This is the picture that emerged after the Department of Justice and its entities – notably the corruption fighters, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Public Protector – appeared before the Portfolio Committee on Justice over the past month to present their annual performance plans and budgets.
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Acting director-general of the Department of Justice JB Skosana told the committee on Friday a figure of R1.7 billion is being "bandied about" as a budget cut for an adjusted budget to finance the government's response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to the department's presentation to the committee, the budget cut can have the following effects:
The department further expects a budget cut to hinder Legal Aid SA's ability provide legal representation for the indigent and vulnerable citizens, negatively impact the SIU's performance, the response to fraud and corruption in the state, and to render the Public Protector unable to meet contractual obligations and service delivery targets.
He said the Public Protector would not be able to implement its targets for the 2020/2021 financial year if the budget was cut, adding it was not in a position to absorb any budget cuts and this had been communicated to the Treasury.
Civil society organisation Corruption Watch expressed its deep concern that budgets could lead to reduced funding for the SIU and NPA after approached for comment by News24.
