Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola has said that State efforts to curb fraud and corruption are beginning to yield significant progress.

He presented a political overview to Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Justice and Correctional Services on Thursday, which focused on the Annual Reports of departments and entities under the Minister’s authority.

These department include Correctional Services, Justice and Constitutional Development, Legal Aid South Africa and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). His overview also included reports concerning the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), the Office of the Chief Justice and the Department of Correctional Services.

Lamola said at the start of the sixth administration, government’s aim was to strengthen the NPA’s human and financial capacity.

Transparency International has made an observation that corruption increases inequality, decreases popular accountability and political responsiveness, while producing rising frustration and hardship among citizens, who are likely to accept or demand hard-handed and illiberal tactics.

“Those tactics shift the blame for economic insecurity and political decline onto immigrants or other minority groups, and onto economic and political elites, who must, the theory goes, be dealt with swiftly and decisively. The rule of law and liberal values of tolerance and human dignity then become obstacles to needed change,” he stated.

The Specialised Commercial Crimes Unit has finalised about 380 cases with 344 convictions, a conviction rate of 90.5%. The number of government officials convicted of corruption increased by 38.4%, from 86 to 119, year-on-year.  Lamola revealed that prosecutions in the private sector had also improved by 39.5%, from 147 to 205 people convicted.

“The number of escapes has decreased significantly from 117 in the 2020/21 financial year to 22 in the 2021/22 financial year which translates to a decrease of 95 escapes (81%). The 22 escapes reported in the 2021/22 financial year is the lowest recorded number of escapes in the past 27 years. As at 31 March 2022, the inmate population was made up of 96 079 sentenced offenders, 47 020 remand detainees, 123 state patients and 1 mental health care user,” he said.

To further strengthen the justice and corrections systems and workflows, senior vacancies in the NPA have been filled and the next phase is to intensify the skill set of prosecutors and police officers. The Justice Department is also looking to employ data analysts, forensic analysts and cybercrime experts.

“Progress in the capacity of the NPA to date is demonstrated by several seminal cases which are before the courts for prosecution. These cases feature prominent South Africans, multinational companies, and recent white-collar crime syndicates. Our country’s prosecutors have shown great bravery and tenacity for justice,” Lamola said.