DA criticises Ramaphosa's panel selection to nominate next NDPP

The Democratic Alliance (DA) has criticised President Cyril Ramaphosa's panel selection to nominate the next national director of public prosecutions (NDPP), saying it lacked the necessary legal expertise.

Ramaphosa announced the panel to interview candidates on Tuesday, which will be led by the justice minister and include the chairpersons of two Chapter Nine institutions, the auditor-general and two lawyers.

But DA MP Glynnis Breytenbach said it was a major shortcoming that the interviewing panel did not contain criminal justice and prosecutorial expertise.

National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) head, Shamila Batohi, won’t get to serve out the ten-year term provided for in the Constitution, owing to reaching retirement age in January.

She was the first NDPP to be appointed after an open interviewing process in 2017, facing a panel led by the former Energy Minister Jeff Radebe and which included five representatives from the legal fraternity, including the general council of the bar and the law society.

The panel to nominate the next NPA head willbe chaired by Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi and include the chairpersons of the SA Human Rights Commission, the Commission of Gender Equality, and the Public Service Commission.

The auditor-general and two representatives from two lawyers’ associations [the Black Lawyers' Association and the National Association of Democratic Lawyers] will round out the panel.

But Breytenbach has questioned the value these organisations will lend to the process, pointing out that it does not contain criminal justice legal experts.

"How can a panel devoid of any prosecutorial expertise nominate candidates for the most important prosecutorial position in South Africa?" Breytenbach has questioned.

The president has set the panel a three-month deadline to call for nominations, shortlist, vet and interview candidates before submitting three names to him for consideration.