Whitney Mabiya:
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) should be established as a Chapter 9 agency, similar to the Public Protector and Auditor General offices, according to a demand made by the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF).
The party claimed that this would particularly bar any political interference from the ministry of justice and the executive branch.
Various political parties presented their perspectives at the National Assembly’s Thursday discussion on the necessity of assessing the contribution made by Chapter 9 institutions to the advancement of constitutional democracy.
There have been allegations of political influence regarding the leadership of multiple national directors of public prosecutions within the NPA.
With the exception of Bulelani Ngcuka, who served for six years, no head of the NPA has fulfilled a full ten-year tenure.
In light of this, EFF MP Busisiwe Mkhwebane asserted that the NPA ought to have been reorganised as a Chapter 9 organisation, akin to the Public Protector, and that it shouldn’t have had reported on or been swayed by the minister.
“The National Prosecuting Authority should be a Chapter 9 institution so that it can also be not accountable to the minister and any intervention which the executive might have.”
It is Mkhwebane who has harmed the prestige of certain Chapter 9 institutions, such as the Public Protector, according to Democratic Alliance MP Glynnis Breytenbach.
“However, the reputation of this office has been undermined severely over the last seven years over the lack of impartiality, objectivity, and inability or unwillingness of the erstwhile office bearer to always act in accordance with the Constitution and the law.”
The majority of Chapter 9 institutions require additional funding, according to MPs, in order to increase their capacity to advance democracy.
