A judicial commission which has spent almost four years probing graft in South Africa concluded that the state had been “captured” during former president Jacob Zuma’s tenure and made damning findings against the ruling party and top officials.
The panel, headed by acting chief justice Raymond Zondo, submitted the first of a three-part report to president Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday, with the others to be handed over by the end of next month. Hundreds of witnesses testified how government coffers were systemically looted over the course of Zuma’s almost nine-year rule.
The initial 874-page document, published on the presidency’s website, covers the panel’s investigations into allegations of wrongdoing at state-owned airline South African Airways and its affiliates, the South African Revenue Service and The New Age, a newspaper owned by the Gupta family, who were close associates of Zuma’s and were in business with one of his sons.
SAA spent months in business rescue, a form of bankruptcy protection, and the government is in the proceeds of selling a majority stake in the airline to private investors.Evidence related to the tax agency demonstrated how the private sector colluded with the executive, including Zuma, to capture what was a highly regarded institution and render it ineffective, Zondo said.
“The purpose of these early ‘appointments’ was to ensure that the necessary pre-planning could be done to redirect the resources of the organization and assume control of the organization,” the judge said. Zondo recommended that Moyane be charged with perjury for giving false evidence to parliament, while legislation should be amended to allow for an open, transparent and competitive process for appointing the SARS commissioner.
The judge said law enforcement should conduct further investigations to determine whether Matjila should be prosecuted for fraud. Matjila has denied wrongdoing.
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