SA learnt ‘bitter lessons’ from state capture, says Ramaphosa

President Cyril Ramaphosa said there must be consequences for those who have been plundered South Africa and involved in state capture.

He also said the country had learnt its lesson in plundering money over years of state capture in his weekly newsletter “From the Desk of the President” on Monday.

State capture recommendations

Last week, Ramaphosa announced several new measures in line with recommendations made in the six-part report on state capture.

He also provided a progress report on the work done to recover monies and criminal prosecution proceedings.

“One of the bitter lessons we take from the state capture era is how fragile our public sector can be and how we need to strengthen it.”

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Ramaphosa added that the report of the State Capture Commission lays bare how organs of state were systematically weakened by undue political and corporate interference.

“It further details instances where individuals without the necessary competence and experience were appointed to strategic positions so that they could be manipulated by private interests.”

‘Recovering’ from state capture

“As we recover from state capture, we must ensure there are consequences for the perpetrators of state capture. We also need to make sure that public institutions can never be weakened in this way again,” Ramaphosa said.

Ramaphosa said South Africa needs to build a public service that is professional, ethical and driven by merit.

“Building such a public service is one of the main aims of the National Framework towards Professionalisation of the Public Sector, which was made public last week.”

A ‘more capable’ state

“The finalisation of the Framework, which will be applied across all spheres of the public sector, fulfils a commitment I made in the State of the Nation Address in February this year as part of the work to build a more capable state,” Ramaphosa said.

Ramaphosa said government will also be introducing competency assessments as part of new requirements for entry into the public service.

“Those seeking appointment or promotion will need to complete compulsory courses with the National School of Government (NSG); those who are newly appointed will not be allowed to assume duty until they have successfully completed induction programmes.

“Long-serving public servants will also have to undergo regular refresher training,” he said.

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