Nation eager to hear Zuma
FORMER president Jacob Zuma may have appointed the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, but this does not make him a fan.
At the commission a number of witnesses have implicated Zuma in corruption, notably through his links and those of his son Duduzane with the Gupta family. Yet he has consistently dismissed the notion that the state under his presidency was captured, or that he personally acted with impropriety.
Zuma has accused the commission of a political agenda and claimed it lacked the required impartiality, both of which has made him reluctant to testify.
However, his legal team has now confirmed that Zuma will attend in mid-July, a date which will give him the opportunity to respond to the body of evidence against him.
Although Zuma has agreed to attend, it is not clear at this stage what conditions will be negotiated such as whether or not he will get questions in advance and be able to limit himself to pre-prepared answers.
The public is looking forward to hearing his response to claims that the Guptas exerted such influence that they could land a private plane of wedding guests at Waterkloof air-force base, or nominate Cabinet ministers and heads of state-owned enterprises.
As head of state at the time, Zuma owes the public an explanation about his relationship with the Guptas, including responding to the evidence of former finance minister Nhlanhla Nene on the nuclear deal, Barbara Hogan’s evidence of interference in the appointment of executives to stateowned entities, claims by Themba Maseko, formerly of GCIS, of favouritism shown towards The New Age newspaper in terms of government advertising spend, and Zuma’s interest in ANN7 – now defunct media outlets owned by the Guptas – and claims by Angelo Agrizzi of Bosasa about bribes allegedly given to Zuma by the group chief executive.
Zuma’s lawyer reportedly said he could not wait to attend the commission, and was looking forward to it. So are we.
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