THE National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) will soon be stripped of its "undesirable" powers, according to a briefing document circulated by the government yesterday.
The document details plans to disband the Scorpions and transfer its members to the South African Police Service.
The NPA houses the Scorpions, which are due to be moved to the new National Directorate of Priority Crimes Investigations (DPCI), to be headed by a deputy commissioner of police.
"It is undesirable to have an entity such as the NPA straddling intelligence, investigations and investigations within the realm of liaison with foreign partners. [The] same is true in terms of having relations with private intelligence, investigator(s) and security companies," the document states.
Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula yesterday told a media briefing in Cape Town that, although the DPCI would have powers to summon suspects for interviews, it would not be able to compel them to incriminate themselves.
The NPA Act - under Constitutional Court challenge by ANC veteran Mac Maharaj - allows the Scorpions to summon people for interviews to extract information that could later be used against them in court.
Nqakula's briefing document states: "The DPCI will be invested with the powers that are currently outlined in section 28 of the NPA Act. More importantly, the application of these powers will be properly regulated ... to ensure that no abuse thereof happens.
"In this regard, the very separation of investigations from prosecutions will immediately create the professional distance that should prevent such abuses."
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