The state attorney was on Monday finalising chief justice Raymond Zondo’s case for a further six weeks to complete the state capture inquiry report. Zondo hopes the court will move his deadline from April 30 to June 15.
He filed a statement with the high court last week and the urgent application is set down for Thursday. Despite various delays, several nongovernment organisations (NGOs) and commentators, including parties to the matter, are sympathetic to Zondo and his team over the pressures on them.
“No-one could have predicted the gigantic can of worms that the commission opened up. All that information has to be collated and integrated into a coherent story that is digestible,” said Stellenbosch University professor Mark Swilling.
Swilling, who co-authored Anatomy of State Capture published in 2021, knows of no other inquiry worldwide investigating state-sanctioned wrongdoing by a party still in power. The full report would take time to be absorbed by the body politic, he said.
Zondo’s latest plea for more time comes almost a month after the penultimate report was due, with details on state capture at state-owned enterprise Eskom among the expected volumes. Political parties are respondents in the latest case, as is the Council for the Advancement of the SA Constitution (Casac).
Casac’s executive secretary Lawson Naidoo said the NGO would abide by the court’s upcoming ruling. The organisation has previously argued for details. “We’ve not had a clear time frame of how they plan to complete their tasks,” he said.
DA leader John Steenhuisen said: “I’d rather wait and have better findings.” Naidoo agreed: “Ultimately what we all want is a proper report. We’re between a rock and a hard place.”
Bantu Holomisa, head of the UDM, suggested new evidence could be before Zondo. He most wanted Zondo to ensure the proceeds of crime are recovered.
“How is Zondo going to tell the ANC to return the Bosasa and SOE [state-owned enterprises] money? They must pay that money back. The evidence is there,” Holomisa said.
Steenhuisen added: “It’s not like we’re waiting a year. I think it’s worth it.”
The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) draws a line under a year, said executive director Stefanie Fick. “You had an enormous amount of evidence to go through. I think it’s reasonable, but we need finality.”
Fick said Zondo’s piecemeal approach has benefits: “It gives people really the opportunity to read the report and discuss recommendations. I think that it was a good decision.”
Naidoo counted eight applications for more time, which comes at a price not yet calculated or disclosed: “That’s something the commission will have to discuss and negotiate with the department of justice.”
Executive director Karam Singh spoke for Corruption Watch, another interested NGO. The inquiry took longer than planned and serious consequences flowed from the full report, he said.
These include law reform, prosecutions and review applications. “At this stage, I would prefer the drafters of the report to have the time required to do the report to the best of their ability,” he said.
Singh praised the quality emerging from the reports thus far, including recommendations on individuals, systemic reforms and policy initiatives. He expects a volume on Eskom would say who is culpable and wants recommendations to future-proof SA against state capture.
“There’s still a lot a lot that needs to happen, whether it be at Eskom, Transnet, Denel and others,” he said.
Swilling predicted a long-term impact. Academics will “generate an entirely new body of knowledge” that will be a foundation “for those committed to defending SA’s constitutional and judicial order, which is under severe and sustained attack”.
Naidoo added there is no guarantee that another extension, if granted, would be final. “The onus is more on the chief justice to now make sure that he is able to actually deliver,” he said.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.