The recommendations made by chief justice Raymond Zondo after the judicial commission of inquiry into state capture are “still in a holding pattern” one year after the release of the report.
Zondo this week raised eyebrows when he blamed the National Assembly for failing to prevent and end state capture as the ANC was against investigating the allegations of capture and the Gupta family.
“If another group of people were to do what the Guptas did to pursue state capture ... parliament would still not be able to stop it. That is because I have seen nothing has changed,” said Zondo.
“The constitution provides that the National Assembly is elected to represent the people. When the National Assembly fails to protect the people against state capture, it fails in this duty. When you represent someone in a forum, you are meant to protect that person's interests — and if you fail to do that, you fail in your duty.”
Zondo proposed a permanent anti-state capture and anti-corruption commission similar to the one he chaired from 2018 for senior government officials to answer to allegations.
He was addressing a colloquium hosted by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) in Pretoria on Thursday, a year after he handed two reports to President Cyril Ramaphosa after the inquiry into state capture.
Parliament has expressed shock and strongly objected to Zondo’s remarks.
Parliament's spokesperson Moloto Mothapo said it was crucial to provide parliament with the necessary space to fulfil its obligations, which it is implementing, guided by the recommendations of the commission.
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