The anti-corruption watchdog believes the NPA and the Hawks don’t have the capacity to handle serious corruption cases.
CAPE TOWN – Anti-corruption watchdog Accountability Now has submitted a proposal to Parliament to establish a new Chapter 9 institution, only to deal with serious corruption.
It believes the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Hawks don’t have the capacity to handle such cases.
Although President Cyril Ramaphosa announced in 2021 that an anti-corruption body would be established, this has not yet happened.
Accountability Now says its proposal would give effect to the Glenister Constitutional Court ruling, that such a body be established.
The anti-corruption watchdog’s director, Paul Hoffmann, believes if South Africa had an anti-corruption agency dealing with high-profile matters, state capture would not have been able to flourish.
He’s tabled a proposal to Parliament’s Constitutional Review Committee for a new body to investigate such crimes, that would report to the legislature.
“We suggest that R5 million should be the cut-off point and that the Hawks and NPA can deal with smaller matters.”
Hoffmann says the intention is not to diminish the role of the NPA or the Hawks.
“It is not appropriate to expect the National Prosecuting Authority given its current constraints which will take many years to address, that they should be tasked with the prosecution of serious corruption.”
Accountability Now says making the Investigative Directorate a permanent structure does not address the need for an independent anti-corruption body that reports directly to Parliament.
