The Zondo Commission’s 5th and final report released on Wednesday has accused South Africa’s President, Cyril Ramaphosa, and his party, the African National Congress of being mute spectators as former President Jacob Zuma attempted a “state capture” during his tenure between 2009-18.
In the chapter titled “Ought he to have known?,” the report alleged that the “wealth of evidence” suggests that President Ramaphosa, in his capacity as the erstwhile deputy president, was guilty of inaction, as “there was surely enough credible information in the public domain to at least prompt him to inquire and perhaps act on a number of serious allegations.”
The report has also condemned the ANC for prioritising “its own survival and strength over the Constitutional obligations of its members,” accusing the party leadership of being “unwilling to expose the allegations of malfeasance to transparent public scrutiny” and supporting Zuma in his wrongdoings.
Tonight we receive and publicly release the final part of the report of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector.#StateCaptureReport pic.twitter.com/LV3nsxjvHt
— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) June 22, 2022
It concluded that the damage caused by Zuma’s corruption scandals could have been limited had Ramaphosa and the ANC “acted with more urgency” by holding parliamentary inquiries and prudently utilising the no-confidence motions. In this respect, the Commission argued that collective inaction resulted in Zuma and his accomplices getting “more time to pursue state capture and continued to loot taxpayers’ money.” It further noted that the ANC had failed to act on its Integrity Committee’s recommendation for Zuma’s removal, saying it had “permitted, supported and enabled corruption.”
Upon the release of the report, President Ramaphosa said that the findings of the investigation suggest “an assault on our democracy, [violating] the rights of all South Africans,” describing the revelations as an “opportunity to break decisively with the era of state capture,” as he pledged that such events would never be allowed to happen again.
NOTHING is stopping @NPA_Prosecutes from going ahead with prosecutions. They had the power while #ZondoCommission was still ongoing. No need to wait for @PresidencyZA's recommendations. He has to comment on many other things - not possible prosecutions. https://t.co/ha502uzKVS
— OUTA (@OUTASA) June 24, 2022
He added that he doesn’t know what has been said in the conclusion, or about his testimony, but affirmed that he will accept any “negative finding” against himself.
In a statement on Thursday, Ramaphosa announced that he had taken note of Zondo's observations on the decisions he took during his tenure as deputy president, but stressed that he will not “respond at this stage to (these) specific aspects.” He vowed to “consider the Commission’s report in its totality and to present a comprehensive response and implementation plan to Parliament” within the next four months.
The spokesperson for the Jacob Zuma Foundation, Mzwanele Jimmy Manyi, however, denounced the findings and told VOA that the report was “a lot of hogwash.”
The #StateCapture & #ZondoCommission has shown in writing everything that many people over years have talked about!
— Ricardo Mackenzie MPL🇿🇦 (@ricardomackenzi) June 23, 2022
My personal opinion is that it was definitely NOT a waste of money and shine the light on a incompetent, corrupt state that seemingly sole purpose was to loot!
The Commission, headed by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, was appointed in 2018 to look into allegations of state capture, fraud, and corruption in the public sector, including organs of state, during Zuma’s nine-year tenure. The Zuma government was accused of fuelling crony capitalism in toe with Indian-origin businessmen and brothers Atul, Ajay, and Rajesh Gupta, wherein they diverted state resources. This scandal eventually led to Zuma’s ouster and his replacement by Ramaphosa.
Allegations included the diversion of state funds from the country’s Zero Tolerance for Hunger program, undue censorship of state-run news agency South African Broadcasting Corporation, and the misappropriation of funds by intelligence agencies to set up a parallel spy network. These claims were corroborated in a 2017 report by public prosecutor Thuli Madonsela, who asserted that tens of billions of dollars were likely “stolen” during Zuma’s Presidency.
Following 429 days of televised hearings, 300 witness testimonials, and a four-years long investigation, the Zondo Commission has painted a grim picture of the nation’s corrupt administration, calling for the prosecution of more than 130 people, including former ministers, Zuma’s son Duduzane, and former spy chief Arthur Fraser in its 5000-page-long report.
Zuma’s accomplices in “state capture”—the Gupta brothers—were charged for fraud and money laundering and were arrested by the Dubai police earlier this month, with the South African government now arranging for their extradition.
Zuma, meanwhile, was sentenced to 15 months prison term last July for “contempt of court” after he refused to appear in court and cooperate with the Commission’s inquiry against him. In fact, his arrested prompted widespread protests that led to over 200 deaths and the mobilisation of over 2,500 troops.
The report comes at a critical yet awkward juncture for Ramaphosa, whose popularity has recently gone downhill after charges of money laundering were levelled against him earlier this month by former intelligence chief Arthur Fraser, whas has now been named as a political accomplice of Zuma.
While President Ramaphosa has “rubbished” the accusations, his image as an effective anti-corruption leader has been dented. With the ANC’s presidential elections due to take place in December, the Zondo report and Fraser’s allegations may act as a significant hurdle in him seeking re-election at the national level in 2024.
He drew further suspicion earlier this month after he suspended the country’s top anti-corruption official, Busisiwe Mkhwebane.
Moreover, his name is unlikely to be cleared any time soon. Corruption cases in the country are known for dragging on for years. South African political analyst Dr. Mcebisi Mdletyana has attributed these delays to the National Prosecuting Agency, which he said lacks the resources to be a “good enough firewall in the fight against corruption.”
However, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) has reiterated that the Zondo Commission report “cannot be let to gather dust,” and has demanded strong punitive measures against those who were complicit in the state capture under Zuma. Ramaphosa’s promises for ensuring the implementation of the recommendations of the report over the next four months will thus be closely observed.