ADVOCATE Shamila Batohi has warned that impending budgets would negatively affect the National Prosecuting Authority’s ability to fight crime and corruption.
Batohi was briefing Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Justice and correctional services on the NPA’s annual report in the past year and the first quarter of this year as part of the Budgetary Review and Recommendations process.
She said that if the proposed budget cuts were to be implemented, the NPA would lose R1.1 billion of the R1.3 billion cash injection it was given last year.
Batohi told the committee that, when she joined the organisation, she found it was under-resourced in terms of skill, capacity and funding, and had lost credibility, and that staff morale was at an all-time low.
An additional budget allocation had been vital to rebuilding an independent, professional, accountable and credible NPA, and embarking on the biggest recruitment drive in the organisation’s history to appoint fresh, committed people of the utmost integrity.
The justice committee raised a concern that if these cuts were to be effected, the NPA will not be able to fill vacancies and more so not be able to pay salaries, and at the same time, that will undermine the commitment to rebuild the NPA.
Chairperson Bulelani Magwanishe said the committee has noted the comments by the Batohi, that in the past, “these high-profile corruption cases might never have seen a courtroom”, and he congratulated the NPA for the vigour in which it has been pursuing these matters.
“We are comforted by the fact that you are hard at work and we will continue to support you,” said Magwanishe.
The committee expressed a grave concern regarding the “unacceptably” high vacancy rate in the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU).
The committee heard that the AFU has a 45% vacancy rate which impacted on the work done and targets achieved.
In terms of the value of freezing orders obtained for corruption or offences relating to corruption, the target for the first quarter of 2020/2021 was R600 million against the achievement of R232 million.
Regarding the value of recoveries relating to corruption or related offences, the target was R350 million, and the achievement was zero.
“We will keep the AFU on our radar and engage with AFU later in the term again,” said Magwanishe.
The committee assured the NPA that it will do everything in its power to ensure that the NPA remains properly resourced.
The committee further expressed a grave concern regarding the “lawlessness” by protesters yesterday at the Senekal Magistrate’s Court in the Free State.
“Barging into the court is a threat to the rule of law. It is an act of intimidation against prosecutors and magistrates and we will not accept it. It must be condemned in the strongest possible terms.”
(COMPILED BY INSIDE POLITICS STAFF)
