The Hefer commission has established the real identity of agent R1 500 000. He is also known as one-and-a-half million rand.
That is how much experts say the commission has cost in the seven days it has sat. The commission was established to determine whether National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka was an apartheid spy, and whether he has abused the National Prosecuting Authority.
The commission, sitting in Bloemfontein, must also determine whether Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development Penuell Maduna abused his office.
The figures of what the commission is costing are based on conservative estimates. Senior advocates charge at least R20 000 a day, with their junior counterparts coming in at about R14 000 a day. Instructing attorneys charge between R6 000 and R10 000 a day.
At least nine advocates have appeared or are expected to appear on behalf of clients. Advocates John Bacon and Solly Ngwenya are commission secretary and assistant secretary respectively. Durban advocate Kessie Naidu, SC, is the evidence leader.
Appearing for the ”main accused”, Ngcuka, is Marumo Moerane, SC. Maduna is represented by Norman Arendse, SC. Ngcuka’s accusers, Mo Shaik and Mac Maharaj, are represented by Stephen Joseph, SC.
Johannesburg advocate George Bizos, SC, with Vincent Maleka, SC, appear for the South African Police Service, the National Intelligence Agency and the Secret Service.
Former Sunday Times journalist Ranjeni Munusamy, whose actions led to the spy accusations appearing in City Press, is represented by advocate John Campbell.
South African law requires that advocates not actively seek clients, but be briefed by attorneys. Shaik and Maharaj’s counsel, Joseph, is instructed by Shaik’s brother Yunus.
Yunus has already complained that it is unfair that his clients pay their own way, while the taxpayer is footing the bill for Ngcuka and Maduna.
Moerane is instructed by Dumisani Tabata, who in turn gets his orders from the state attorney’s office. Bizos and Maleka are instructed by Nano Matlala of Maluleke Seriti Makume Matlala Inc. As with Ngcuka’s lawyers, the state attorneys have given Matlala’s firm their instructions.
Munusamy’s advocate got his instructions from Eric van den Bergh of the firm Bell Dewar Hall.
But lawyers are not the only winners. The hospitality and car rental industries are making a mint out of all the people arriving in Bloemfontein for the commission.
Most of the lawyers involved are from places other than Bloemfontein, so clients are saddled with their hotel and meal bills, and their travel costs. This could easily come to R1 000 a day.
The auditing firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers has been roped in as investigators for the commission. They too come at a premium.
A lawyer with experience in the machinations of commissions, and speaking on condition of anonymity, said the PriceWaterhouseCoopers invoice was likely to be ”massive” — at least R30 000 a day, depending on how many people they have released to work on commission business.
Commission spokesperson advocate John Bacon told the Mail & Guardian that the final budget for the commission could be known next week.
Lawyers’ fees are guided by specific court rules that set minimum tariffs and ensure fairness. In a (successful) 1993 application to have an advocate struck off the roll for charging ”flagrantly excessive fees”, the court held that ”counsel must be fairly compensated as a professional man for his preparation, attendance at court, presentation of argument and all the thought, concern and responsibility that went into the matter”.
Under such rules, fees will vary depending on the status of the lawyer, the complexity of the work to be done, and the time spent on the issue. Some lawyers say that the ability of the client to pay is also a factor.
Lawyers charge for consulting, drafting documents, making copies and for actual court appearance. When the opposing lawyers respond to the papers, the perusal of the documents also comes at a cost, as does the consultation to determine the position of the client with regards to the allegations made by opponents.
Lawyers do not profit from ”disbursements” such as making photocopies. But, as one lawyer put it, ”These things don’t come cheap.”
With the high number of senior counsel attending the commission, chaired by retired Judge Joos Hefer, the joke doing the rounds is that the abbreviation ”SC” has a new meaning — ”Spy Commission”.