It is commendable that candidates for consequential public positions such as head of the National Prosecuting Authority now have to be interviewed in public to allow citizens the chance to assess whether they are suitable for the job. As a result, perceptions often took root, especially when things started to go wrong, that people appointed to high office were politically connected individuals without the requisite skills for the job. This week’s interviews aimed at finding the next National Director of Public Prosecutions have therefore been interpreted as yet another progressive step towards fixing the public service and ensuring that deserving candidates get the top jobs.
As the country’s chief prosecutor, the national director wields enormous power, and the quality of the incumbent can be the difference between victory and defeat in the fight against crime and corruption. Though outgoing national director Shamila Batohi faced an uphill battle in leading a weakened NPA as it attempted to tackle the insidious consequences of state capture, it is probably fair to assess her tenure as largely disappointing. For this reason alone, there is considerable public interest in whether SA’s next national director will prove more effective in bringing wrongdoers to book.
At the end of the first day of interviews, many commentators either complained about being “underwhelmed” by the responses of the candidates or expressed concern that none of them had demonstrated the ability to transform the NPA beyond what it had become under Batohi. At least one political party has threatened to challenge the entire process in court due mainly to the decision to shortlist advocate Menzi Simelane for the position. Simelane’s controversial appointment by then-president Jacob Zuma in 2009 was later invalidated by the Constitutional Court because of the Ginwala Commission’s adverse findings against him about his reliability as a witness.
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