Africa-Press – South-Africa. The National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA) Investigating Directorate (ID) intends to prosecute nine “seminal” corruption cases related to state capture within six months.
National Director of Public Prosecutions Shamila Batohi made this announcement as she presented the NPA’s annual performance plan to the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services on Tuesday morning.
According to Batohi, the leadership transition at the ID, from Hermione Cronje to Andrea Johnson, had been “seamless”, and the directorate was “poised for action”.
The ID has declared 82 investigations and enrolled 20 cases with 65 accused. And it has prioritised nine corruption matters for enrolment within the next six months.
She said the nine ones prioritised were “seminal cases that will talk to the heart of state capture”.
This is also the main focus of the NPA for the coming year.
Batohi said:
“The recent release of the Zondo Commission reports has highlighted how much damage state capture has done to our country. And the need for us in the NPA to act with a sense of urgency, not to respond to pressure, because that’s when we make mistakes, but to act with a sense of urgency with a razor-sharp focus on particular cases.
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“We are determined to ensure that those implicated in state capture are held to account. This will rebuild public confidence, which is closely linked to investor confidence and also to economic growth, which will help the poorest and the most vulnerable in our country and also deal with the increasing inequality gap in South Africa.”
Batohi said they had evidence and plans in place to bring the “seminal corruption cases” to court within three to six months.
“This is our razor-sharp focus. Primarily, it is on the ID. We need to make sure that accountability for corruption is the norm and not the exception.”
She said it would be a challenging few months for the NPA.
She added:
Batohi said they were working closely with the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), better known as the Hawks.
“Capacitation is still key.”
She added that expanding the powers of the ID and making it a permanent body would be critical to moving its work forward.
Johnson, who took over from Cronje in March, said the ID staff had a very clear “appreciation of the urgency of what must be done”.
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