JZ denies delay tactics
Hands tied on state capture commission until litigation process completed
PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma has denied he is blocking attempts to set up a commission of inquiry into state capture, saying he will not be able to establish such a commission until the litigation process has been concluded.
Zuma has taken the report of for mer public protector Thuli Madonsela on state capture to court.
Following another release of the report on state capture by academics from four institutions, Minister of Economic Development Ebrahim Patel also lashed out at state capture.
Zuma said yesterday there were many irregularities in Madonsela’s report and he would not able to set up a commission until the court has clarified these issues.
Spokesperson for the president, Bongani Ngqulunga, said the president was not opposed to the establishment of the commission.
However, he objected to some of the decisions of the protector and was challenging the report in court.
“The president is of the view that some of the remedial actions directed by the public protector are irregular, unlawful and unconstitutional,” said Ngqulunga.
The doctrine of separation of powers would be infringed upon.
In her report, Madonsela set out the terms for Zuma in appointing the commission and this included the president asking Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng to appoint a judge who would head the inquiry.
These were the decisions of the public protector that Zuma was challenging in court.
In his budget vote speech in Parliament, Patel spoke out against state capture.
He said there were concerns of state capture by individuals. “When there are real and legitimate concerns about corruption and state capture, about the diversion of people’s money to improperly benefit individuals, our ability to forge a partnership between the state and the rest of society is seriously undermined,” said Patel.
In their report, “Betrayal of the Promise: How South Africa is being stolen”, the academics warned that there was a shadow state that was firmly in charge of South Africa, maintaining a tight grip on the levers of power.
The report said state institutions including state-owned entities (SOEs), the criminal justice system and the intelli- gence services were doing the bidding of the shadow state, which had effectively replaced the democratic state and its institutions.
It said the Zuma-Gupta family network had been dispensing patronage, controlling SOEs and procurement worth billions of rand since 2010.
Those who would not comply with instructions were removedfrom cabinet, state institutions,government, police and intelligence services andSOEs in favour of loyalists who would do what they were told to do.