Mkhwebane wants terms of reference of inquiry into state capture broadened if necessary

10 January 2018 - 18:25 By Nico Gous
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Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane. File photo.
Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane. File photo.
Image: Gallo Images / Sowetan / Sandile Ndlovu

Public Protector Busisiwe Mkhwebane wants the terms of reference of the commission of inquiry into state capture to be broadened if necessary.

“Having perused some of the evidence at her disposal and public domain‚ the Public Protector also calls upon the President to ensure that all the ToR (terms of reference) are broad enough to include the capture of all state institutions and SOEs‚ so that the ability of the commission to uncover the full extent of state capture in South Africa is not constrained in any manner‚” Public Protector spokesperson Cleopatra Mosana said in a media statement on Wednesday.

She added that the terms of reference must not be limited to the issues investigated or identified in former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s State of Capture report to “ensure that no stone is left unturned”.

Mkhwebane welcomed President Jacob Zuma’s announcement of a commission of inquiry into state capture.

Zuma said on Tuesday night that Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng had selected Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo to head the commission of inquiry.

“The allegations that the state has been wrestled out of the hands of its real owners‚ the people of South Africa‚ is of paramount importance and are therefore deserving of finality and certainty‚” Zuma said.

He said he made this decision after the investigation and remedial action of the Public Protector and the order by the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria on December 14 last year.

The North Gauteng High Court ordered Zuma to personally pay the costs of the review of former public protector Thuli Madonsela’s recommendations on alleged state capture. Zuma wanted Madonsela’s remedial action set aside.

Madonsela released a report‚ titled State of Capture‚ in November last year concerning allegations of an improper relationship between Zuma‚ other state officials and the Gupta family.

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