Shamila Batohi affirms NPA’s independence
Shamila Batohi affirms NPA’s independence (Camera & editing: Shadwyn Dickinson)
National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) Shamila Batohi said on Tuesday there has been no interruption of the National Prosecuting Authority’s (NPA’s) work, affirming that the entity operates independently.
Batohi was speaking during the Institute for Security Studies’ webinar on future-proofing the NPA, where she pointed to the importance of constitutional independence.
She relayed a talk with President Cyril Ramaphosa, wanting assurance that there would never be any interference by him in the work of the NPA.
"...and I can say this without fear of any contradiction that up until today, there has been no interference at all in the work, from any executive members," she asserted.
Batohi was appointed to head the NPA in 2018 by Ramaphosa and her term office will end in 2026. She is the first woman to be appointed permanently as NDPP.
She said functional independency is important, where the director is able to deliver effectively on their mandate.
However, she pointed out that financial and operational indecency has undermined the leadership of the NPA and has made it difficult to ensure that it can effectively implement many of its strategies.
Meanwhile, she highlighted the role her office played in obtaining the budgets needed for the NPA’s work, saying they forced themselves in budgets conversations.
"But, fortunately, we have been with the Minister of Finance because we have been engaging directly and we were doing our own budget advocacy – forcing our way in. We were able to get the budget that we need," she said.
Batohi spoke about the process of appointing a national director, describing it as problematic and highlighting the need for amendments to legislation.
"Maybe you need some safeguards like legislating a particular process, maybe in the NPA Act that still gives the President the ultimate decision, but it has to be rational decision," she said.
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