Mkhize: Zuma will appoint a state capture commission

President Jacob Zuma is not stalling on setting up the commission of Inquiry into state capture - he's just making sure everything is legal.

This is according to ANC treasurer-general Zweli Mkhize‚ addressing political journalists and editors in Durban on Tuesday morning.

He said that the ANC's national executive committee (NEC) had decided that Zuma must go ahead with the commission of Inquiry - but when pressed on why it had not yet been established‚ the former KZN premier said it was just a matter of time.

"Do we believe the president will appoint the commission? We do believe it. We also believe it's not just been shelved‚" he said.

Instead‚ said Mkhize‚ it was legal issues and finalising the legalities around the terms of reference that were likely holding things up.

"I don't want to pretend that I can be spokesman for the president on why issues are stuck. It's enough to say that the president has been working on the terms of reference for a while now. What exactly is happening‚ I don't know. I don't think it's as simple to just say 'appoint a judicial commission of inquiry' and then it just happens. There are lots of legal things that are coming into this space that are delaying it. It's the process that's delaying it‚" said Mkhize.

But he was adamant that the allegations around state capture - largely linked to the controversial Gupta family - needed to be formally probed.

"There are lots of allegations around leaders of government‚ state-owned enterprises‚ the private sector‚ there are emails that have surfaced [and] issues around the submissions from churches. All of these issues mean that a non-partisan body must investigate to ensure we establish what the truth is‚" he said.

Mkhize added that‚ in turn‚ this would determine which allegations are criminally investigated‚ who is charged and what the ANC does as an organisation.