SACP fully supports Zondo state capture probe

The South African Communist Party (SACP) expects much more to be revealed by the criminal investigation into corruption within state-owned companies (SOCs) and it has given its full support to the commission of inquiry into state capture headed by judge Raymond Zondo, commencing on Monday.

The Zondo inquiry, whose term has been extended by two years, will probe allegations of state capture, corruption and fraud in the public sector and state organs.

It was sparked by allegations that the Gupta family had undue influence over certain state institutions and over former president Jacob Zuma, who is currently also facing corruption and fraud charges.

Addressing a media briefing in Kempton Park yesterday following the three-day fifth plenary session of the 14th congress central committee, SACP general secretary Blade Nzimande said the party was “confident that the truth will come out”.

“Those implicated in this plundering include members of company boards, politicians, senior managers, private companies – both established as well as some black-owned companies – often operating in sophisticated syndicates. Much, but not all of it, is linked to the Gupta family and their associates,” said Nzimande.

“There is also evidence of collusion in all of this on the part of multinational auditing firms and part of elements within our regulatory entities like the SA Bureau of Standards and in the leadership of the SA Revenue Service.”

He said the SACP central committee meeting was briefed by Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan on the “massive challenges of the new administration headed by President Cyril Ramaphosa to address deep-seated and multifaceted problems in many of our SOCs”.

“These problems relate to poor governance, weak capacity, failure to adapt to technological changes, bloated managerial structures and, above all, the wholesale parasitic plundering of our SOCs amounting to tens, if not hundreds of billions of rands,” Nzimande said.

“The clean-up endeavour is only just beginning but as can be expected, given the huge stakes at play, there is now a nasty fightback campaign led by recalcitrant elements within our movement and implicated senior SOC managers.

“They have taken up others under the false flag of black nationalism and a pretence of fighting neoliberalism,” said Nzimande.”

Some of this fightback has focused on Gordhan personally and has descended into black chauvinism and racial slurs, Nzimande said. 

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