The state capture commission report is gathering dust, a year since the last two volumes were handed to the government for its action. Quite frankly, its recommendations were not taken seriously and totally ignored by the executive and the legislature. Even the head of state, the initiator of this commission and one of its witnesses, has treated the report with some disdain. After he studied the report for months the best we could get were instructions to everyone else to act while he failed to take one simple action that would send a message of seriousness to fight corruption and prevent the continuation of state capture.
Some of the recommendations flag senior politicians for wrongdoing. In any other decent democracy, such politicians would have resigned out of simple shame — not in South Africa. Among the red-flagged is the chair of the ANC, Gwede Mantashe, who is yet to explain how Bosasa installed surveillance cameras in his home without his say-so. Minister Zizi Kodwa is yet to explain his dodgy relationship with EOH and his R1m gift, among other things. Other implicated high-ups include deputy ministers David Mahlobo and Thabang Makwetla, and top 7 member Nomvula Mokonyane, who to this day can’t cogently explain her chicken feet and whisky gifts from the same corrupt Bosasa.
Since South Africans have short memories it is important to remind ourselves that we are not just mentioning these names in vain, a year after the report has been out questions are still left unanswered. The inexplicable approach of the ANC to the Phala Phala scandal was a trade-off for the president not to act, for him not to be acted upon.
Almost all these politicians have threatened to take the report on review. There is little evidence that this has largely happened. A quick search for court papers in this regard has zero returns. This means the president has conveniently not acted against a coterie of his political allies. A lot of people scorned Jacob Zuma for saying the ANC comes first — but Ramaphosa clearly lives on the same mantra. He is obviously not going to act against the chair of the ANC. On Kodwa, he promoted him instead of being cautious and being seen to be taking a dim view of his actions.
It can be argued that parliament has learnt nothing from the state capture report and the preceding Nkandla scandal. Since the report came out a year ago, there is no shred of a statute aimed at avoiding a repeat. Parliament has rebuffed protection for whistle-blowers (a law is yet to pass in this regard), given the recent reckless conduct of incompetent speaker Mapisa Nqakula in the way she dealt with the protected disclosure of the suspended public protector. This should really encourage other whistle-blowers to come forth. A parliament that claims it’s hard at work implementing Zondo’s recommendations just as recently as six months ago has repeated the Nkandla “protectionism” of the president — this time via the Phala Phala cover-up. They have also refused to investigate Eskom corruption — this does not demonstrate any seriousness, twelve months later, to stem the tide of corruption and if the bribery allegations by the suspended public protector are anything to go by, it looks like the scandals will continue.
The ANC is playing fast and loose with the report — some 98 of its members have been mentioned — not one has been reprimanded by the party. It set up a committee led by Jeff Radebe (of all people). No wonder no action was taken by anyone in the ANC. A billion rand later, no consequence has been meted out to any ANC member even by its low standards of internal discipline. There must be a law against such brazen complacency. The congress that gathered some 6,000 delegates failed to discuss this matter, which shows that a culture of poor consequence management has firmly set in across the organisation, explaining endless reports of the auditor-general showing rampant theft of public funds across provinces and municipalities where the ANC deploys its cadres — another red flag waved by Zondo.
How can such incompetence frighten any crooks from carrying on hollowing out the state and its institutions?
In October last year the president issued fake directives to all and sundry — essentially washing his hands and kicking his own can down the road, saying he will soon act — six months later and nothing has happened. The NPA — a media darling for years — has bungled the only state capture case that made it to the courts and they are yet to prosecute a single person out of almost 100 people mentioned in the report. The key culprits of state capture, who siphoned billions from the country, are at large after their extraditions were also bungled with incoherent explanations. How can such incompetence frighten any crooks from hollowing out the state and its institutions?
So we are sitting with a R1bn inertia as state capture continues unabated. It is not unreasonable to conclude that in the absence of consequence, the state capture project continues — a case of same script, different cast. The examples are numerous: the continued corruption at Eskom, the inexplicable selling of the family silver at SAA; the bankruptcy of the Post Office; the continued limping of Denel; the worsening state of municipal finances. The list continues, creating no confidence that the tide of plunder has stopped.
Finally, in an attempt to pretend it’s doing something, parliament — only after legitimate criticism by the chief justice — claims that the shambolic electoral act is one of the boxes they can tick. This is quite frankly a lie. First, this was an instruction given by the Constitutional Court way before the state capture commission made its recommendations and second, this is a textbook definition of malicious compliance. Any sensible person can see that no good can come out of such a dog’s breakfast.
* Dr JJ Tabane is editor of Leadership Magazine and Anchor of Power to Truth on eNCA
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