Magistrates are appointed generally at the point that they have acquired at least 5 years post-university experience. In their submission to the Committees the NPA pointed out that a prosecutor with at least five years post-university experience currently earned R139 383 compared to the R313 738 per annum for a similarly qualified magistrate (i.e. a trainee magistrate, without the present proposed salary packages having been taken into account). This amounts to a differential of R174 355, in salaries for lawyers who are equally qualified and experienced. The newly approved allowance for entry level magistrates will increase the already significant salary gap between entry level magistrates and senior prosecutors with five years and more years experience, by approximately R70 000.00. This will have the likely effect of further significantly exacerbating an already existing atmosphere of instability in institutions administering justice. In fact, according to the NPA, they lose between 30 and 40 such experienced prosecutors annually to the magistracy. Considering the further 40 new magistrates posts created in 2005, the prosecuting authority stands to loose a significant number of experienced prosecutors during this period.