In our crime-ridden country, can we afford to have our crime-fighting units' budgets cut?
We often hear that there are two certainties in this life - death and taxes. I am going to add that if you live in South Africa, there is another certainty - crime.
We've all either seen it or experienced it or know someone who has been the victim of crime. Each day we get to hear just how far up corruption and crime goes as testimony from the Zondo Commission plays out on our television screens. The last thing we want to hear is that funding to our country's law enforcement agencies is being curtailed. But that is exactly what is happening.
A broken economy broken even further by a global pandemic is being blamed for the latest cuts.
In this week's Friday Briefing we examine the impact less funding will have on the justice system.
News24's political journalist Jan Gerber argues that we cannot take what the Ramaphosa administration says seriously, if, on the one hand, it declares that it wants to confront crime and corruption, while on the other hand, takes away money from crime-fighting units.
News24's legal writer Karyn Maughan examines how government's cash crunch obstructs the state capture investigations. We also have researcher and economist Antony Altbeker analysing the figures to understand if there really is less money for the NPA and the police following the latest announcement.
News24's James de Villiers spoke to four experts to get their views on whether smaller budgets for the police, Hawks, SIU and the NPA have an impact on service. Finally UFS professor of Anthropology, Theodore Petrus, writes about how he thinks the budget cuts will embolden the criminal community.
Best,
Vanessa Banton
Opinions editor
Cyril Ramaphosa's fight against corruption can't be taken seriously while budgets are cut
President Cyril Ramaphosa likes to tell us that it's a priority for his administration to fight corruption. But the budget cuts to corruption-busting entities suggest otherwise, writes parliamentary reporter Jan Gerber.
Zondo Commission cash crunch puts brakes on state capture prosecutions
The non-payment of key Zondo Commission investigators and staff has had a devastating impact on South Africa’s most ambitious corruption inquiry. It also blocks crucial prosecutions from going ahead, writes Karyn Maughan.
Justice system budget cuts: A look at some of the nuances
Precarious public finances have led to a decrease in funding for crime-fighting bodies but, as Antony Altbeker writes, it is unclear if this will lead to less productivity or whether Treasury will say performance must improve before more budgets are increased again.
Could NPA, Hawks, SIU and police budget cuts hurt prosecutions? We ask four experts
James de Villiers spoke to four experts about whether budgets at the NPA, Hawks, police and SIU can hurt prosecutions, or whether it can actually help to improve law enforcement.
Law enforcement budget cuts could embolden those who would see citizens living in fear
The wholesale slashing of the budgets of several key law enforcement agencies is concerning because of the impact that this will have on these institutions' ability to carry out their mandate, writes Theodore Petrus.
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