The National Prosecuting Authority's Investigating Directorate is battling resource constraints and a high turnover of staff. Public hearings on the NPA Amendment Bill, which would make the anti-corruption body permanent, are due to begin this week.

'A patchwork of interdepartmental secondments" and short-term contracts have left the National Prosecuting Authority's (NPA's) Investigating Directorate (ID) limping its way through State Capture-related prosecutions.

In 2022, the NPA warned that the ID's operating model was unsustainable.

"The most fundamental challenge to the effective functioning of the ID is the legislative and regulatory framework that prevents the ID from exercising the police powers required for effective investigations. This creates a dependency on SAPS to assist the ID through secondments," the ID said in its 2021/22 annual report.

The seconded staff are not completely free from duties at the original employers, meaning they are often juggling existing cases with complex State Capture matters.

"The secondment of staff is a complex arrangement and not the best solution for the success of the ID. As such, the ID is forced to function on an unsustainable operating model that is based on a patchwork of interdepartmental secondments, internal NPA reassignment of prosecutors, short-term contracted administrative staff and external service providers," the NPA said in the 2021/2022 annual report.

"Short-term contracts have resulted in a high staff turnover as contracted employees leave the ID as soon as they secure jobs with tenure. This has resulted...