DA slams NPA’s ‘systemic collapse,’ pushes ‘Scorpions 2.0’ to prosecute State Capture

Key topics:NPA failures blamed on skills drain, budget cuts.DA proposes independent Anti-Corruption Commission as solution.Political resistance hampers urgent reform and accountability efforts..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here.Support South Africa’s bastion of independent journalism, offering balanced insights on investments, business, and the political economy, by joining BizNews Premium. Register here.If you prefer WhatsApp for updates, sign up to the BizNews channel here.The auditorium doors will open for BNIC#2 on 10 September 2025 in Hermanus. For more information and tickets, click here..By Kerry Lanaghan.Listen to this story instead:.The Democratic Alliance (DA) has issued a scathing assessment of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), citing systemic collapse, prosecutorial incompetence, and a lack of political will as reasons why state capture perpetrators remain unpunished. At a press briefing held this week by the party's justice cluster, DA leaders outlined a comprehensive set of proposals to address what they describe as a growing national crisis in law enforcement and accountability.A failing institutionOpening the briefing, DA representatives noted that while many prosecutors in the NPA work diligently, the institution itself is unravelling. They highlighted a string of prosecutorial failures in high-profile corruption cases, ranging from the collapsed Estina Dairy case to the withdrawn charges against former minister Zizi Kodwa, as evidence of a “systemic breakdown.”Most recently, the NPA botched the extradition of Maradi Tzolotl, former assistant to ex-Free State Premier Ace Magashule, by incorrectly applying for the provincial Director of Public Prosecutions instead of the Justice Minister, as required. The Supreme Court of Appeal ruled against the NPA, allowing Tzolotl to evade trial. DA officials warned that the ruling could jeopardise up to 89 pending extraditions.“The mistakes keep happening with monotonous regularity,” said one DA speaker. “This leads to a broader failure to prosecute large-scale corruption. Not a single politically connected person has been jailed for state capture.”Root causes: Skills drain and budget cutsThe DA attributed many of the NPA’s woes to a decade of hollowing out during the state capture years. Skilled prosecutors left the public service in droves, and a new generation lacks mentorship and experience. One DA MP stated, “It takes 10 years to make a good prosecutor, and 20 for a seasoned specialist. That pipeline has been broken.”The budgetary crisis is equally dire. Year-on-year cuts have left the NPA unable to retain staff or afford expert witnesses and forensic audits, essential in prosecuting complex financial crimes. Cyber forensic analysis alone can cost R10–50 million per case, beyond the current means of the NPA or SAPS. “The NPA is fatally hampered by underfunding, which indicates a lack of political will,” a DA member said.Scorpions 2.0: The DA’s legislative solutionTo address these failings, the DA has tabled the Constitution 21st Amendment Bill, known informally as the “Scorpions 2.0 Bill.” The bill proposes the creation of a new, independent Chapter 9 institution: an Anti-Corruption Commission with full powers to investigate and prosecute high-level corruption and organised crime. It would be independent from executive interference, report to Parliament, and have its budget set by Treasury, not the Justice Department.“This isn’t just another directorate. It’s a permanent, independent institution designed to succeed where the NPA has failed,” said the bill’s sponsor. “It would have the security of tenure that the Scorpions lacked, immune from political whim.”The DA also proposed constitutional reforms to change how the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP) is appointed and removed, calling for a parliamentary process to replace the current presidential prerogative.Capacity-building and oversightAdditional measures proposed include:Implementing “watching brief” units, like those piloted in the Western Cape, to monitor prosecutions and police conduct.Conducting a performance audit of the NPA by the Auditor-General or Public Service Commission.Creating a parliamentary subcommittee for NPA oversight and mandating regular public reporting on conviction data and turnaround times.Launching a pilot program allowing final-year LLB students to assist prosecutors, easing the burden on overworked legal teams.Political resistance and a plea for public supportThe DA acknowledged that the bill has met strong resistance in Parliament, particularly from the ANC, MK Party, and EFF - parties the DA accused of obstructing reform to avoid potential prosecution. “If we win just one major case, it could change everything,” said a DA MP. “But without bold reform, those victories will remain out of reach.”Concluding the briefing, the party called on South Africans to support the bill publicly and lobby their representatives. “This is the only real shot we have at ending impunity for grand corruption,” they said.The full press briefing can be viewed here:

DA slams NPA’s ‘systemic collapse,’ pushes ‘Scorpions 2.0’ to prosecute State Capture

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