President Cyril Ramaphosa has reiterated his announcement that the Investigating Directorate (ID) within the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) will be strengthened in order to increase the fight against corruption.
The President addressed the nation through his weekly newsletter on Monday.
“Over many years corruption has systematically weakened the state, damaged key institutions and eroded the country’s social fabric. The Constitutional Court has said that corruption is “the antithesis of the open, accountable, democratic government required by the Constitution”.
“Working together with other multidisciplinary units such as the Anti-Corruption Task Team, the Fusion Centre and others, we will strengthen the Investigating Directorate in its work at the frontline in the fight against corruption and state capture,” he said.
The President also doubled down on his announcement during the State of the Nation Address (SONA) last week that the ID will be made a permanent feature of the NPA.
“This is so that it can deepen its collaboration with other entities in the criminal justice system and enrol more cases in the courts. Consultations are underway on the legislation to give effect to this and to prescribe its powers and safeguard its independence. This also has implications for its funding and operational capacity.
“Once it’s made permanent, the Investigating Directorate will be able to improve the capacity of its existing team of specialist investigators and prosecutors and recruit new ones. We expect that 2023 will be a year of increased activity for the Investigating Directorate as it builds on the sterling work it has done so far.”
The President praised the directorate’s work in preparing cases of “serious corruption including emanating from the State Capture Commission, for trial” as part of the NPA’s plan to deal with state capture and for leading the way in innovation.
“It has been leading an innovative approach to ensuring accountability from those implicated in state capture. As part of its ongoing criminal investigation into complex corruption at Eskom, the NPA’s Investigating Directorate has finalised a comprehensive settlement agreement with an international company, ABB, to pay over R2.5 billion in punitive reparations to South Africa.
“The payment will be made into the Criminal Asset Recovery Account. This is reflective of the NPA’s two-pronged strategy to deal with corruption through prosecuting perpetrators and recovering stolen money,” he said.
Turning the tide on corruption
Reflecting on his first SONA in February 2018, President Ramaphosa recalled government’s vow to “turn the tide on corruption” by strengthening law enforcement agencies and safeguarding their independence.
“The first significant step in this effort was the establishment of a Special Tribunal to enable the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) to expedite civil claims against corrupt individuals and to recover stolen funds.
“The Special Tribunal is a court dedicated to proceedings arising from SIU investigations. This strategy of combining investigations with civil litigation has enabled the SIU and the Special Tribunal to recover stolen money.
“As of March 2022, the value of civil litigation referred to the High Courts and the Special Tribunal amounted to R75 billion. This is roughly equivalent to what was budgeted for the child support grant this year. Currently, around 119 cases worth more than R12 billion are enrolled at the Special Tribunal,” he said.
The President said South Africa and government has the capability and capacity to rebuild institutions of law and order.
“We set up world class institutions before. Now is the time to rebuild our institutions so that they are able to stand the test of time and advance the values and vision of our constitutional democracy,” President Ramaphosa concluded.