By Mapula Thebe 

The Attorneys Fidelity Fund (AFF) officially opened its building in Centurion on 25 March. The keynote address was delivered by Judge President of the Gauteng Division of the High Court, Judge Dunstan Mlambo. Other speakers of the day included CEO of the AFF Motlatsi Molefe and former Chairperson of the AFF CP Fourie.

Mr Molefe said that the acquiring of the new premises was a culmination of a strategic vision that was set out in 2010. He said that when he took over from the former Executive Director of the AFF, John Moorhouse, he found that the AFF was a healthy organisation that ran well.

The new building will also house a forensic unit that will be based in Gauteng as this is the province where the AFF faces the most risk in terms of claims. Mr Molefe added that the number of practising attorneys in Gauteng dictate that the AFF should have an office in the province. The presence in Gauteng will also aid the AFF with its defensive risk strategy.

The new building also houses the Attorneys Insurance Indemnity Fund (AIIF). Mr Molefe said that this move will assist the AFF to save costs as renting space for the AIIF in Sandton was expensive. The cost savings will then be used towards further development of the AFF, he added.

Delivering the keynote address, Judge Mlambo said that the AFF plays an important role in protecting the public against misappropriation of funds. He noted that the AFF also plays an important role in ensuring that the standards of the law profession are kept high by funding legal education and De Rebus and also providing bursaries to deserving top students to study law. He added that the AFF also plays an invaluable role of supplementary funding for law clinics, which enables the clinics to provide services to the poor.

Mapula Thebe NDip Journ (DUT) BTech (Journ) (TUT) is the editor of De Rebus.

This article was first published in De Rebus in 2015 (May) DR 16.