‘We are ready to rebuild the rule of law’
THE National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) presented its Annual Performance Plan for 2022/2023 to the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services yesterday.
When Shamila Batohi took over as the national director of public prosecutions in February 2019, she announced a five-year plan to reinvigorate the NPA.
Midway through the five-year plan, the NPA has said its primary focus is getting seminal corruption cases to court, using the evidence on hand to guide the process.
The NPA also noted its committed to delivering on the mandate to prosecute serious crimes in an effort to deliver justice to all, especially victims of gender-based violence.
Noting how high-level corruption had torn the country apart, the NPA said it was intensifying efforts to deal with the scourge.
In doing so, it said it would work closely with the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation, the Hawks, to prioritise seminal matters.
After having reviewed the Zondo commission reports, a clear implementation plan had been devised and would be executed in the coming months.
Collaboration with international firms to trace and recover stolen monies was also high on the agenda, it said.
Advocate Andrea Johnson has taken over as the new head of the Investigative Directorate (ID). The ID had declared 82 investigations and enrolled 20 cases with 65 accused.
Additionally, the ID prioritised nine corruption matters for enrolment within the next six months.
The ID considered this as indicative of the good work it was putting in and readiness for action.
The NPA set itself a target of 334 with regards to the number of persons to be convicted for corruption and offences related to corruption.
The organisation will also look to bolster its ranks by adding manpower in its different divisions including 700 aspirant prosecutors, 17 senior state advocates, 12 protectors and 91 investigators and prosecutors allocated to the ID.
The prosecuting authority is seeking additional funding to respond to the Zondo commission reports, as well as longer term structural changes to strengthen its capacity as part of the criminal justice system’s response to rising crime levels.
The additional funding needed is R750 million per annum and R1 billion per annum for both of these purposes.
“The entire NPA knows that failure is not an option. And after three years of building, we can say the time for action has arrived.
“We are ready to rebuild the rule of law in our country,” the entity said.