Statement on the establishment of a judicial commission of inquiry into state capture
9 January 2018
The South African Communist Party welcomes the appointment of the judicial commission of inquiry into state capture. The establishment of the commission was long overdue. The commission was first called for by the SACP and then prescribed as a remedial action following an independent investigation by the former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela in her “State of capture” report. Just two days after the 54th National Conference of the ANC last month resolved that the matter must be expedited President Zuma appealed the 14 December 2017 judgment of the North Gauteng High Court ordering him to appoint the commission within 30 days. The appeal was a clear contradiction of the mandate to expedite the matter. The President’s conduct delaying the appointment of the commission would have further prevailed had it not been of mounting public pressure.
The President in his statement on Monday, 9 January 2018 announcing the appointment of the commission was silent about its specific terms reference except that it “must seek to uncover not just the conduct of some, but all those who may have rendered our state or parts thereof vulnerable to control by forces other than the public for which government is elected”. It does not matter whether those complicit in the corruption of state capture are members of the public. The “State of capture” report prescribes that its contents should be the basis for the investigation. It would be inappropriate for the President to decide the terms of reference for an investigation on allegations he is implicated. The situation reaffirms the correctness of the March 2017 decision of the SACP that it was time for President Zuma to resign in the best interests of the ANC, the Alliance and the people of South Africa as a whole.
The SACP further notes with concern the standing aspects of the appeal by the President. This could prove to be a waste of tax payers money particularly should the appeal be dismissed.
Issued by Alex Mohubetswane Mashilo, National Spokesperson, SACP, 9 January 2018
