Zondo: ANC ‘should be ashamed of themselves’

In part four of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture report, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo writes the governing party ‘should be ashamed of themselves’ for what they had allowed to happen under their watch.

The Presidency released part four of the highly anticipated report, which is comprised of four volumes on Friday.

Its findings are damning for the 2014 Eskom Board and the ANC- particularly former President Jacob Zuma and his cabinet – who were under the influence of a private, foreign family, whose sole interest was fleecing South Africa’s coffers for private interests.

“South Africans thought that the ANC government was in control of Eskom but it was not. It had relinquished the control to the Guptas and those people the Guptas wanted,” reads the report.

The report further questions the ANC’s role in state capture, because both President Cyril Ramaphosa and ANC National Chairperson Gwede Mantashe ‘made clear in their oral evidence’ the party is entitled to have a say on who is appointed to state-owned entities’ boards and CEO’s.

At the time many of the transgressions took place, Ramaphosa was Jacob Zuma’s deputy president.

ALSO READ: Zondo confirms Zuma’s ‘character’ allowed Guptas to use him to capture Eskom

“The question that the people of South Africa are entitled to ask is: where was the ANC as the Guptas took control of important SOEs such as Transnet, Eskom and Denel? Where were they? What were they doing? Were they aware of everything but lacked the courage to stop President Zuma and his friends, the Guptas, in what they were doing? Were they looking the other way?”

The findings say the ANC had a duty to ensure that people with integrity, relevant qualifications, knowledge and experience were appointed to these positions.

The party also had a duty to monitor their deployees’ performance while they occupied those posts.

The report then slammed Parliament and Cabinet for missing the audacious capture of vital institutions such as Eskom.

“The Guptas were able to effectively remove executives that they did not want and to install those that they wanted. The Guptas were able to remove a Chairperson of the Board that they did not want and install one that they wanted,” said the report.

Zondo’s report highlighted ‘a complete dereliction of duty on the part of many governments and state functionaries which or who should have prevented the capture of Eskom.’

The damning findings in the State Capture report come less than a week after current Eskom Board member Busi Mavuso, similarly blamed the ANC-led government for Eskom’s failures.

NOW READ: We won’t be the ‘fall guy’: Board member blasts politicians over Eskom graft