COSATU horrified by the inefficiencies in the country’s anti-corruption agencies

21 November 2024

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) is aggrieved by the paralysed capacity cited by the state’s anti-corruption agencies in fulfilling their objectives. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), Special Investigating Unit (SIU) and the Directorate for Priority Crime Investigation (DPCI), commonly known as the Hawks, appeared before Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) and gave progress reports on their investigations and prosecutions.

These organs painted a picture that leaves much to be desired when the country is at odds with corruption levels that are stunting service delivery and slumping development. At the centre of the causes of their inability to operate optimally is the shortage of skills and expertise to yield substantial prosecutions of complex corruption cases.

The Hawks are currently sitting with more than 11,000 commercial and corruption crime matters under investigation while the newly proclaimed Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) is probing 10 major corruption matters involving state-owned entities such as Eskom, Transnet, Denel, SAA and Alexkor.

Of major concern is the practice of having to outsource special skills to crack certain areas of attention. In some cases, these specialised investigations are left idle due to financial constraints. The DPCI as well as the NPA conceded to the outsourcing mentioning serious commercial crimes. Only one percent of the scope of the cases on the NPA’s table, accounted for state capture cases.

While battling skills inefficiencies the NPA has over the past three years however managed to beef up its staff component to strengthen the capacity of its Specialised Commercial Crime unit by increasing the number of officials from 259 to 296.  While this is welcomed, it’s a drop in the ocean if we are to root out the infestation of corruption.

The seesaw performance of these agencies highlights the urgency in their prioritisation, fully capacitating them without any constraints. It should open government’s eyes to what the Federation has repeatedly advised to curb criminal activities robbing the state and taxpayers of their hard-earned money. There will be minimal progress if these calls are not heeded timeously.

Issued by Zanele Sabela, National Spokesperson, COSATU, 21 November 2024