Home Affairs, Justice and National Security Minister, Senator Hermangild Francis, confirmed today that the Nyerah Court Building will be reopened on Monday February 4, 2019 and that close to $1million has been used for its refurbishment. Having invited media to a guided tour of one of the courtrooms, Francis thanked the government and the prime minister for making the court’s reopening a priority, confirming that the money used in the refurbishing was “not money that was allocated for.” He explained, “The Honourable Prime Minister had to find monies outside of the Budget.”
When asked about the source of the funds used, Francis stated: “I cannot identify that. The prime minister was able to source it.” He confirmed that the government will utilise the space for as long as necessary but added that it will “try to get out of this building as quickly as possible.” Addressing the backlog of cases, the Justice Minister confirmed, “There are over a thousand cases that need to be looked at and I would crave the indulgence of the judges and the staff of the courthouse that we can push as many of those cases as possible.”
Francis also talked about the changes made regarding security at the building explaining that the third floor was used by the owner for business purposes and that persons not involved in court cases had to be searched, making things more difficult. “That was not right. We have taken the whole building so right now the shipping company is no longer there, and that portion of the courthouse will be used to make court functions more efficient.” He added: “There will be police officers there to make sure that there is no infraction. There’s going to be security downstairs. I can’t disclose all the security measures that we are going to put in, but I can tell you it’s not going to be easy to get into this courthouse.”
The Nyerah Court Building has been closed since April of 2018.
