A week ago, part one of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector Including Organs of State report was released.
Commonly known as the Zondo commission, the inquiry was established in 2018 by former president Jacob Zuma, pursuant to the remedial action taken by then public protector, Adv Thuli Madonsela, in her State of Capture report.
Madonsela’s report highlighted unethical conduct on the part of the former president and other state functionaries relating to alleged improper relationships and involvement of the controversial Gupta family in the appointment and removal of ministers and senior government officials within state-owned enterprises.
The report also found that there was improper and corrupt awarding of state tenders to Gupta-owned businesses. After four long years, the Zondo commission report is finally being released in three parts, with the final report expected in a few months.
I have conflicting feelings about the Zondo commission. On the one hand, I believe that it is an important instrument in the strengthening of our democracy. It cemented the very powerful and important idea that in a democracy, no-one is above the law. When a sitting president can be called to testify and be cross-examined on his role in corruption and the scale of state capture, it sends out a strong message that our democratic institutions are still functional.
In addition to this, understanding the machinations of state capture helps us to understand the loopholes in our administration, as well as highlight the very real dangers of the dysfunction of the political-administrative interface that has been at the centre of the commission.
But on the other hand, I cannot help but feel that we have spent over a billion rand of taxpayers’ money and committed four long years to a process that is going to lead nowhere.
Nearly a decade ago, in what constituted the most lethal use of force by South African security forces against civilians since the June 16 uprisings of 1976, about 34 miners were shot dead and 78 others injured. The Marikana massacre that took place at the Lonmin platinum mine in Marikana, Rustenburg, was brutal beyond measure.
Forensic evidence would later reveal that most of the miners were shot in the back while fleeing from the police. Soon thereafter, a commission of inquiry chaired by former Supreme Court of Appeal judge Ian Farlam was established. The report was released the following year, in 2013. But as of 2021, no-one has been prosecuted for the massacre. Additionally, most of the resolutions of the commission report are yet to be implemented.
The same is true for the Life Esidimeni tragedy which involved the deaths of 144 people at psychiatric facilities across Gauteng. A report by the health ombudsman found that these individuals had died from starvation and neglect after having been relocated to cheaper care centres, many of which were later found to be unlicensed and grossly under-resourced.
The report also singled out individuals, senior government officials, whom it deemed largely responsible for what is undoubtedly the worst case of human rights violations in the democratic dispensation. But other than the removal of the then MEC of health, Qedani Mahlangu, and suspension of other officials, there has been no criminal prosecution of any of these people.
There have been numerous commissions of inquiry where there is a clear prima facie case that should be prosecuted. None of this ever happens. These commissions have been reduced to talk-shops where testimonies shock and infuriate us – and then nothing happens. Why must we believe that the Zondo commission will be any different?
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