President Cyril Ramaphosa will deliver his speech about implementing hundreds of recommendations in the state capture inquiry report in parliament next week.
His office received a corrected version of the report on Monday, after inquiry chair chief justice Raymond Zondo secured a court order allowing him to make changes.
On October 9, the high court in Pretoria gave Zondo the green light to make changes after he applied for the concession in August. He fixed typos in volume 2 of part 6, and corrected wrong figures in volume 3 of part 6.
The high court agreed Zondo could include an analysis of two witnesses, accidentally left out of the report delivered in June 22.
Gauteng’s deputy judge president, Audrey Ledwaba, granted the order after a hearing in chambers, and issued a deadline for delivery by October 10. He also granted Zondo condonement for late submission of his last filing.
Inquiry secretary Prof Itumeleng Mosala said: “It was sent on [October 10]. I know because I sent it.”
Mosala said the commission remained in existence until October and Zondo remained its chair. He said the mistakes with figures were corrected over fear they might be disputed by implicated persons.
“We had to correct that. It was just a few tables, it was not the financials themselves. It was more the visibility of digits and figures, or absence of zeros. That kind of thing,” he said.
Director-general in the presidency Phindile Baleni said in court the amendments might affect Ramaphosa's ability to report to parliament by October 22.
Zondo was set to file the last part of the report by an amended due date of June 15, but he was a week late. As per a court order, Ramaphosa must deliver his action plan on implementing the recommendations within four months of receipt.
Baleni told the high court Ramaphosa had assembled a team which was working with other departments and state agencies “to determine how most effectively to implement the [report] and its recommendations”.
Ramaphosa's spokesperson Vincent Magwenya, insisted “the deadline has always been October 22.”
In September, during a question-and-answer session in parliament, Ramaphosa responded to a question by the IFP’s Mkhuleko Hlengwa: “Will we be able to meet the deadline of October 15?”
“The desire is that we should,” the president said.
But this week, Magwenya said Hlengwa had erred in his question, and the president “later clarified this in parliament. It has never been October 15”.
Magwenya confirmed the date.
The commission, which was established in 2018, ran for four years, with three years of public hearings including testimony from hundreds of witnesses. They exposed the extent of the Gupta family’s influence over former president Jacob Zuma, government ministries, and state-owned enterprises.
Ramaphosa, Zuma and his son, Duduzane Zuma, mineral resources and energy minister Gwede Mantashe, public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan, former minister Barbara Hogan, former SAA board chairs Dudu Myeni and Cheryl Carolus, former Bosasa COO Angelo Agrizzi, former finance minister Malusi Gigaba and his former wife Norma Mngoma, former tax boss Tom Moyane, and previous CEO of government communications Themba Maseko were among those who testified.
Zuma, who signed the commission into effect, initially co-operated with the commission but later refused to testify. He defied an order by the Constitutional Court to appear before the commission and give substantial answers to questions posed. He elected not to participate in litigation over his absence and was sentenced to 15 months behind bars for contempt of court.
Zuma spent about two months in custody, but was then released on medical parole in a decision by then national commissioner of correctional services Arthur Fraser. The high court set aside Fraser’s decision granting Zuma medical parole, and an appeal is pending.
Correction: October 13 2022
A previous version of this story reported that the president had two months per court order to deliver his address to parliament following submission of the final section. It has been corrected to four months.
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