Following Treasury’s decision to prioritise the fight against corruption and gender-based violence in this year’s budget, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola said he was ready to ensure the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) was battle-ready.
Finance Minister Tito Mboweni presented new budget allocations for the NPA, the priority investigative unit (the Hawks) and other law enforcement agencies, which were expected to tackle the massive backlogs in corruption cases.
The state has also committed to establish and capacitate 58 sexual violence courts in the country.
Lamola said Treasury’s announcements came as a big relief to the department and its agencies, which had been struggling to deal with complex crimes.
“This is a good start for the renewal, revival and rebuilding of the National Prosecuting Authority and also the agencies that are supposed to deal with that, including the Hawks.”
He has also welcomed the allocation of funds for the formation of courts and units to deal with gender-based violence.
“It’s in addition to the ones we have already done, which are aimed at being victim-friendly, where the victim can testify without coming into contact with the offender, which has proven to be working.”
The country’s women have been protesting for years now demanding government intervention and complaining about a lack of facilities and skills in the policing and prosecution system to deal with the crisis.
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