State capture commission to resume proceedings on Thursday

The Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo will resume its hearings on Thursday, 9 June.

The commission will hear Eskom-related evidence from former Glencore CEO Clinton Ephron, commission spokesperson reverend Mbuyiseni Stemela confirmed on Wednesday afternoon.

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This is follows more than a week of no hearings by the commission.

During former Transnet CFO Gary Pita’s testimony last Tuesday, Zondo announced there would be no hearings for last week and most of this week, “simply because the commission is wrapping up the hearing of oral evidence”.

Extension

Last month, Zondo said the commission was seeking another extension to complete its work.

The chairperson said the commission would have to apply for a limited extension to finalise its report, adding that some witnesses still needed to appear at the commission as well.

In February this year, the Pretoria high court on Tuesday granted the commission a three-month extension until the end of June 2021 to complete its work.

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This was the third request as the commission was given an extension to 31 March 2021 by the high court last year, due to the commission needing more time to be able to make proper findings and the disruptions of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The commission was announced in early 2018 and tasked with investigating allegations of state capture along with public sector corruption and fraud.

It began its work in August of that year and was initially given 180 days to wrap up.

At this stage, the commission has spent a total of R830 million after it was allocated an additional R130 million to complete its work by March this year, on top of the R700 million it had spent by then.