NPA to seek law change for greater control of its budget, Andy Mothibi says

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) is preparing legislative amendments that could give it greater control over its budget, National Director of Public Prosecutions Advocate Andy Mothibi said. He told delegates at the 19th Annual Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE) Africa Conference and Exhibition that a draft amendment to the NPA Act could be ready by November.

Move toward financial and operational independence

Mothibi said the proposed changes aim to strengthen the NPA’s financial and operational independence and give it greater control over decisions affecting its resources. He explained that the NPA currently operates as a programme within the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, which leaves it without full control over its budget.

He said the amendments would seek to have the NPA operate as a scheduled entity under the Public Finance Management Act, a status that would give it greater responsibility over its financial and operational decisions. “We are at the stage where we are developing a draft amendment to the NPA Act, which we will introduce. We’ll have it ready probably by November,” Mothibi said.

Process and engagements under way

A project has been established to develop the proposed changes, and a finance team is engaging National Treasury on the process, Mothibi said. He also told the conference he had met Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi and Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana to discuss the NPA’s funding requirements.

Funding tied to prosecuting serious crime and corruption

Mothibi said the NPA is assessing the skills, equipment and other resources it needs to strengthen its ability to prosecute serious crime and corruption. “Fighting crime and corruption is a priority area in government, and those who play a role in this have to be adequately budgeted for,” he said.

He added that greater financial control would help the NPA make decisions more quickly and improve its ability to plan and manage its resources, citing the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), where he previously served as head, as an example of the benefits of operating as a separate entity.

Prosecutor-guided investigations and restoring confidence

Mothibi outlined the NPA’s use of prosecutor-guided investigations, where prosecutors work alongside investigators from an earlier stage of a case to avoid delays caused by incomplete dockets. He said the model is being used in investigations linked to the Madlanga Commission, with dedicated prosecutors assigned to the task team. “We allocated dedicated prosecutors to the Madlanga task team that investigates. And we have seen really cogent results,” he said.

He said the success of the approach would ultimately be measured by whether it leads to successful prosecutions. Mothibi also said the NPA was working to restore confidence in the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption, including through a research project that had already been announced.

Call for cross‑professional cooperation

Mothibi urged fraud examiners and other professionals to assist law enforcement by identifying criminal activity, tracing financial transactions and helping turn information into evidence that could be presented in court. He warned that corruption and maladministration continued to damage state institutions by diverting public resources and weakening public trust, and said organised crime was becoming more sophisticated.

Concluding his remarks at the ACFE conference, Mothibi said he wanted to return next year “with tangible improvements to report rather than continuing to raise concerns about the NPA’s resources.”