Chairperson, hon Minister, Deputy Minister, comrades, hon members, members of the legal fraternity and the justice family, allow me to follow other members in congratulating both the hon Minister and the hon Deputy Minister on their appointments.
Crime is a national concern and much needs to be done to fight crime and, particularly, all forms of corruption. For the next five years at least crime will be a priority for the ANC. In this regard, the ANC government has as its stated goal, the reduction of serious and violent crime by between 7% and 10% a year. For this reason, we welcome the hon Minster's statement of intent to resolve the serious tension between the National Prosecuting Authority, NPA, and other law enforcement agencies.
The stated vision of the National Prosecuting Authority is justice in our society so that people can live in freedom and security. The National Prosecuting Authority has promised to achieve this by prosecuting without fear, favour or prejudice, and by working with their partners and the public to solve and prevent crime.
Every year, at this time, we pause and reflect on whether the activities of the NPA, its operations and achievements are in keeping with that vision and mission statement. And if so, whether the NPA's strategic objectives have succeeded in guaranteeing the freedom and security of our citizens through fair and effective crime prosecution, and in so doing, contributing to the ANC government's vision of a better for all.
Our struggle for freedom and democracy was also meant to bring about peace, security and stability in our society. An improved quality of life also means improved safety and security for our citizens. To apprehend a person who is in conflict with the law and have him or her appear in a court of law while the prosecutor's case is not well-prepared, would always have the effect of encouraging and promoting the rise in crime.
It is important, therefore, that the National Prosecuting Authority is capacitated, both qualitatively and quantitatively. In this regard, the ANC's 52nd conference resolved that there should be a vigorous recruitment of law graduates, with means devised to retain them in the NPA.
The review of the criminal justice system makes the following recommendations for the NPA to attain maximum efficiency: Firstly, the retention of skilled and experienced prosecutors; secondly, prosecutor- guided investigations should be put into effect; and thirdly, establishing a sifting mechanism in designated courts to identify trial-ready case dockets in conjunction with senior detectives.
I want to shift briefly from my prepared notes. I recall a delegation of the Justice Portfolio Committee visiting the Free State and that delegation was headed by the hon Deputy Minister while he was a member of the Justice Portfolio Committee. Two magistrates' courts were visited, Kroonstad and Bethlehem, where the system was in place and being implemented, and I want to say without fear of contradiction that it worked there. A senior police officer sat down with the chief prosecutor at a particular time every day, sifted through the case dockets and determined which were ready to go before a magistrate. Those that were not ready were taken up by the senior police investigator with the relevant investigating officer for him or her to correct. Finally, the criminal justice review system calls for an increase in the capacity of the prosecuting services.
The mandate of the NPA is to protect victims of sexual violence; to prosecute and convict sexual offenders; to investigate and combat serious organised crime; to remove the profit element from crime; and to protect state and prosecution witnesses. To this end, the NPA's performance in 2007- 08 has been largely satisfactory. However, there are some serious reservations we wish to bring to the fore.
Most of the NPA's business units either matched or exceeded their performance targets. We repeat once more that the successes of the Asset Forfeiture Unit continue to impress. The conviction rate remained high, but fewer cases were finalised with lower court hours. Moreover, the case backlog figures remained high in regional courts.
What is of most concern, however, is the fact that the NPA received a qualified audit report as at March 2008 from the Auditor-General's office. This comprised of: Firstly, irregular, fruitless and wasteful expenditure; secondly, irregularities regarding tangible assets and intangible assets; thirdly, inadequate or lack of leave policies and procedures; and fourthly, financial management limitations.
Chairperson, I want to put forward a proposal that we, in this Parliament, start adopting a zero-tolerance approach when Auditor-General's reports are tabled before this House and such reports are received by parliamentary committees. We can no longer continue calling these people before Parliament to answer questions and then in the following year, the Auditor- General simply repeats what he did the previous year. Quite clearly, the NPA has delivered and is delivering on its mandate, but the weaknesses of this organisation are glaring. The NPA is an institution that requires close monitoring and oversight by Parliament to ensure the elimination of these weaknesses.
I very seldom find myself agreeing with the hon Koos van der Merwe. Today I am doing so with regard to his reference to judges who reserve judgement; and in this case I want to put before the House the case of the hon Ebrahim Ebrahim, and I hope in doing so, he does not take offence.
As you all know, the hon Ebrahim Ebrahim was the victim of unlawful kidnapping and subsequent torture by the apartheid state security apparatus. He took the matter to court for redress and the court at that time reserved judgment. The relevant judge eventually retired while judgment was still reserved. One trusts that the proposed code of conduct referred to by the hon Minister will seek to address matters of this nature.
Finally, the National Prosecuting Authority is a strategic asset. As such, every effort must be made by all of us to ensure that it carries out its mandate with optimal efficiency. Thank you. [Applause.]