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Zondo disappointed at lack of state capture information

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By Citizen Reporter

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4 minute read

20 August 2018

11:02 am

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Deputy chief justice Zondo has called on the public to come forward with information for the state capture inquiry and hinted at a lack of cooperation from government.

Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo during a media briefing in which members of the Commission of Enquiry into Allegations of State Capture were introduced to the media at the offices of the Chief Justice in Midrand on 7 March 2018. Picture: Neil McCartney

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Deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo, who heads the inquiry into state capture, expressed his disappointment at the response from the public, who he has called on to come forward with information on Monday.

“If this commission is to do it’s job properly we need evidence,” he said. Zondo has also called on government to give the inquiry its full support.

He hinted that this hasn’t been the case so far. “A commission like this one depends on government departments for many things, sometimes there are challenges with certain officials,” he said.

Zondo continued to not that the state security department had dragged its heals in terms of granting the commission security clearances.

“We did have challenges with security clearance with the state security department, I did write to the President in the beginning of August. As of Friday I have received a report that there has not been much done regarding this up until now,” he said.

The inquiry has begun its hearings in Johannesburg today, with Zondo having concluded his introductory remarks.

At the centre of the hearings are the fugitive Gupta family, who have since left the country as allegations of corruption and stripping of state-owned enterprises (SoE) of billions of rand through illegal contracts surfaced. The extent of the family’s influence was detailed in leaked emails from Gupta computer servers, dubbed “GuptaLeaks”.

READ MORE: State capture inquiry is a scheme to destroy evidence, says Mashaba

The Gupta brothers, Atul, Ajay, and Rajesh, also known as Tony, enjoyed a close relationship with former president Jacob Zuma. The family employed Zuma’s son Duduzane as a director at one of the family-owned companies, Sahara Computers. His twin sister Duduzile later took up a directorship at Sahara.

From their Saxonwold, Johannesburg compound, the brothers allegedly decided who became cabinet ministers and would summon ministers and SoE managers for instructions. SoEs, such as Eskom, Transnet, Denel, and the SABC, allegedly bowed to the Guptas’ influence and channelled millions in advertising to the family’s then media companies ANN7 news channel and daily newspaper The New Age.

South Africans perhaps first became aware of the Gupta family’s prominence and their unfettered influence when they landed their private plane at the SA National Defence Force Waterkloof Air Force Base in Pretoria in 2013. The plane carried wedding guests from India, headed to Sun City resort in the North West to attend a lavish family wedding.

The VIPs were escorted by SA Police Service (SAPS) protection officers and driven in luxury cars. Guests at the wedding included governing African National Congress leaders and cabinet ministers. South African taxpayers footed the R30 million wedding bill, the leaked emails showed.

Following months of litigation by Zuma interdicting former public protector Thuli Madonsela’s state capture report from being released, the legal wrangle came to an end in November 2016 when the high court ordered that the much-awaited report be released.

READ MORE: Zondo invites Zuma to give evidence at state capture inquiry – report

Zuma had argued that he was never afforded enough time to respond to Madonsela’s questions on the alleged undue influence on him by the Guptas. Madonsela’s explosive report implicated government officials, cabinet ministers, and heads of SoEs.

The report showed how the Guptas had made R6 billion through questionable state contracts and had planned to increase the rake-in to R8 billion. Furthermore, former deputy minister of finance Mcebisi Jonas was allegedly offered a R600 million bribe by the family to take up the position of finance minister.

Irate opposition parties launched campaigns against the Guptas, and even opened criminal cases against those implicated in Madonsela’s report.

Commission chairman, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, approached the high court to have the allocated time frame extended from 180 days to two years to enable the inquiry sufficient time to complete its work. The court granted the request earlier this month.

Zondo will open the proceedings on Monday and will be followed by legal team leader advocate Paul Pretorius’s statement. Advocate Thandi Norman will also present reports.

The first week will see various witnesses appearing to state their case. These will include Jonas, former government spokesman Themba Maseko, former ANC MP Vytjie Mentor, and incumbent government spokeswoman Phumla Williams.

Additional reporting by Batandwa Malingo and ANA

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