Ramaphosa explains what he discussed with Zondo on Monday

President Cyril Ramaphosa has laughed off claims that the delay in the handover of the latest and final state capture report was intentional.

This after social media claims that the report was being delayed in order for it to be edited and implicate those who seemingly have a bone to pick with the president.

Chief Justice Raymond Zondo handed over the final report to the president at the Union Buildings on Wednesday evening, four and a half years after the first sitting of the state capture commission.

The latest report focuses on evidence on the SSA, SABC, Prasa and Estina dairy farm, to name a few.

The delay in the release of the latest report sparked controversy, with some claiming it was delayed in order to implicate former prisons boss Arthur Fraser, who has laid criminal charges against the president over the robbery that took place at his Phala Phala farm in February 2020.

The phone call between the chief justice and the president on Monday did not help matters either, as others questioned what they could have discussed ahead of the release of the report.

Briefing the media, Ramaphosa said he had not read the latest report and would only get the opportunity to read it on Wednesday night.

ALSO READ: Ramaphosa didn’t interfere with state capture report, claims Presidency

Ramaphosa also laughed off the allegations and said the two were discussing the date and time of the handover.

“The Chief Justice had wanted to communicate to me about the time of handing over the report. We had earlier discussed it would be good to have this kind of event, when he realised he could not make the appointment, he contacted me. You may need to take us at our word because we have dealt with each with integrity. We never discussed what he was doing or the evidence I presented at the state capture. If he made a negative finding against me, I will accept it because the chief justice has to do his work without fear or favour. I cannot accept the innuendos that we could have discussed the substance of the work. It is demeaning because it is beneath him to do that. It is not in his nature,” said Ramaphosa.

“I don’t know what is in this latest report. I’m going to start reading it tonight and will go through it carefully and making markings ad notes and once I have gone through it, will I be able to present a view and present to parliament a full implementation plan. We have to follow the process and decide on the steps to be taken.”

Zondo also said most of the delays in the handing over of the report could not be avoided, further apologising to the president and South Africans for the delays.

“I have emphasised the importance of the work of the commission and that if things went wrong it shouldn’t be because we didn’t try. It would have been difficult to avoid those delays, but I am satisfied that we have done all that we could to make sure that if anything is found wrong with report, it should not be because we treated the report in a manner that did not show we appreciated the importance of this report.”

‘State capture an assault on our democracy’

Ramaphosa described state capture as an assault on the country’s democracy and violated the rights of every citizen of the country.

“Through the various reports released by the Commission, we have come to understand what happened, who was involved, and what effect state capture has had on our state, our economy and our society. The State of Capture report presented evidence of the abuse of power and of how public institutions were repurposed to enable corrupt activities to take place,” said Ramaphosa.

“The report is far more than a record of widespread corruption, fraud and abuse; it is also an instrument through which the country can work to ensure that such events are never allowed to happen again.”