Pretoria – The Investigating Directorate (ID) has enrolled 32 cases, involving 187 accused individuals, who have appeared in court for alleged State Capture-related crimes, the Department of Justice revealed Monday.
Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola revealed these numbers during his opening speech of the Countering the Corrupt Reform of the Criminal Justice Administration in South Africa Hybrid two-day conference.
“This is not something to be scoffed at, it is proof that accountability is happening as we speak,” said Minister Lamola.
“This is the same work that has led to R12, 5 billion being recovered.
“Furthermore, the impact of the performance of law enforcement agencies can be felt in all areas of our democracy.
“When law enforcement agencies fail to perform we are judged as a country by international financial institutions such as rating agencies, the Financial Action Task Force, and so on.”
Minister Lamola said the government was now in a position to act on the recommendations of the Judicial Commission into allegations of State Capture, Corruption, and Fraud in the Public Sector.
“I am pleased to highlight a few areas where significant progress has been made to date – the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the ID,” said Minister Lamola
“We have made significant progress in renewing the NPA; the reinstatement of the aspirant prosecutors program has seen more than one thousand new employees brought into the fold over the past three years.”
He said to ensure that the independence and the security of tenure of the incumbents in the ID were strengthened a new bill was undergoing internal consultative processes between relevant departments.
Minister Lamola said this work builds on President Cyril Ramaphosas pronouncement in October as part of the actions “we will undertake” to implement the recommendations in the judicial commissions report.
“In the interim whilst the consultative processes are underway, we have assigned peace officer powers to the ID this will enable them to arrest people, take statements, conduct search and seizure operations,” Minister Lamola said.
Turning to whistleblowers, Minister Lamola said: “I would like to pay tribute to all the Whistleblowers who have come forward to reveal the underbelly of unethical conduct and corruption in the public and private sector.
“You are the true embodiment of the famous saying by British philosopher John Stuart Mill: ‘Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends than that good men should look on and do nothing’.
Minister Lamola added: “You are the good people who refused to look on and do nothing. In many cases, this has come at a great cost to yourselves and your family.
“The level of reprisal which whistleblowers are being subjected to is proving to be counter-intuitive to the laudable goals of whistleblowing, which are in the main to mainstream integrity and expose unethical organisational cultures through detection and protection.”
The minister said whistleblowing was an integral part of any anti-corruption framework.
“Quite clearly in our context there appears to be a gap in the in overall intention of what the Public Disclosures Act seeks to do,” Minister Lamola said.
“One of the gaps we have identified is the fact companies or government departments who are implicated by whistleblowers are not held accountable for victimising whistleblowers.
“The second gap we have identified is how we can transition whistleblowers into witnesses in criminal cases where possible.
“In direct response to the recommendation by the judicial commission, comparative research is being done on the incentivisation of whistleblowers”.
Minister Lamola said the review of SAs anti-corruption architecture discussion document which highlights the mandates of the various entities engaged in the fight against corruption, compares this with comparative international benchmarks and points to an outdated legal framework.
“Consideration is also being given to the creation and modalities of an anti-corruption entity,” said Minister Lamola.
“This work will be the culmination of research and discussions that have been ongoing for the past two years.”
The South Africa Hybrid Conference is being held from 7 to 8 February 2023, at the University of Pretoria.
