The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) reported those numbers to Parliament, emphasizing at the outset that the conviction rate in many crime fields was as high as 95% in 2019 - 2% higher than last year.
The NPA said that ‘17 persons were convicted of corruption where the amount involved is more than R5 million with 210 government officials and 143 private persons were convicted for offences related to corruption.'
Although the results speak for themselves, Shamila Bahoti, the current NPA chief, said that even confronted with numerous challenges on the ground, prosecutors were able to successfully convict them, which in her opinion will preserve the credibility of the NPA and restore investor confidence in the state and state authorities.
In the report, the NPA also boasted efficiency in the field of organized crime, where the conviction rate was 94% - in other words, the body was able to successfully conclude 296 cases out of 310 during the past financial year.
Despite these numbers and the recent financial injection, the organization is still facing financial crisis and Batohi asked Parliament for more money for the agency, saying that the lack of money affected the morale of employees.
“It is hugely important that we recapacitate the NPA. We need more money for the NPA. Those who wanted to fight the good fight had a really difficult time,” the NPA chief said.
According to the NPA, the Ministry of Finance will over the next three years cut the budget of state institutions by R25 million ($1,626,760.74)
