LETTER: Demands of district prosecutors are unrealistic
Giving district court prosecutors a big raise is likely to result in teacher unions complaining about unfairness and threatening to go on strike
During the apartheid era prosecutors at district courts usually did three year law degrees or diplomas, and hence were nowhere near as well paid as regional court magistrates, who usually spent five years at university while following a path that also allowed them to practise as attorneys in the private sector (a B.A law or B.Com law degree followed by a two-year LLB post-graduate degree).
However, in 1998 government introduced a four-year LLB degree that did away with the need to do an undergraduate degree, to make it easier for black candidates to qualify as attorneys. It also decided that prosecutors at the district court would in future need to have the same qualification. This has led to a situation in which a district court prosecutor usually has the same qualifications as a regional court prosecutor, but earns far less. In addition, due to the desire to speed up transformation, prosecutors with as little as four years experience are often appointed to the regional court...
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