Zondo blasts Ramaphosa over state capture and corrupt ministers

Former Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has expressed the pain he had to endure to swear in corrupt Cabinet ministers who had serious state capture findings against them

Zondo made the remarks on the sidelines of a South African Council of Churches anti-corruption summit on Wednesday.

State capture commission

Rampant corruption was revealed during the hearings before the commission chaired by Zondo that was established in January 2018.

The commission, which cost close to R1 billion, wrapped up its proceedings with Zondo handing his final report to President Cyril Ramaphosa in June 2022.

About 1 400 individuals were implicated during the commission. It exposed corruption at the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa, State Security Agency, Eskom and SABC, and called for prosecutions, further probes and systemic reforms.

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Corruption

Zondo said that more than 30 years after democracy, corruption has reached crippling levels.

He delivered a scathing rebuke to Ramaphosa about the ministers he appointed to be part of his Cabinet,

“It was like the president was saying, ‘I don’t care what you have found about these people. I think they are good enough to be promoted’,” Zondo told the Sunday Times.

“The recommendations that were made were based on evidence that was led transparently, when the whole nation was watching. We are defending the report because we believe it is sound.

“But yes, I had to swear them in, remembering what I found against them,” Zondo said in an unprecedented attack by such a senior judicial officer on a sitting president.

Ramaphosa’s response

Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, told The Citizen that the president would not be drawn into a public spat with Zondo.

“The former chief justice has had access to the president whenever there were matters of concern to be discussed. Recently, the president, together with the minister of justice and constitutional development, along with other members of the national executive, held a very successful meeting with the current leadership of the judiciary on all matters affecting the judiciary,” Magwenya said.

“We issued a joint statement on the meeting and the matters that are being advanced in the institutional interest of the judiciary. Therefore, a public exchange via the media with a former head of our apex court would be very unpalatable.

“The president will respond directly to the former chief justice should [he] seek an opportunity to raise his issues through a direct and constructive engagement,” Magwenya said.

Presidency report

In 2023, the Presidency published a detailed report on the implementation of the actions on Ramaphosa’s response to the recommendations of the state capture report.

It followed Ramaphosa’s own 76-page state capture implementation plan, which he submitted to parliament in October 2022.

The president’s response to the recommendations of the state capture inquiry outlined his plan of action, as well as his stance and commitment to fighting corruption within the government.

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Recommendations

In its 16 main recommendations, the Zondo commission found that parliament failed in its oversight role to hold the executive to account after several state institutions were captured, costing the state billions.

It said the recommendations by Zondo were mainly in relation to the national legislature’s oversight mandate.

Mchunu inquiry

Referring to the latest inquiry ordered by Ramaphosa, in which acting deputy chief justice Mbuyiseli Madlanga will probe the allegations of KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, Zondo said the way the government had responded to the state capture commission did not bode well.

“My feelings are that people in South Africa have seen how slow the progress is with the implementation of the commission’s recommendations, even regarding those recommendations that are being implemented.”

“[Will] the same not happen to the [Madlanga] commission … because this commission is also important.”

National dialogue

Zondo also expressed doubts over the upcoming National Dialogue, saying he was concerned about basic failings in the country that should be fixed without having to convene such a forum.

“I don’t want to say it’s a bad thing … [but] I’m concerned about simple things that don’t need a National Dialogue. I’m concerned about making sure that in municipalities we have competent people who are doing their job, people who have integrity.”

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‘Ramaphosa inconsistent

Zondo told the SACC event on Wednesday that Ramaphosa had been “inconsistent” in disciplining Cabinet ministers implicated in wrongdoing, citing the recent scandals involving the minister of human settlements, Thembi Simelane, embattled police minister Senzo Mchunu, who has been placed on special leave, and the now-fired higher education minister Nobuhle Nkabane.

“So the question arises, what is the rule? As a minister, when do you get shifted to another department and continue to be a minister and enjoy your position and benefits even though there are allegations against you? When do you get out on special leave, and when do you get removed?

“The president is the No. 1 citizen in the country. It is very important that the message he sends, through what he does and through what he says, must be consistent,” Zondo said.

Swearing in ministers

Zondo said this is similar to what happened two years ago.

“I found myself having to swear in ministers against whom I had made adverse findings in the commission. One was a deputy minister who has been promoted to a full minister, and I had to swear them in, knowing the findings I had made.

“Another one was the deputy minister who was a chair of the portfolio committee who had previously been minister of transport, and I had made findings against them, and the president was promoting them despite the findings of the commission. What does that do to our fight against corruption?” Zondo said.

Ridding SA of corruption

Zondo said for the country to effectively rid itself of corruption, it needs to hold the executive to account and not compromise on those who serve in the highest offices of the land.

He said that those facing corruption allegations should not be appointed to any positions.

“There are many people who have no allegations of fraud or corruption hanging over their heads who qualify to be ministers,” said Zondo.

“Even in the same party, there is no reason why somebody should be appointed before they clear themselves of such allegations. But also, there are people in public service who are allowed to continue with their work as usual even when there are findings of wrongdoing against them. The state simply allows them to continue. This is not the kind of leadership we need if we are going to fight corruption.”

‘Consequences’

In November 2022 in his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa said there must be consequences for those who had plundered South Africa and were involved in state capture. He also said the country had learnt its lesson in plundering money over the years of state capture

“As we recover from state capture, we must ensure there are consequences for the perpetrators of state capture. We also need to make sure that public institutions can never be weakened in this way again,” Ramaphosa said.

Ramaphosa said South Africa needed to build a public service that is professional, ethical and driven by merit.

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