The government, parliament and the governing ANC failed to take action to halt the state capture that weakened the country’s democracy, says the Zondo commission.
Part one of the commission’s report on state capture, which was released on Tuesday, details how key institutions such as the SA Revenue Service (Sars), Transnet, Eskom and SAA were made dysfunctional “in order to divert public funds for private benefit”.
“The decline happened over a number of years but both the government and the ruling party failed dismally to make any effective interventions to halt the decline. Either they did not care or they slept on the job or they had no clue what to do,” said commission chair Raymond Zondo.
The ANC said the inquiry was a necessary step in fighting corruption in the country.
Party spokesperson Pule Mabe said the ANC would put in place “mechanisms to process” parts of the report that pertain to its members or the organisation.
The report found two instances where public funds were diverted to the ANC via high-value government contracts.
“The ANC will engage with the findings and recommendations of the commission as the parts of the report become available, and consider how these can help to enhance the process of fundamental renewal and rebuilding within our movement,” Mabe said.
What happened at Sars, where money was siphoned off as part of the state capture project, was no different to what happened at state-owned arms manufacturer Denel and power utility Eskom, which were “run down considerably with rampant corruption and state capture”, said Zondo.
Most, if not all, of these entities were led by CEOs and boards of directors who would have been approved by the governing party through its national deployment committee, the report said.
In the case of Sars, the commission found that former Sars boss Tom Moyane conspired with US-based management consultancy firm Bain & Company to capture the country’s revenue services. This capture was done with the knowledge of former president Jacob Zuma, according to former Bain employee, Athol Williams, who testified before the commission.
“Sars was systemically and deliberately weakened, chiefly through the restructuring of its institutional capacity, strategic appointments and dismissals of key individuals, and a pervasive culture of fear and bullying. It is a clear example of state capture,” Zondo said.
In testimony to the commission, former public enterprises minister Barbara Hogan said the appointment of senior officials at state-owned entities was compromised by the ANC’s fractional battles, which encouraged entrenched nepotism and patronage.
In his recommendations, Zondo said a new anti-corruption investigative body that is free from political interference should be established.
“The ultimate responsibility for leading the fight against corruption in public procurement cannot again be left to a government department or be subject to ministerial control,” Zondo said.
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