Former public protector Thuli Madonsela caused a huge stir recently when she suggested there be some form of Truth and Reconciliation Commission and amnesty for those accused of corruption. She proposed the offer would “encourage those involved to confess without fear of being prosecuted” and would allow the country to start afresh.
Madonsela was slammed from all sides. Many said it was a bad idea. They were right. The problem is they did not say who it was a bad idea for. To my mind it was a terrible idea for SA. This is a country that needs answers and, crucially, needs to see “consequence management” for those involved in the corruption that has become a daily occurrence here.
Yet put yourself in the shoes of ANC leader Cyril Ramaphosa. The idea of amnesty and a line in the sand might not be too bad after all. The current raft of revelations at the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture imperils the party more than anything else. It is now clear that there are very few, if any, ANC leaders who might not be involved in corruption for personal gain and for the party.
Indeed, the biggest casualty of the commission may be the ANC. Few individual leaders did not receive payments from people accused of corruption. The party received money from corruption accused. The ANC in Johannesburg was a corrupt entity that parcelled out contracts and tenders to IT firm EOH in return for cash, as we heard last week.
It is not just the Jacob Zuma-ites who benefited. It is also many of the “good guys”, such as former ANC spokesperson and current deputy minister of state security Zizi Kodwa, a man who is close to the president.
The inquiry heard last week that between 2015 and 2017 EOH made eight payments to Kodwa totalling R375,000. The firm also deposited money to Johannesburg mayor Geoff Makhubo, Reggie Nkabinde, from the ANC Youth League, and Siyabulela Sintwa, a former personal assistant to Jacob Zuma.
Many leaders, not just the Zuma-ites, had their dirty paws in the cookie jar. Take businessman Edwin Sodi, whose firm Blackhead Consulting won multi-billion-rand tenders from the Free State and other ANC-run provincial and municipal entities. When he appeared at the commission it was as if he had a line to every ANC national executive committee (NEC) member.
Zondo commission investigators found bank references to minister of health Dr Zweli Mkhize, minister of labour Thulas Nxesi, the aforementioned Kodwa, deputy minister of communications Pinky Kekana, ANC treasurer-general Paul Mashatile and former Eskom CFO Anoj Singh. There was an astonishing R6.5m payment to Colin Pitso, former chief of staff to former minister of environmental affairs Nomvula Mokonyane.
As in the Joburg matter, it doesn’t end with the individuals. The ANC benefited directly from Sodi’s largesse: he donated R3.5m to the party, of which he transferred R371,553 directly to Mashatile. At another point there was a R6.5m payment to the ANC.
We all know the party has been struggling to pay its staff these past few months. How are the likes of Mokonyane, Malusi Gigaba, Carl Niehaus and others who “work” at party headquarters surviving these hard times?
In his days at Luthuli House Kodwa, according to Sodi, turned to him at such times: “He would say we have not been paid on time from Luthuli House or there are delays in payment.”
There will be many other prominent people who will be shown to have been beneficiaries of corruption within the ANC. That stain will not only taint the Zuma faction; the Ramaphosa faction is also blighted. The entire ANC is now an accused, standing in the dock about how the millions that have oiled its election victories over the years have been raised.
The measure of Ramaphosa’s commitment to cleaning out the Augean stables lies in the year ahead. His beloved ANC will find itself convulsed by scandals. Some of the people closest to him will be found wanting. His own presidential campaign in the run-up to his narrow win at Nasrec in December 2017 will come under the spotlight.
It is at this point that Madonsela’s suggestion of an amnesty for those involved in corruption becomes most attractive to the ANC. In a year or so, it will be facing total implosion. Ace Magashule and other corruption accused will be threatening total destruction of the party. Many within the Ramaphosa faction will be afraid of also being dragged to jail for corruption.
What is one to do? It may be a terrible idea for South Africans seeking justice, but for the ANC an amnesty looks very alluring. Some EFF leaders implicated in the VBS Mutual Bank looting might also endorse it.
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