Question NW3797 to the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
23 November 2023 - NW3797
Steenhuisen, Mr JH to ask the Minister of Justice and Correctional Services
Considering that despite the commitment of the President of the Republic, Mr M C Ramaphosa, that all instruments of the State would be used in the fight against corruption, the National Prosecuting Authority has been forced to go cap in hand to him and the Minister of Finance to ask for more money, what has he found to be the reasons that the criminal justice system is perennially underfunded?
Reply:
The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development receives its funding from National Treasury, through a budgetary appropriation process which get voted by Parliament. For the past three financial years (2021/2022, 2022/23 and 2023/24), the NPA received a budget allocation of R4.446 billion, R4.910 billion and R5.407 billion respectively. The above-mentioned allocation includes additional budget amounting to R200 million and R690 million which NPA received in the financial year 2022/23 and 2023/24 respectively, to fund for the Investigative Directorate, contracted specialist prosecution services to assist with complex corruption matters, amongst others. The reasons for inadequate funding for the criminal justice system can be attributed to the country’s limited fiscal resources.