Independence and secure tenure of office are not possible in any unit within the NPA because it has neither of these prescribed attributes 05 October 2023 - 04:00 Your comprehensive coverage of the views of South Africa’s CEOs (Cover Story, September 21-27) — those...
Remarks to the Interfaith Forum on Monday, 9 October 2023
This forum has been called in response to the state of crisis in which our country finds itself today. I do not have the expertise to discuss many of the elements of that crisis. There is one, however, in which I have had experience over the past two decades - grand...
A not so confidential memo to the leadership of the National Prosecuting Authority.
As the leaders of the thousands of prosecutors who make it their daily task to present the state’s case to the criminal courts of the land, you will be all too aware of the oath of office that binds you and your staff, as set out in section 32 of the enabling...
Submission to the Justice Portfolio Committee by Accountability Now
In re: The NPA Act Amendment Bill introducing the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (the IDAC Bill) Introduction Accountability Now welcomes the opportunity to make this submission. The IDAC Bill is the product of the work of the ministry of justice...
LETTER: The NDP: read it and weep
Voters must act when government lacks political will to tackle cadre deployment and graft 03 October 2023 - 18:15 When it was launched in August 2012 the National Development Plan (NDP) used the slogan “Our Future — Make It Work”. Prepared by the National Planning...
The political will to get real about countering serious corruption is what’s needed, not obfuscation
By Paul Hoffman It is not for Deputy Justice Minister John Jeffrey, or anyone else in government, to second-guess the binding decision of the highest court in the land when it comes to the establishment of a single agency to combat corruption. Listen to this article...
Shamila Batohi risks second Waterloo over proposed crime-fighting unit
By Paul Hoffman The NDPP has shown surprising support for the move to establish a ‘stopgap’ crime-fighting unit in the form of the proposed Investigating Directorate Against Corruption. If it does indeed come into being, a simple majority in Parliament could see her...
Under the Swinging Arch
Link to view or download the pdf: Under the swinging Arch
Expect nothing from the president: no contrition, renewal, reform or recovery of loot.
After a spell as Secretary General of the ANC and a sabbatical in the world of business, Cyril Ramaphosa served as deputy president of the ANC from 2012 until Jacob Zuma was deposed on 14 February 2018. During this period state capture was in full swing. Ramaphosa was...
The IDAC bill reveals Cabinet’s desire for hegemony and seeks to trump good governance.
After years in the making, the structure of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption has, on 29 August 2023, been published. [ https://www.justice.gov.za/legislation/bills/202308-NPA-Bill.pdf. ] Be afraid, very afraid, that what has been made visible at long...
A not so confidential memo to the leadership of the National Prosecuting Authority.
As the leaders of the thousands of prosecutors who make it their daily task to present the state’s case to the criminal courts of the land, you will be all too aware of the oath of office that binds you and your staff, as set out in section 32 of the enabling...
Is the IDAC bill for real or just an ANC pre-election ploy?
On 29 August 2023 the ministry of justice unveiled the text of its answer to the ongoing scourge of serious corruption in SA. What it calls the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) is designed to make the existing ID obsolete by replacing it with what...
A concise history of the relationship between good governance and serious corruption in SA since 1994
As South African voters ponder their political choices on how, and whether, to cast their votes in the 2024 general elections, it is opportune to highlight the relative absence of corruption where there is good governance in the world and the presence of serious...
LETTER: Anticorruption bill is execrable
It fails to create a ‘permanent’ successor to the four-year-old Investigating Directorate 31 August 2023 - 18:40 All lawyers, be they judicial officers, public servants, private practitioners, academics, in business, politics or elsewhere, should cherish the rule of...
LETTER: NPA’s Investigating Directorate upgrade will not fix flaws
23 July 2023 - 16:50 The announcement by justice minister Ronald Lamola that the cabinet intends publishing draft legislation concerning its plan to upgrade the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA’s) Investigating Directorate is unfortunate. It will be...
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