Justice committee approves permanent Investigating Directorate within the NPA
Opposition parties and civil rights groups have questioned the independence of an anti-corruption body that would be housed within a government agency
22 November 2023 - 18:53
by Tauriq Moosa
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Parliament’s justice committee has approved a bill to establish an anti-corruption body within the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) despite the misgivings of opposition parties and civil rights groups.
“The [NPA Amendment] Bill establishes the NPA’s Investigating Directorate as a statutory body,” deputy minister of justice John Jeffrey said on Wednesday.
The Investigating Directorate is currently a temporary body, established by presidential proclamation in 2019, to deal with corruption cases that arose during the Zondo Commission into state capture. The Investigative Directorate tackled cases such as the controversial R25m Vrede Dairy Farm project involving Gupta-linked company Nulane Investments.
Since the bill’s earlier drafts, opposition parties and civil rights groups have raised concerns about the security and independence of a permanent unit if housed within the embattled NPA.
Advocate Paul Hoffman from Accountability Now has said the NPA “is not independent” and was “infested with saboteurs”.
By housing the new unit within an allegedly non-independent NPA, the new anti-corruption unit might be subject to political interference, he added.
Jean Redpath from the Dullah Omar Institute told the portfolio committee the NPA must still go “cap in hand” to the justice minister, a member of the executive, for a budget. That, she said, undermined the NPA’s independence and would therefore affect the new unit.
However, the justice department said these fears were unwarranted. The unit would be established by legislation and therefore difficult to disband — as had occurred with the so-called Scorpions unit, but which did not enjoy legislative protection.
Regarding the NPA depending on the justice department for its, Kalay Pillay, from the department’s legislative development unit, said that was set out in the constitution. Budgetary dependence had also been debated thoroughly in the Constitutional Court, she said.
Jeffrey said on social media on Wednesday the bill would enable “the directorate to employ its own investigators and will assist the NPA in prosecuting corruption cases.”
The bill now goes to the national assembly for approval.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Justice committee approves permanent Investigating Directorate within the NPA
Opposition parties and civil rights groups have questioned the independence of an anti-corruption body that would be housed within a government agency
Parliament’s justice committee has approved a bill to establish an anti-corruption body within the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) despite the misgivings of opposition parties and civil rights groups.
“The [NPA Amendment] Bill establishes the NPA’s Investigating Directorate as a statutory body,” deputy minister of justice John Jeffrey said on Wednesday.
The Investigating Directorate is currently a temporary body, established by presidential proclamation in 2019, to deal with corruption cases that arose during the Zondo Commission into state capture. The Investigative Directorate tackled cases such as the controversial R25m Vrede Dairy Farm project involving Gupta-linked company Nulane Investments.
Since the bill’s earlier drafts, opposition parties and civil rights groups have raised concerns about the security and independence of a permanent unit if housed within the embattled NPA.
Advocate Paul Hoffman from Accountability Now has said the NPA “is not independent” and was “infested with saboteurs”.
By housing the new unit within an allegedly non-independent NPA, the new anti-corruption unit might be subject to political interference, he added.
Jean Redpath from the Dullah Omar Institute told the portfolio committee the NPA must still go “cap in hand” to the justice minister, a member of the executive, for a budget. That, she said, undermined the NPA’s independence and would therefore affect the new unit.
However, the justice department said these fears were unwarranted. The unit would be established by legislation and therefore difficult to disband — as had occurred with the so-called Scorpions unit, but which did not enjoy legislative protection.
Regarding the NPA depending on the justice department for its, Kalay Pillay, from the department’s legislative development unit, said that was set out in the constitution. Budgetary dependence had also been debated thoroughly in the Constitutional Court, she said.
Jeffrey said on social media on Wednesday the bill would enable “the directorate to employ its own investigators and will assist the NPA in prosecuting corruption cases.”
The bill now goes to the national assembly for approval.
moosat@businesslive.co.za
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