First anniversary of the release of the State Capture Commission Report

22 June 2023

Today marks a year since Chief Justice Zondo delivered the Report of the Commission on State Capture to President Ramaphosa marking the end of a 4-year long process of investigations and public hearings.

The Report contained several recommendations about how to hold the perpetrators of state capture accountable as well as broader recommendations on how to reform state institutions to prevent the recurrence of state capture in future.

The President has since submitted an implementation plan to the National Assembly, and the National Assembly has also developed its own plan to monitor and implement the commission’s recommendations. Yet, a year on, too little has been done. While we acknowledge there are some efforts underway to rebuild institutions after the height of state capture and to begin to professionalise the public administration, the pace and breadth of reform is inadequate – from developing a fit-for-purpose anti-corruption architecture, through addressing SOE governance failures, and more.

The legislative reform programme submitted by the President has not picked up any steam and will likely not be achieved before the current Parliament is dissolved ahead of the elections next year. The National Assembly on the other hand has not adopted some of the key recommendations made by the commission which would improve its effectiveness in conducting its oversight functions over the executive.

The implementation of the recommendations remains a time sensitive issue that should be at the top of our national agenda. It is imperative that political leadership show South Africans that the commission’s work was not in vain, and that real change will follow from its recommendations.

Having hosted a joint conference on the Commission’s Report and its recommendations last year, CASAC and PARI intend to host a follow-up conference later this year in October 2023 that will focus on assessing the progress made in the implementation of the recommendations, reviewing the content of pending legislative and policy proposals, as well as identifying opportunities for broader state reform to strengthen democratic governance.

Issued by PARI, 22 June 2023