A year ago, the South African State Capture report was handed to the President. Chief Justice Zondo, who had presided over the Commission of Inquiry for more than four years, is dismayed at the little progress with the recommendations. He is frustrated that the question is still open if Parliament would respond differently if faced with State Capture No. 2. Little has been achieved.
Whistle-blowers protection has not been improved as Parliament has not yet been asked to turn the Investigating Directorate (ID) in the National Prosecuting Authority into a permanent structure. While the President promised to assess those of his national executive implicated in the commission’s reports, no one has been removed from office.
Parliament had set out its plan for implementing the 16 recommendations that concerned it, mainly directed at Parliament’s oversight and accountability mandates. The report concluded that Parliament’s deficiencies concerning these were partially responsible for the impunity with which the perpetrators of State Capture could function without rebuke or accountability.
Zondo proposed that the National Assembly establish a dedicated committee to oversee the Presidency. Instead, Parliament should investigate this by studying visits to countries such as the UK and France. The assembly has kicked for touch, deciding instead to investigate the issue further, and will be undertaking study tours to countries such as the UK and France! Its various committees report at quarterly intervals. No reports have been tabled.
The Zuma-era State Capture no longer exists. However, large-scale corruption and top-level links with crime syndicates continue. It seems up to civil society and the media to demand action on Zondo and measures to deal with the current dangerous problems.
The Chief Justice has been angered by the casual approach of the other two branches of the state. His frustration has met that of many South Africans.
The Daily Maverick wrote: “The Chief Justice has a responsibility to promote and strengthen the rule of law. Not only did State Capture undermine the rule of law, but the failure to address it further threatened it. Perhaps Zondo had not just a responsibility but a constitutional duty to speak out.