NPA 2023/24 Annual Report & Quarter 1 & 2 performance

Video National Prosecuting Authority On a virtual platform, the National Prosecuting Authority presented its Annual Report 2023/24, First and Second Quarter 2024/25 performance and forward funding proposals for the 2025 medium-term expenditure framework. The National Director of Public Prosecutions stated that the NPA’s rebuilding had led to a full leadership of people with integrity who respected the rule of law and who were not beholden to politicians, the public sector, or anybody else. Despite that progress, which often did not make the headlines, the NPA had often been subjected to harsh criticism in respect of one aspect of its work: the prosecution of state capture and complex corruption matters. Over the past five years, 39 high-profile state-capture corruption matters had been enrolled, and almost 700 government officials and over 1 000 private sector persons had been convicted of corruption. The Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) was the NPA's new and sharpest weapon in its arsenal. The Investigating Director mentioned the two-year-long fight to get Mr Michael Lomas to stand trial in South Africa in connection with the R745 million Eskom Kusile fraud and corruption case. The establishment of a digital evidence unit would provide cutting-edge evidence capacity to the IDAC to further enhance its capability to combat complex forms of corruption. Since its inception in 1999, the Asset Forfeiture Unit (AFU) had frozen almost R30.38 billion. It had confiscated and forfeited R12.98 billion and recovered R11.7 billion, of which R6.8 billion had been returned to victims and almost R4.9 billion paid into the Criminal Asset Recovery (CARA) account. The NPA had started a serial rapist prioritisation initiative in September 2023 to deal with the scourge of gender-based violence in a more innovative way. The NPA had increased the staff establishment by almost 2 000. Of that number, 1 161 were aspirant prosecutors coming straight out of university who had since been absorbed and employed in the NPA.  Over 80% of targets had been achieved to date and several activities were well over the targeted figures. The half-year expenditure as at 30 September 2024 stood at 47.8% but the NPA was still making appointments and predicted full expenditure of the budget but no overspending. The NPA underspent by 44.77% on Capital Assets due to the reclassification of a Finance Lease to an Operating Lease. The NPA stated that the previous Minister and Committee had agreed to the matter of financial independence for the Prosecuting Authority by 2025. The next 18 months would be crucial for the NPA as it transitioned into a new leadership at the end of that period. Committee members had much advice for the NPA National Director as well as many questions. Criticism against the NPA would dissipate with a single state capture conviction – just one.  Members asked who had pre-warned former Steinhoff CEO Markus Jooste that he was going to be arrested. Other questions included a request for the gender and demographics of NPA staff; who audited the CARA Fund to ensure that it was utilised as intended; how much was going to victims of crime; why was IDAC dealing with tax matters; the Top 10 serial rapist programme was a good idea but how many had been arrested; why had no State Capture accused been extradited; progress on the Life Esidimeni cases; why the Auditor-General stated that the evidence did not support the achievements claimed by the NPA. Members asked about the Office of Ethics and Accountability regulations; prosecutions for money laundering; if the NPA was using reliable peformance indicators and working with the Auditor General on that; drug evidence stockpiles; taxi owners opening security businesses ostensibly to obtain guns; why the NPA not met the requirements of the United Arab Emirates extradition request for the Guptas to be extradited; what the NPA formally done in response to the scathing judgment by the Dubai Court; was it not an indictment on the NPA that private prosecution had become an alternative to public prosecution; when would the  nolle prosequi  certificate be available in the Phala Phala case so that the matter could be privately prosecuted; did the National Director have a good relationship with the Justice Minister and did she comply with the Minister’s orders; and what attempts had the NPA made in securing the Zondo Commission data to enable it to prosecute.