serving in five provinces: Gauteng, Free State, Limpopo, Northern Cape, and North West. Other frequently used languages included Igbo in the Western Cape, Amharic in KwaZulu-Natal, and Chichewa in the Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga. Chichewa translators cost R982,000, Igbo R543,000, and Amharic R3.1 million. These four languages combined for R13.4 million, with all other languages totaling R62.7 million. The DJCD clarified that it does not record expenditure based on the immigration status of individuals, but rather on the interpreting services provided for various charges, not exclusively immigration-related cases.
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