President Ramaphosa fails to lead on Zondo Commission recommendations; Parliament must act as last line of defense
24 October 2022
Please find attached a soundbite by Siviwe Gwarube MP.
The President’s address last night has confirmed that it is indeed Parliament that must act as the last line of defense against State Capture. The President simply provided an analysis of the Zondo Judicial Commission Report instead of stating what the executive he leads intends to do to insulate government processes from grand theft again.
Much of what the President said was existing work that is already being done by law enforcement agencies. Nothing was said about bolstering their capacity to do the kind of investigative work that is needed to prosecute those who plundered public money.
More glaringly, the President completely avoided making any announcements about cabinet ministers who have been implicated in State Capture and how he will be holding them to account. This is firmly within his mandate and yet he made a vague mention about looking into this.