Mungo Soggot
The Department of Justice is targeting prosecutors and other justice officials who quit for private practice during trials and are then rehired in the same capacity for the same trials at far more expensive private-sector rates.
In a nationwide circular, the department has threatened already overstretched attorneys general that they could have to restart from scratch cases in which prosecutors or magistrates quit halfway — instead of rehiring them at huge cost.
”If, in the opinion of this office, a case can be dealt with by a serving official on the establishment, it will be referred to your office to be dealt with de novo [from scratch],” the letter says.
Over the past few years, the floundering criminal justice system has been hit by an exodus of professionals lured away with significantly better pay and conditions in the private sector — and by the crippling cost of rehiring them for outstanding matters.
In a Gauteng case in which two Americans have been charged with running a scam financial scheme, both the prosecutor and the regional magistrate — one of six to have recently resigned from the division — quit during the matter, and have been rehired at private-sector rates.
The January 9 circular from the Justice Department — which is still dealing with the backlash from its recent decision to stop overtime pay for prosecutors — says ”requests for the appointment of officials who have resigned to finalise part-heard matters will as a rule not be considered favourably in future. Magistrates, state advocates and state prosecutors must make the necessary arrangements so as to ensure all matters are dealt with prior to resignation.”
The department letter says it will only consider allowing attorneys general to pay private sector rates to ex-officials in exceptional cases, and lays down guidelines including ”written proof of sworn affidavits of the concerned official’s lack of income for the duration of the trial”.
”Due to a lack of funds, approval for such requests will not be lightly granted,” it warns.
Approached for comment on the circular this week, the deputy attorney general of the Transvaal, Kevin Atwell, said officials are not contractually obliged to finish outstanding matters and that they only have to provide one month’s notice of their resignation.
But he said the new steps by the Justice Department, particularly the threat of having to start cases from scratch, should help discourage officials from leaving during cases. ”We cannot encourage people to leave and hold us to ransom.”
Atwell said 20 of the 62 legal posts in his division have been vacant for at least a year, but that the Justice Department would soon approve new appointments.Untitled Article