State capture’s most damaging trait: corrupting great minds

Jacob Zuma’s return to court to face the corruption charges he’s managed to avoid for more than a decade coincided with Norma Mngoma’s return to the witness stand at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.

The two events form part of the same story: the real cost of state capture.

Mngoma, former public enterprises and also finance minister Malusi Gigaba’s estranged wife, has been dishing up so much detail of their interactions with the Gupta brothers, it is almost impossible to remember that Gigaba was once the shining star of the ruling party.

He was even seen as a potential president.

The ANC has not really produced outstanding leaders over the past two decades but because they have managed to win all the national elections since 1994, it means the only thing stopping SA from becoming a failed state are the few good leaders in the party.

Leaders who, when enticed with bags filled with cash, walked away – like Mcebisi Jonas says he did. But Mngoma says her husband did not walk away. Instead, he went back for more.

The damage done to state institutions like the South African Revenue Service (Sars) is there for all to see. Tax collection targets were not met and the capacity of the institution to fulfil its mandate was almost completely destroyed.

But the real cost of state capture is the damage it has done in terms of human capital.

Gigaba is not the only bright star that was dimmed by his proximity to those controlling the purse strings during state capture.

So many great minds and leaders fell for the lure of cash.

The revelations by Mngoma that Gigaba owns over 200 designer suits, some of which had to be put away in storage, makes for soap opera kind of titillating bits about the former minister, but also shows the degrees of separation between him and the people he was placed there to lead.

It is not illegal to own that many designer suits but for a man tasked with running an economy that is meant to push back the boundaries of poverty, it is not in good taste.

State capture may not have made anyone develop expensive tastes, but it did make it easy for those that wanted to corrupt such people to do so.

The former president, on the other hand, stands trial for corruption because another state “capturer” back in the day allegedly took over every aspect of his financial life.

Should the trial start tomorrow after the challenge for the recusal of state prosecutor Billy Downer has been dealt with, it is likely to provide the same kind of details that Mngoma has been providing at the Zondo commission.

Laying bare the kind of damage that was done to the souls of those tasked with governing. The tax revenues lost due to Sars’ diminished capacity can be quantified into an almost exact monetary figure.

The actual amounts of money swindled from Eskom, Transnet and other state-owned enterprises can also be condensed into an exact figure and, in some cases, authorities can go after those who stole the money and try to recover it.

But the damage done to individuals’ reputations and standing cannot be quantified.

The possibility of Gigaba’s return to the path towards Mahlamba Ndlopfu is basically nonexistent.