World’s eyes on Zondo inquiry
● SA’s response to graft is critical – German president
The international community is closely monitoring developments at the state capture commission of inquiry, German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.
The visiting German head of state made the remarks during a media briefing as part of his official visit‚ hosted by President Cyril Ramaphosa at Tuynhuys in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Steinmeier said his country regarded the state capture commission of inquiry as an important signal of how seriously SA was tackling corruption.
The German president said that there was renewed interest in SA as an investment destination following years of waning trust between the previous administration under then president Jacob Zuma and international investors.
“We’re visiting you at a time when interest in SA is awakening again.
“We’re following the new developments in SA with great interest.
“We’re following your new policies‚ your efforts to strengthen the independence of the judiciary by creating transparency; also your efforts to fight corruption.
“We’re following very closely the governmental institutions’ efforts [to fight] what is called state capture in SA.
“They are a very important signal to the international community‚ it’s a signal that is very well received in Germany‚” Steinmeier said.
Investors were not keen to put their money in countries where corruption was thriving, he said.
Germany is SA’s thirdlargest trading partner‚ with more than 600 German companies based in the country.
Those companies employ more than 100‚000 people.
Steinmeier, who is joined by a business delegation, said they were looking to exploit further business opportunities in SA.
Ramaphosa said it did not surprise him that members of the international community were paying close attention to the state capture commission of inquiry.
“The state capture issue is an opportunity that they are looking at.
“To see the extent to which we’re able to correct our ways [and] to get rid of tendencies and practices that were completely against the normal type of clean governance that they would have expected.
“So this commission is almost a cleansing process of all the bad things that have happened in our country.”
The two countries‚ both recently elected to be non-permanent members of the UN Security Council for 2019/2020‚ have also pledged to work together to promote global peace and security and to protect the current multilateral system which, they said, was facing a threat from nationalists in various parts of the world.
Steinmeier was the first German president to undertake a state visit to SA since 1998.
In Germany‚ the role of a president is largely ceremonial ‚ with the chancellor carrying the executive responsibility over the country’s government. –
German companies based in the country employ more than 100‚000 people