To rebuild trust in the political system and heal as a nation so we can move on from the dark period of state capture, we need to see those implicated by the state capture commission face legal consequences.
For 2022 to be a turning point in the fight against corruption it’s crucial to follow through on the other recommendations in judge Raymond Zondo’s report. These strike a good balance in strengthening government and business processes to help eliminate corruption.
Business Leadership SA fully supports the overarching recommendation that a national charter against corruption be adopted by the government, business sector and other relevant stakeholders, and that an independent public procurement anti-corruption agency, including a council, inspectorate, litigation unit, tribunal and court, be established.
Zondo has stated that “it is not appropriate that any government department be tasked to lead the fight against corruption in public procurement”, and organised business looks forward to getting stuck into helping draft the charter and set up the agency.
Other Zondo recommendations relate to tightening up procurement processes, which is appropriate — the existing checks and balances have proved inadequate to prevent the illegal awarding of lucrative contracts to the likes of Bosasa and Gupta-owned companies. Zondo recommends that legislation be drafted to centralise certain aspects of public procurement to harmonise legislation applying to public procurement and provide guidance to public procurement officials in its application, specifically to avoid deviations that favour sole service providers.
Tightening up on bribery and beefing up protection for whistle- blowers are also important elements of his recommendations, as is creating a professional body for procurement officers from which individuals may be struck for misconduct.
The Zondo commission also found evidence of a link between the corrupt granting of tenders and political party funding. Zondo warned: “Such a link can represent an existential threat to our democracy. It is inconceivable that political parties should finance themselves from the proceeds of crime, and yet there is alarming evidence to that effect.” He recommended that the Political Party Funding Act be amended “to prevent, expose and criminalise such activity”.
Taken together, the recommendations could transform the legislative framework in which public procurement takes place and will certainly improve confidence in the public and private sectors. As President Cyril Ramaphosa stated on receiving the report: “Perhaps the most devastating and lasting cost of state capture and corruption is its effect on the confidence of the SA people in the leaders and officials in whom they placed great trust and responsibility. State capture has damaged people’s confidence in the rule of law, in public institutions, in law enforcement agencies and even, to some extent, in the democratic process.”
That said, it’s important to bear in mind that these are just recommendations and it is now up to the government to facilitate their implementation as a culmination of the fightback against state capture. On the positive side, good, ethical people in key positions held the line, particularly in the finance ministry. That was important, as after capturing captured key state institutions, the next targets were the National Treasury and SA Reserve Bank.
It was hoped that the end of the Zuma presidency would be a turning point in the fight against corruption, but that was not the case, as the corruption linked to tenders related to the fight against Covid-19 made clear. With the country on its knees and swathes of South Africans losing their jobs, still government officials and private companies tried to defraud the system.
It’s important now that we see this process through to the end, not only in terms of prosecutions but in establishing the structures recommended by Zondo to combat corruption and entrench respect for the rule of law. Only then can we move forward.
Business is fully committed and is ready to work with the government, labour and other social partners to ensure the recommendations are fully implemented. The two immediate priorities for business are contributing to developing the corruption charter and launching the public procurement and corruption agency. Work must begin immediately.
• Mavuso is CEO of Business Leadership SA.
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