President Cyril Ramaphosa has submitted to parliament the highly anticipated implementation plan on the recommendations of the Zondo Commission.
The commission, officially called the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture, Corruption and Fraud in the Public Sector, including Organs of State completed its work this year after four years.
The commission, headed by now chief justice Raymond Zondo made adverse findings against several ANC bigwigs, some of whom are running for top positions in the party ahead of its hotly contested elective conference in December.
“The President’s response outlines the steps government is taking to implement the commission’s recommendations with respect to actions against the perpetrators of state capture and reforms to prevent future occurrence of state capture, as well as broader systemic reforms arising from the work of the commission,” his office said on Sunday morning.
“The Presidency will shortly be making the response publicly available. Details for public access to the document will be announced in due course. On Sunday evening 23 October 2022, the President will address the nation to provide more details.”
Sunday World reported today that special national executive committee (NEC) meeting of the ANC was held this week where the party’s state capture task team chairperson, Jeff Radebe, gave feedback that is expected to guide the government on how to deal with the recommendations of the Judge Raymond Zondo report.
About 200 ANC leaders, including those running for top six positions, were implicated in the report.
Sunday World understands there was a strong pushback against some of the recommendations of the state capture report, with some leaders arguing Zondo had gone beyond the scope of his terms of reference.
“There was a view that Zondo went beyond his terms of reference. There was also an outcry over how other comrades were treated by the commission. Some were not given sufficient time to respond to allegations while others could not cross examine witnesses that testified against them,” an NEC member who attended the meeting said.
Another NEC member said Radebe’s report looked at the recommendations and reflected on whether they should be accepted. The leader said the proposal for chairpersons of Parliament committees to be appointed from the ranks of opposition parties was rejected as this “violates the spirit of the constitution and electoral laws”.
“The second one was the vetting of boards of state-owned enterprises, which was acknowledged and there was an indication it is already being implemented,” the leader said.
“We reaffirmed our position on supporting the work (of the commission) and encouraged individuals to take the matters individually if they are aggrieved. Noted those who are excising their rights to take the report to review,” the leader added.
Former president Jacob Zuma yesterday, without producing any evidence tore into Zondo and the work of the commission, accusing the jurist of reaching predetermined outcomes.
