The submission yesterday of the final part of the state capture report by chief justice Raymond Zondo meant different things to different people.
For many South Africans it was the end of back-to-back testimonies on how corrupt our leaders are. For some, it meant the beginning of the end for those implicated — and there are many — in wrong doing. This process has cost taxpayers over R1bn and, indeed, it would be a shame if those whose hands were caught in the proverbial cookie jar did not face the full might of the law.
In truth, this period must mean the beginning of prosecutions, the tying up of loose ends as cases involving those who stole from South Africans face the consequences of their actions.
But the handover suffered an inauspicious start after inexplicable postponements and private discussions between Zondo and President Cyril Ramaphosa, a subject of the report in his capacity as former president Jacob Zuma’s deputy during the state capture years.
Ramaphosa said yesterday the country ought to take him and the chief justice at their word because of their integrity. “I think you have to take both of us at our word ... not once wanting to discuss the work that the commission was doing. I cannot accept the innuendos and suppositions that are made that the chief justice and I discussed the work ... it is quite demeaning.”
Indeed, what option is there to find the truth at this point? After all, Ramaphosa’s integrity is on the line after disturbing allegations of foreign currency violations, cash stashed in mattresses, people being tortured and, worse, being paid to keep quiet about the mess. In the end, the president has chosen to not take the nation into his confidence about what happened at his Phala Phala farm in Limpopo. He is, therefore, the last to speak of integrity when asked about what are patently his unethical, if not illegal, interactions with Zondo. It beggars belief that he feels entitled to be taken at his word with the putrid stench around him that is his Phala Phala farm.
In the end though, Zondo did well under trying circumstances.
The commission and the simple administrative work it required proved difficult for Zondo and his team to manage. There are many areas of concern, including unfinished investigations. It is also a pity people such as former spy boss Arthur Fraser did not had an opportunity to appear before the commission. In the wake of his latest Phala Phala revelations, but also considering the list of classified documents he wanted declassified to enable his appearance before the commission, we will always wonder what the missing pieces of the puzzle are.
In the end though, Zondo did well under trying circumstances. The commission must be commended for the hard work, extra hours and sacrifices individuals made to help cushion our country from further attempts at capturing institutions of state.
Let us be clear: the release of the final report marks the beginning of a period of vigilance not just by the state and its functionaries, but by all democracy-loving people of SA. Our country must “never ever”, to use Nelson Mandela’s parlance, return to the brink because of state capture.
Ramaphosa was correct on Wednesday when he said “state capture was an assault on our democracy and violated the rights of every man, woman and child in this country”.
Examples contained in the latest volume include a finding that Zuma leaked confidential government information about the appointment of cabinet ministers to his friends, the Gupta brothers, who used it to further their commercial interests.
“When one has regard for the totality of the evidence heard by the Commission on the relationship between President Zuma and the Guptas, including evidence about what he was prepared to do for the Guptas or at their instance, there can be no doubt that the Guptas had got the information (about Fikile Mbalula’s pending appointment to a cabinet position) from President Zuma,” reads the report. It notes that even after Zuma was made aware that the Guptas used important confidential information of the state for private purposes, he ignored his duty to have the matter investigated. Instead, his intelligence minister Siyabonga Cwele facilitated the removal of three intelligence chiefs — Mo Shaik, Gibson Njenje and Jeff Maqetuka.
“Although President Zuma may not have given express instructions that the Gupta investigation be stopped, he said enough at the meeting with the trio to make it clear to them that his view was that there was no justification for the investigation and in his view, it should not be pursued,” reads part of the findings.
In relation to what was termed Project Commitment, which involved delivery of huge amounts of cash to former intelligence minister David Mahlobo, ostensibly to pass on to Zuma, the commission found that “if it were to be established in a court that large sums of cash were given to Mr Mahlobo it would mean that he stole the money”, given his denials about receiving it — in spite of witnesses testifying before the commission to this effect.
Zondo made a scathing finding against Ramaphosa: “He claimed that he would have been dismissed if he had been more confrontational. This contention was analysed ... He must have believed that former President [Jacob] Zuma was complicit in state capture and was prepared to dismiss his deputy president in order to protect the state capture project. Yet he did not give any evidence as to why he believed this was the case.
“What did he know, when did he know it and what did he do about it?” Zondo detailed how some of Ramaphosa’s responses went “way towards answering those questions, but unfortunately leave some important gaps”.
“The president readily acknowledges the existence of state capture as a coordinated project and has made much of his drive to right the wrongs of state capture. However, the question of what he knew is still somewhat opaque.”
SA deserves a president and intelligence ministers who apply their minds to how best to resolve the country’s intractable challenges, such as organised crime, poverty and an underperforming economy. Not ones who move wads of cash from intelligence slush funds or mattresses, or share confidential state information with shady characters such as the Guptas.
As the curtain falls on the commission, the responsibility to ensure accountability and transparency in our governance must be shouldered by all South Africans. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the police have a responsibility to ensure those against whom the commission has established a prima facie case are expeditiously put behind bars.
Ordinary people must actively partake in the country’s public life by demanding, not waiting for, accountability from our leaders — past and present. Our democracy, without vigilance, will soon return to the brink of collapse.
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