2. The Committee was informed that the NPA's current compensation of employee's budget for 2012/13 is under severe strain: the NPA is not able to fill any vacancies at present; nor is it able to provide prosecutors for new courts. (The Committee notes that the NPA has 'solved' the problem of overall high vacancy rates by no longer counting posts for which it has no funds, reducing the overall vacancy rate from 15% for 2011/12 to 0.3% this year). The NPA requests an additional amount of R755 million over the medium term for the funding of additional capacity, which the Committee supports. The Committee is concerned that the budget cuts will adversely affect the ability of the NPA to perform its key function of prosecuting. 3. The Committee is concerned at the high number of acting positions within the NPA, including that of the acting CEO. The Committee urges that the NPA (and, in the case of the position of the CEO, the Director-General: Justice and Constitutional Development) ensure that these positions are filled on a permanent basis as a matter of urgency.