/ 22 June 2004

‘All is not well in the justice community’

Constant attacks on the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and its leaders during the past year may have something to do with the success achieved by the unit, the Democratic Alliance said on Tuesday.

Speaking during debate on the justice and constitutional development Budget vote in the National Assembly, DA justice spokesperson Sheila Camerer said ”all is not well in the justice community and Minister [Brigitte] Mabandla has inherited a house divided against itself”.

”Two crucial pillars of South Africa’s constitutional democracy; two upholders of the rule of law and our justice system, namely, the Public Protector and the National Director of Public Prosecutions, are having a mutually damaging public fight, basically about territory.

”Personalities aside, this dispute centres on how far each institution may go in terms of their constitutionally and legally defined mandates.

”These are excellent, progressive institutions; we are a young democracy and their integrity must be preserved and strengthened rather than damaged in this way,” Camerer said.

She appealed to Mabandla to take a proactive role and consider whether any steps were needed in terms of legislative amendments or guidelines or policy to ensure that each institution could do its work without undue interference and interruption from the other.

”Ironically, the well resourced, well managed NPA, which admittedly eats up a quarter of the justice Budget and includes the Scorpions, the Asset Forfeiture Unit, the Special Investigating Unit, the Witness Protection Unit, and the country’s prosecutors, is the success story of the justice department,” she said.

Conviction rates, the amount of the proceeds of crime forfeited to the State, and the amount of government corruption unearthed and being investigated had all gone up substantially over the past year.

Successful prosecutions had risen, and the quality of staff and service had improved.

”One is almost left with the suspicions that the constant attacks on the NPA and its leaders during the past year may have something to do with this success,” Camerer said. – Sapa