The Attorney General of the Republic (PGR), Beatriz Buchili, called on Wednesday in Maputo for more staff, budget and infrastructure for the National Criminal Investigation Service (SERNIC).

According to Buchili, due to its paramilitary nature and its role as an auxiliary to justice agencies in the fight against organized and transnational crime, SERNIC needs qualified personnel and financial strength.

"One of these demands has to do with the shortage of qualified human resources and financial resources, especially in the operational and criminal investigation components, in order to speed up the collection and processing of evidence and quality procedural processing," he said.

SERNIC also lacks staff capable of covering the body's needs. For example, "over the course of six years, SERNIC has only increased the number of staff working in research careers by 4.9%, compared to a medium/long-term projection of 70.8%," he noted.

This lack of human resources has direct implications for SERNIC's performance, especially in the investigation of cases against unknown citizens, he said.

"In the period under review, SERNIC registered 52,008 cases against unknown persons, corresponding to 56% of those processed, of which it was only possible to clear up just over 30%, which clearly demonstrates the need to assign more criminal investigation and instruction and operative investigation agents, their training and the allocation of bolder resources," he said.

Buchili recalled that 600 vacancies for new recruits were launched in 2021, but they did not make up for the shortage of investigators in the paramilitary force. "In the meantime, the challenge of recruiting SERNIC staff for the areas of investigation and criminal investigation and operative investigation and its specialization prevails."

With regard to financial needs, the top representative of the Public Prosecutor's Office said that their resolution will provide SERNIC with the capacity to respond to the challenges of organized and transnational crime that the country faces.

On the other hand, Buchili lamented the fact that six years after its creation, SERNIC's infrastructure situation remains critical.

"The general directorate works in the SERNIC directorate in Maputo City, the provincial directorates in Manica, Sofala and Gaza and all the district directorates work in premises provided by other bodies, with all the implications that this entails," he said.

For Buchili, as with other bodies in the administration of justice, SERNIC needs to be equipped with the appropriate infrastructure for its operation, given its nature.