Zondo seeks yet another extension for state capture commission

The Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture is set to approach the Pretoria High Court with an urgent application for yet another extension.

Chairperson of the commission, Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has prepared to ask the high court for an extension until February next year.

More work to be done

In a statement released on Tuesday, Zondo explained that “a lot of progress have been made” over the past few months, but some parts of the reports “will still need further work beyond the end of December”.

“The commission believes that it should not compromise the quality of the report,” he said.

Therefore, Zondo said, the commission will request for another extension.

“The commission has prepared an application to the High Court, Pretoria for an extension of its tenure by a further two months to enable the commission to deliver its second interim report in January and its final report in February 2022,” he continued to say.

The Citizen previously reported that the commission has collected 71,000 pages in submissions from more than 300 witnesses ever since the inquiry began its work.

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The chairperson, meanwhile, also indicated that he has already discussed the matter with President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“Although the President would have liked to receive a complete report by the end of December, he understands the commission’s position,” he said.

The commission was expected to finalise the state capture report and hand it over to Ramaphosa by 31 December.

In September, the commission was granted a three-month extension by the Pretoria High Court.

It was the fifth extension that had been granted to the commission since its establishment in 2018.

Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola had confirmed that 1 January 2022 was the date the final report should be with the president.

Report to be split into three

While Zondo previously pointed out there would only be a final report, he said the report would be divided into three parts.

“In the light of this, the Commission plans to divide its report into three parts, namely, part one, part two and part three.

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“Part one and part two will, for all intents and purposes, constitute the first and second interim reports of the commission and part III will be the commission’s final report.

“It will be possible to deliver part one of the report to the President before the end of December, [but] part two [will be delivered] before the end of January 2022 [while] and part three before the end of February 2022,” he explained.

No further costs

When the commission sought its fifth extension, the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development revealed that the extension could see the commission spending up to R35 million in order to complete its work.

As of September, the commission has spent more than R1 billion.

Commenting on the possibility of additional costs, Zondo said the commission won’t ask for more funds.

“The secretary of the commission assures me that the existing budget allocation for the commission will be adequate to cover any fees that may relate to the commission’s legal and investigations teams up to the end of February 2021 and that it will not be necessary for the commission to ask for further funding in regard to such fees.”

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