‘There will be consequences. There will be justice’

This week the work of the landmark state capture commission drew to a close, with the handover of its final report by chief justice Raymond Zondo. The conclusion of the commission’s work provides us with the opportunity to make a decisive break with a shameful era.

In 2016 former public protector Advocate Thuli Madonsela released her seminal “State of Capture” report. Given the sheer volume of the body of evidence and the need for further investigation, she recommended that a judicial commission of inquiry be established to investigate state capture. The submission of the final report represents the fulfilment of this.

As a nation, we owe a great debt of gratitude to Zondo, as the chair of the commission, for the monumental task that he and the evidence leaders, the investigators, the lawyers and the researchers have all undertaken over these past four years in the service of their country.

As much as the state capture years were a low point in the history of our democracy, the state capture commission has been a vital part of our collective quest to return our country to the path of integrity, transformation and progress. What is detailed in the commission’s latest report amounts to nothing less than a betrayal of the trust of our people and contempt for the values of our constitution.

The reports of the commission lay bare, in detail, for all to read, all the misdeeds that took place. This in itself is a victory for the openness and transparency that are hallmarks of our democracy.

Through the reports, we have come to understand what happened, who was involved and what effect state capture has had on our state, our economy and our society. As the Pretoria high court has directed, I will formally present the full commission report and implementation plan to parliament within four months.

We need to recognise that state capture did not end of its own accord; it did not come with an expiry date. State capture could well have continued unabated if the people of SA, through their various formations, had not worked together to stop it. It would have continued if the abuse of power and criminal activities had not been made public through the courageous actions of whistleblowers, journalists and researchers, as well as the stance taken by many principled public servants and leaders.

It should also be recognised that the outcomes and decisions of the ANC’s national conference in December 2017, and the subsequent implementation of its resolutions on corruption, played an important role. Since I took office in 2018 at the helm of the sixth administration, we have undertaken serious measures to rebuild key institutions that were weakened by state capture.

The country’s law enforcement agencies were systematically debilitated to limit their ability to act against those involved in corruption and state capture. In 2018 a new national director of public prosecutions (NDPP) was appointed through a transparent public consultation process. This has brought much-needed stability to the National Prosecuting Authority.

We established the Investigating Directorate in the office of the NDPP to work on high-profile, complex cases of corruption and fraud. Its members have unique expertise in investigating and prosecuting crimes of this nature, and it has shown the capacity to speed up investigations and see that prosecutions do take place. In recent months, we have seen several corruption cases brought to court, including some that the commission heard evidence on.

We also established the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) Special Tribunal, which has shown its value in recouping monies stolen from state coffers. Working through the multidisciplinary Fusion Centre, also established by this administration, entities such as the NPA’s Asset Forfeiture Unit are recovering the proceeds of economic crimes, and law enforcement entities are sharing information and supporting each other in investigating corruption. During the state capture era, the South African Revenue Service (Sars) was politicised and its resources abused and manipulated. This was laid bare in the first report of the state capture commission.

Today, Sars is one of the best-performing entities in government, thanks to its implementation of the recommendations of the Nugent Commission of Inquiry into governance failures that I established in May 2018. The Zondo commission’s various reports outline in detail how the resources of state-owned entities (SOEs) were abused to serve personal interests. This administration has been undertaking a fundamental overhaul of the SOE model that addresses not only the deficiencies that permitted widespread corruption, but that also enables these companies to fulfil their social and economic mandates effectively and in a sustainable manner.

We are changing the way SOEs are managed and overseen and making policy changes to address shortcomings and reinforce oversight. This includes implementing standard guidelines on the appointment and remuneration of SOE boards and executives that prioritise the recruitment and retention of appropriate skills, experience, and competencies. Processes are also being put in place with regards to delineation of authority and responsibility between elected public officials, nonexecutive directors and executive leadership.

The latest report of the state capture commission details the damage done to our country’s intelligence services through corruption and the abuse of power to wage political battles and engage in illegal activities.

The implementation of the recommendations of the High Level Review Panel into the State Security Agency (SSA) continues. Investigations have resumed into wrongs identified within the SSA and in collaboration with law enforcement agencies.

On the legislative front, changes have been made, and others are under way, to fight corruption and reduce the likelihood of a recurrence of state capture. The amendment to the Public Audit Act, for example, has granted the auditor-general significant powers to act where public funds are misused. One of the critical projects currently under way to strengthen the state involves the professionalisation of the public service to remove undue political interference and ensure that the most qualified individuals enter its ranks.

This is part of fostering a culture of ethical public service and accountability. We are changing the way in which the public service is managed. It includes a prohibition on all public service employees conducting business with the state, the development of norms and standards of integrity, ethics and discipline in the public service, and the establishment of the Office of Standards and Compliance.

State capture was a great wrong committed against the South African people. It was a desecration of the values we hold true about our democracy. But we are setting right that wrong. The progress that has been made over the past four years in rebuilding state institutions and in restoring their integrity, and in recovering the proceeds of crimes committed against the state, are a demonstration of this commitment.

As this government, and as a people, we have a shared determination to confront the misdeeds committed by those in positions of responsibility and their accomplices in business.

We have a shared determination that there will be accountability. We will ensure that the findings of the commission are not ignored nor its recommendations disregarded. The South African people should be assured that this monumental effort will not go to waste. There will be consequences. There will be justice. Above all, the commission’s reports will serve as an instrument through which we work to ensure that such events never happen again.