Use civil society’s backing, Hain tells president

President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government needs to work closely with civil society to tackle the issue of corruption, Lord Peter Hain told a Wits Business School seminar on money laundering and state capture in Johannesburg on Thursday.

Hain has been a vocal critic of the corruption and looting of state coffers that took place under the stewardship of former president Jacob Zuma.

Last year, he demanded that global British-based banks be criminally investigated for facilitating the Guptas in the alleged laundering of billions of rand.

He also played a key role in campaigning against PR company Bell Pottinger, which did business with the Guptas and helped coin the phrase “white monopoly capital” .

“We will target you relentlessly until you admit what the others had to admit,” he said pointedly to corporates, following the scandals around KPMG and McKinsey.

Hours before the event, Ramaphosa used his first speech as state leader to assure citizens that issues of state capture and corruption were on his radar.

Speaking at the Hain function, Treasury deputy directorgeneral Ismail Momoniat spoke of the hardships faced by those who wanted to act against state capture during the Zuma era.

“You would get fired if you acted against state capture,” he said.

Momoniat said questions needed to be asked about why the criminal justice system only began acting against the Guptas on Wednesday.

Eight people have been arrested by the Hawks in connection with the state capture investigation by the Hawks and the National Prosecuting Authority, after 13 warrants of arrest were served.

“You couldn’t ask questions because the man at the top didn’t want to act and would fire people,” said Momoniat.