Monday, 15 November 1999
Commercial criminals be warned - the Government means business and is firmly committed to the effective and swift handling of perpetrators of commercial acts of crime.
This is the message from the National Director for Public Prosecutions Mr Bulelani Ngcuka at the official opening of the new commercial crime court in Pretoria on Monday, 15 November 1999.
Commercial crime is costing South Africa billions a year. The growing impact this has on business and the reduction in the levels of international investment, initiated a collective effort from the Office of the National Director of Public Prosecutions, the Departments of Justice and Safety & Security and Business Against Crime (BAC).
It is clear that there has been a disregard for the law due to the inability of the system to deal effectively with criminals, that crime syndicates thrive without fear of prosecution and that there is a total sense of desperation amongst victims.
A specialised unit focussing on commercial crime has been established in Pretoria. The unit operates as a team and comprises of the Pretoria Fraud, Syndicate Fraud and Commercial Crime Units. They have been co-located with the Commercial Crime Prosecutors.
The first milestone of this initiative is the establishment of the two new permanent dedicated court facilities which will only hear commercial crime cases.
The main objective of the initiative is to focus on the development of the people and systems in order to achieve improvements in performance and quality of service delivery. The performance measurements include an increase in the number of cases heard, a reduction in case time and the resulting reduction in cost, the removal of bottlenecks and backlogs and an increase in the number of convictions with appropriate sentences.
The Pretoria-based courts started functioning on Monday, 8 November.
The use of highly sophisticated information technology systems by commercial criminals has necessitated the need for greater knowledge and experience within the new court process. Advanced technology will be applied and will help investigators, prosecutors, magistrates and judges build up a reservoir of knowledge and expertise in commercial crime.
The initiative will be extended countrywide once the new working methods have settled and planned implementation starts materialising.
ENDS ISSUED BY THE COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION OF THE NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC PROSECUTIONS ON 15 NOVEMBER 1999
Enquiries: Sipho Ngwema Jan Swanepoel NDPP Specialised Commercial Crime Unit Tel: 012/321 9988 / 012/322 7426 Cell: 082 826 0391 2
1