The Public Service Association (PSA) in the Northern Cape says the announcement of further major budget cuts for the next three years at the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development will affect their members.
The PSA maintains that the cuts will result in prosecutors being overworked and underpaid.
The union believes that the budget cuts would also affect the internship programme, known as the aspirant prosecutor programme, which recruits law graduates.
PSA Provincial Manager Steve Ledibane says the programme helped to alleviate the workload of their members.
Ledibane says, “The programme for the aspirant prosecutors is going to come to an end in January 2024, which will mean 23, 22 people will not be available to the system unless the employer, the NPA (National Prosecution Authority) decides to absorb them, it’s a big problem to have that number excluded from the system because it means cases are now going to be remanded and people are going to stand longer in the prisons still waiting for their case.”
The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says the budget cuts for the next three years will have an impact on them.
NPA’s Acting Deputy Director General for Corporate Services Bulelwa Makeke says the cuts will also affect the salaries of the existing staff.
“Further major budget cuts for the next three years have been announced for the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development which also then affects the NPA. The severe budget cut has a devastating effect on the NPA to the extent that it will be a struggle to even cover the salaries of the existing staff.”
PSA in N Cape calls on government to address challenges facing NPA:
