National Consumer Tribunal Annual Report 2011/12 National Consumer Tribunal 2011-12 | Page 57

Training/capacity building
Training and capacity building are high priorities for the Tribunal. Due to
intense recruitment over the year to fill vacancies and a large proportion
of staff commencing employment with the Tribunal towards the end of
the financial year, NCT staff did not undergo formal training interventions
linked to their personal development. However quarterly capacity training
workshops were held for Tribunal members in which staff from the
Registrar’s Office and the Case Management Unit participated. These
capacity training workshops are mainly to enhance Tribunal members’
capacity to make sound judgments in the cases in which they are
involved and to ensure consistent adjudication of cases filed with the
Tribunal and across South Africa. In the first quarter, for example, the
Tribunal workshop was held in Bloemfontein and was also attended by
officials of the Office of Consumer Protection and members of the Free
State Consumer Court. In the fourth quarter, delegates from the Limpopo
Consumer Court attended the sessions. These capacity-building
workshops also provide an opportunity to strengthen relationships with
important stakeholders and to build synergies.
Registrar’s Office
Four meetings were held with debt counsellors to provide advice on
filing requirements. The Registrar’s Office was able to assess the 1382
applications it received within a 3-day period in 99% of matters received.
Furthermore, ongoing interaction with the filing parties resulted in 484 of
its initially incomplete cases becoming complete.
Unfortunately, the Tribunal was unable to meet its objective of having six
public hearings outside its Centurion head office location, due to the fact
that the parties in the majority of cases were Gauteng-based.
Registry Unit
During the year under review, the Registry Unit focussed on streamlining
the workload of the Tribunal in order to ensure a more efficient business
process of receiving, reconciling and distributing documents. All non-
case files submitted to Registry were correctly referenced and filed. An
electronic document management system was purchased and will be
fully implemented in the new financial year.
Case Management Unit (CMU)
In spite of low staff numbers, the CMU provided ongoing case support
for Tribunal members in their adjudication of cases. To assist the unit, the
Tribunal drew on the expertise of a panel of lawyers who were appointed
during the course of the year following a tender process.
The unit provided support in the preparation and presentation of papers
at Tribunal workshops for the capacity-building and training of Tribunal
members and staff. The unit facilitated an interactive process with the dti
for the development of rules and regulations capturing Tribunal processes
in the adjudication of matters in terms of the Consumer Protection Act.
Annual Report 2011
national consumer tribunal | page 55