The second part of the State Capture Commission report – focusing on state-owned enterprises Transnet and Denel – has been handed over to the Presidency.
The first tranche of the report was handed over to President Cyril Ramaphosa by Acting Chief Justice and Commission Chairperson Raymond Zondo in January.
The second hand over on Tuesday was conducted by the Secretary of the Commission Professor Itumeleng Mosala and Deputy Director-General in the Presidency Phindile Baleni.
President Ramaphosa in a statement on Tuesday said the report is a key cog in the fight against corruption in the country.
“The handover of the second part of the report of the Commission of Inquiry is another significant step forward in the work we need to do to rid our country of corruption.
“During the course of the past four years the Commission has constructed a disturbing picture of the depth and damage of state capture,” he said.
President Ramaphosa added that all energies are now focused on ensuring that state coffers are adequately protected and that the commission’s recommendations are applied.
“We should now apply our energies to the Commission’s recommendations and take the necessary steps to make sure we never face this onslaught on public resources and on the fabric of our society,” the President said.
At the handover, Commission Secretary Professor Mosala said the Commission is looking forward to handing over the final part of the report which will be longer than the first two.
“This is part two, it contains [Transnet and Denel]. The DCJ…asked to convey his gratitude to the President for being patient with us and for allowing us to hand over even though both of them are not here.
“We are really excited that we have been able to get through to this stage. There’s a lot more coming I can tell you. We were supposed to have the Free State asbestos project as part of this as well as the R1 billion housing project. Those two were supposed to be part of it. [However], they are ready but not ready enough to be submitted today. Part three will be very big when it comes,” Mosala said.
Accordingly, once all of the three parts have been handed over to President Ramaphosa, he is expected to submit the completed report to Parliament by June 30 with “an indication of his intentions with regards to implementation” of the report’s recommendations.
Source: South African Government News Agency