The Investigative Directorate (ID) of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) will become a permanent corruption-busting entity, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Sunday.
In an evening speech from the Union Buildings on his plan to implement the recommendations in the state-capture inquiry report, Ramaphosa said the special unit in the NPA — initially established in April 2019 for a tenure of five years — would be a permanent fixture.
He described state capture as “a deliberate effort to subvert and weaken law enforcement and intelligence agencies so as to shield and sustain illicit activities, avoid accountability and disempower opponents”.
Ramaphosa made a bold claim: that his leadership of the “Thuma Mina” administration, beginning in 2018, led to the “achievement” of “bringing state capture to an end” whereas “its effects remain”. Yet he announced a permanent body to tackle state-capture cases.
To date, no person implicated in state capture has been tried and sentenced to prison. But the NPA has secured several provisional asset seizures to the tune of R12.9bn and charged a handful of high-profile suspects.
Last month, the NPA listed nine “seminal” state-capture matters, which NPA head advocate Shamila Batohi had promised would be enrolled in six months.
On Sunday, Ramaphosa touted several “decisive steps to end state capture” under his watch, including an overhaul of leadership at previously weakened institutions such as the Hawks, NPA and SA Revenue Service (Sars). Sars has recovered R4.8bn in unpaid taxes arising from the commission’s work, he said.
Ramaphosa said prevailing effects of state capture included too few freight locomotives at Transnet, power cuts at power utility Eskom, SAA’s closure of several routes, outstanding pay for staff at state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and the weak response from law enforcement to public unrest in mid-2021.
All of these cases, said Ramaphosa, proved “the hand and effects of state capture”.
He emphasised chief justice Raymond Zondo’s recommendations were not binding and his response may include disagreement with the advice.
“For where there is good reason, there could be a decision not to implement a recommendation,” said Ramaphosa.
He said the ID had enrolled 26 cases, with 89 investigations under way, and 165 accused people had appeared in court for offences linked to state capture.
Civil damage claims and banishment are being considered for companies implicated in state capture, he said, and the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) has identified 595 people and 1,044 entities “that may be implicated” in state capture money flows.
“Relevant information has been compiled into various reports to law enforcement agencies, other bodies like the State Security Agency, the SA Reserve Bank, the public protector, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, the Financial Sector Conduct Authority and a number of law enforcement agencies in other countries,” he said.
Acting public protector Kholeka Gcaleka will be obliged to monitor the execution of Ramaphosa’s action plan on the recommendations in the state-capture inquiry report as it is the responsibility of the public protector’s office to do so.
Last night, Ramaphosa outlined his detailed response to the findings and almost 400 recommendations the inquiry chair filed four months ago.
On Saturday, he told speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula “he would be submitting” the report to parliament.
The president created a task team to design his reply to Zondo’s recommendations.
This step is in line with remedial action former public protector Thuli Madonsela stipulated in 2016. Her State of Capture report, which former president Jacob Zuma failed to quash in a slew of court cases, led to the inquiry’s establishment.
Madonsela prescribed that the president report his intentions in light of the commission’s report to parliament a fortnight after it was submitted. But years later, and in light of Zondo’s late and staggered submissions, Ramaphosa secured four months after handover to produce his action plan.
Ramaphosa has listed measures the government is taking against perpetrators, steps to prevent state capture in future, and several reforms.
Zondo’s six-volume report was the culmination of the inquiry’s three years of testimony, with input from over 300 witnesses and more than 3,000 summonses issued. By one estimate, more than 1,400 people were implicated in alleged state capture, corruption and fraud crimes.
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