The Auditor-General has urged the government to pay Commissioners who preside over local tribunals according to the number of cases that they hear and decide, and not per sitting.

The Auditor-General pointed out in a report tabled in Parliament that out of a sample of 18,756 cases set for hearings at the Local Tribunals, the Commissioners found they had jurisdiction over only 10,579 - or 56%. Out of these 10,579, the Commissioners actually heard the accused defendants in only 1,408 cases - 13% - since the rest did not show up.

"It may be more appropriate if the Commissioners are remunerated on the basis of the number of cases that they actually hear, rather than being paid per sitting, ensuring more efficiency and effectiveness by the Local Tribunals concerned," the auditor said.

He said that the determination of the number of cases per sitting should exclude the instances of fines paid prior to the hearing, in order to determine as realistic a number of cases as possible.