The latest instalment of the report on state capture, due to be submitted to President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday, could be the most powerful yet, with volumes on Bosasa and two corrupt Free State audits expected.
A source with knowledge of the commission’s work told Business Day the latest submission is likely to cover Eskom too. Acting chief justice Raymond Zondo is expected to identify alleged perpetrators of fraud and corruption from Bosasa and the Free State government.
Multimillion-rand corruption occurred when the Free State government began running housing and asbestos audits. Both were initiated when now suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule was premier. Last week, Magashule and several co-accused appeared in court for a pretrial hearing in a case of corruption over the asbestos audit.
Magashule insists he is innocent and has sought to have the case thrown out.
It is understood that the bulk of the latest submission — an estimated 1,000 pages — will cover evidence on the now-defunct company Bosasa, which provided an array of goods and services to the government. Zondo will submit the bundle electronically on Monday, after which the presidency will release it to the public. There will be no handover ceremony as with the first filing in January.
One-time Bosasa COO Angelo Agrizzi implicated his former boss, CEO Gavin Watson, and various directors in claims of bribery, corruption, fraud, money laundering and tax evasion. Watson died in a car crash in August 2019.
Agrizzi also implicated former prisons boss Linda Mti, former correctional services CFO Patrick Gillingham, and senior government officials such as then environmental affairs minister Nomvula Mokonyane. She is now head ANC organiser.
The last day of February was meant to mark Zondo’s final submission to Ramaphosa. However, he sought a further extension in an application to the high court. On Wednesday, the high court in Pretoria granted Zondo until April 30 to complete his work.
The ruling came mere days before the late February cut-off. Commission secretary Itumeleng Mosala said many factors caused the delay, including the arrival of additional paperwork and Zondo’s candidacy for the post of chief justice. The Judicial Service Commission interviewed Zondo for the top post on February 4 in a sitting that lasted about 12 hours.
Mosala said: “The chairperson wishes to make it clear that no delay in the submission of any document is due to any neglect of duty, but it is due to various challenges and the commitment by all concerned to ensuring that a proper job is done.”
Ramaphosa has until October to tell parliament and the country how he will act on Zondo’s findings and recommendations. He previously undertook to do so by the end of June.
However, political analyst Ebrahim Fakir says Ramaphosa already has ample grounds to take corrective steps based on what Zondo has filed to date. “Political decisions can be taken inside the party, particularly around discipline, instituting processes or procedures against people who are members of the ANC,” he said.
Two sources with information on the inquiry indicated that Zondo could add further material to Monday’s filing, possibly in a fourth volume.
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