Budget cut shock for NPA’s crime fight

● The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is staring down the barrel of budget cuts that could further cripple its ability to combat crime — including serious financial and organised crime.

Legal experts have warned that this will deal a hammer blow to the administration of justice in the country, with one likening the NPA to “a vehicle already left without petrol, now also being left without tyres”.

Three months ago, the National Treasury imposed spending cuts on all government departments following a cabinet meeting at which the executive was warned of “unprecedented challenges” posed by the country’s deteriorating public finances.

Last month, the NPA’s acting deputy-director of corporate services, Bulelwa Makeke, issued an internal circular to staff warning of the effect the budget cuts were likely to have.

“Please note that beyond these broader cost-cutting measures for the entire government, the NPA faces its unique budgeting problems in that it faces a multimillion-rand deficit in our compensation of employees (CoE) budget which will require careful management. This CoE deficit creates additional budgeting complications for the NPA during this period,” she said in the memo.

Sources close to the NPA, speaking to the Sunday Times, predicted there would be cuts in the number of prosecutors and said the NPA would not be able to employ 344 interns who will complete the year-long aspirant prosecutors programme in January. Prosecutors would not be paid overtime or acting allowances, and vacant posts were unlikely to be filled.

Insiders and experts have raised concerns about the impact the cuts will have on the NPA, which was hollowed out during the state capture years, and on its capacity to deal with cases involving serious financial and organised crime.

In February, South Africa was greylisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) largely because of its inability to prosecute serious financial crimes such as moneylaundering and terrorist financing.

While the FATF’s legislative recommendations have largely been implemented, the NPA’s apparent failure to successfully prosecute such cases means the country may remain on the list for longer than anticipated.

Legal expert Llewelyn Curlewis of the University of Pretoria said the cuts to the

NPA budget were a recipe for disaster.

“The simple truth is that an already struggling NPA is now further constrained to do its work properly.

“It can almost be compared to a vehicle already left without petrol, now also being left without tyres.

“The end result will not be in the interest of the public, it will feed the sentiments of society feeling that our justice system is in dire straits and has failed its citizens in an era of ever-increasing criminals running rampant.”

In response to questions from the Sunday Times, Makeke said the budget cuts were bad news for the NPA.

“The dire fiscal outlook is a reality for the country, not only for the NPA. The vacancies that cannot be filled means there will be courts that may not have prosecutors, resulting in more delays in finalising cases and therefore delayed justice. The rule of law will certainly be impacted.

“These conditions come at a time when there is so much pressure on the NPA to deliver on state capture-related cases and other complex corruption cases.”

Makeke said the NPA’s leadership would report to parliament’s portfolio committee of justice & correctional services this week on their progress in implementing the Zondo commission’s recommendations.

“There is a considerable amount of progress reported, including on the asset recovery front, on these matters.

“However, much more capacity and skills are required to make the necessary impact, which will be very difficult to attain on a limited budget,” Makeke said.

“Also, the parliamentary process of considering the NPA Amendment Bill to establish the Investigating Directorate’s [ID’s] permanency is at an advanced stage. When that bill is passed, it will be critical to ensure that there is a budget to adequately capacitate the ID.”

Makeke said the NPA was considering all avenues to ensure that its investment in the aspirant prosecutor programme was not lost because it had been a valuable investment for the past five years.

NPA sources told the Sunday Times that cuts to the NPA’s budget would mean fewer prosecutors to deal with the country’s voluminous court roll, which the organisation was already struggling with.

It also means that the NPA will not be able to absorb the 344 aspirant prosecutors who will complete the programme at the end of January.

In her internal memo, which the Sunday Times has seen, Makeke said that if and when posts became vacant, managers should give preference to graduates of the aspirant prosecutor programme rather than make contract appointments.

“The organisation is already understaffed because there is a massive shortage of prosecutors,” one insider said.

“So, if the NPA is not going to be able to absorb aspirant prosecutors in the new year and the current prosecutors are already overworked and they are also not going to get paid overtime, we might as well give up on the fight against crime.”

Makeke’s memo to staff said there would be no payment for overtime and no compensation for those in acting positions. Furthermore, it said that all posts currently vacant will be deemed not funded.

“Managers must explore nonfinancial solutions for compensating overtime worked. Approval for acting appointments must be on condition that the acting incumbents will not be rewarded financially. Their contribution is to be recognised within the NPA’s performance development and management system where applicable.”

The NPA said it had approved the creation of a “capacity review committee” which will guarantee the effective and efficient management of its human resources and identify alternative funding sources for the people it needs.

In September, national director of public prosecutions Shamila Batohi told an anticorruption conference in Umhlanga that the rule of law was “in the ICU” but not yet dead.