The Parliament asked the public to comment on the National Prosecuting Authority Amendment Bill in the next two weeks as a means to prevent state capture.

State capture in South Africa has had significant negative impacts on ordinary citizens as it has resulted in the mismanagement of public resources. It took over four years, 300 witnesses, 3 171 summonses, 8 655 530 pages of documents, and approximately R1 billion worth of taxpayer’s money to implicate over 1 438 people by evidence in the “State Capture Commission” reports by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.

The Zondo Commission of Inquiry was established in 2018 to investigate allegations of state capture and corruption and provide recommendations on how to prevent similar incidents from happening in the future.

The NPA Amendment Bill is the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development’s answer to the President’s response to the State Capture Report. The President’s response had three main points: to establish a permanent Investigating Directorate, to ensure transparency in the appointment of the head of prosecutions, and to strengthen the capacity of the NPA.

Deputy Director General at the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, Kalay Pillay, explains The current NPA Amendment Bill before Parliament only deals with one of the three aspects.

The DA says an investigating directorate that falls under the National Prosecuting Authority will not be independent, citing the fate of the former Investigating Directorate, the Directorate for Special Operations, as well as the Scorpions.

The closing date for submissions on the National Prosecuting Authority Amendment Bill is October 6, 2023.