Batohi calls for the permanence of NPA’s Investigating Directorate
Batohi was briefing Parliament on Wednesday about investigations into state-owned entities like Eskom and Transnet as well as the dire skills shortage.
CAPE TOWN - Prosecutions boss Shamila Batohi called for the quick development of legislation to make the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA)’s Investigating Directorate (ID) permanent like its predecessor the Scorpions.
She said the permanence will also ensure stability within the ID, which was established in the office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions through a presidential proclamation in 2019.
Batohi was briefing Parliament on Wednesday about investigations into state-owned entities like Eskom and Transnet as well as the dire skills shortage.
Shamila Batohi said the NPA has been preparing for the possibility of making the ID permanent and is engaging the justice department.
It will be similar to the Scorpions that were disbanded by Parliament through amendments to the NPA and South African Police Service Acts.
Batohi wants Parliament to do the same and pass legislation to make it a permanent elite crime-fighting unit.
"What needs to be done with regard to the permanence, the first thing that needs to be done we need to get the legislation through."
Batohi said the ID will be similar to its predecessor but will investigate corruption.
"The methodology will certainly be the same, but the one big difference is that this is specifically, the ID will investigate corruption matters and not the broader mandate of organised crime that the scorpions had."
She said organised crime was a serious problem in the country and the government needed to come up with high-level strategies and the right skills to deal with it.
