State Capture Commission report: R2K supports the call for the creation of an Anti-Corruption Agency!

10 January 2022

The Right2Know Campaign welcomes and commends President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to publicly release Part 1 of the State Capture Commission report. It is encouraging to learn that the President finally recognises the importance of transparency and openness in running a just government. As an organisation, we have brought together communities and causes from across society who want not only to stop the South African Protection of State Information Bill known as the Secrecy Bill but fight for broader openness in our society. And 12 years later, we are slowly seeing the results. 

It is important that we should keep reminding politicians that a transparent government is an essential element of a free and democratic society. We call on the citizens who have not yet read the report to take time and go through it as it will deepen their understanding of the current crisis we face as a country. 

We also commend the State Capture Commission team headed by Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo for working tirelessly in trying to gather and sift through a mountain of evidence in order to compile this important document. We look forward to the timely release of the two remaining reports. 

As Judge Zondo correctly stated in the report, Whistleblowers have played a pivotal role in exposing the systematic corruption that was ingurgitating the country away. From the #GuptaLeaks whistleblowers, who provided over 100 000 emails to investigative journalists which exposed widespread corruption between state institutions and the Gupta family to the public servants who came forward to testify about the rot in various government departments and public entities like South African Airways. 

We fully support his recommendation of creating an Anti-Corruption Agency and the protection of whistle-blowers including financially incentivising potential whistle-blowers. As R2K, we believe that the crisis facing whistleblowers has political as well as legal dimensions. The institutional culture in the private and public sectors must embrace whistleblowers as vital actors in our collective efforts to safeguard and deepen our democracy. 

There is a great need for leadership from all state institutions, as well as the corporate sector, to show a commitment to promoting and protecting whistleblowing in our society. We call on civil society and all progressive movements to rally behind the call for financial incentivising potential whistle-blowers. These courageous individuals at great personal risk, have brought important information to the public’s attention and some end up losing their jobs while others are forced to relocate due to safety reasons, so it is only right that they should be protected and incentivised for their bravery. 

We call on President Ramaphosa to take appropriate action against the individuals and institutions that have been implicated in the report. It would be disheartening if the President fails to implement the recommendations like he failed to do so with the High-Level Panel Review Report into the state’s intelligence structures. Valuable time has elapsed since the release of that report and no action has been taken. 

We also call on the National Prosecuting Authority and the law enforcement agencies to start rounding up those who are implicated where there’s clear evidence of wrongdoing, one being Ms Dudu Myeni. Not only is she corrupt to the core but her conduct during her cross-examination at the State Capture Commission in November 2020 was appalling. We were shocked that no action was taken against Ms Myeni for breaching the Commissions Act. 

We also commend the work done by civil society organisations in supporting and strengthening the work of the State Capture Commission and we call on them to continue their oversight role to ensure that the recommendations are implemented accordingly. And to put pressure on the law enforcement agencies in ensuring that those who are implicated in aiding and/or playing a role in state capture are held to account. 

Issued Thami Nkosi, R2K Interim Programmes Coordinator, R2K, 10 January 2022