NATIONAL NEWS - After almost three and half years and more than R1 billion later, the State Capture Commission’s fifth and final instalment is expected to be officially handed over to President Cyril Ramaphosa later on Monday.
The report was supposed to be handed to Ramaphosa on 15 June, but due to ‘certain challenges’, the commission was unable to meet the original deadline for the final instalment.
The commission, headed by then Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo wrapped up its work on Sunday night and sent it to Ramaphosa electronically.
The hard copy of the report will be handed to the president in an official ceremony at the Union Buildings in Pretoria later.
There has been no indication by the presidency when the fifth and final report will be released to the public.
The highly-anticipated report is expected to deal with outstanding issues, including matters at the SABC and the State Security Agency (SSA), the Gupta’s Waterkloof landing and the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa).
The first Zondo report was released in January this year and focused on South African Airways (SAA), Gupta-owned newspaper, The New Age, and the South African Revenue Services (Sars).
The other three reports revealed damning financial misconduct at Transnet, Bosasa, Eskom and the Free State asbestos scandal among other issues.
Zondo has referred a number of people implicated in the capture of state-owned entities for criminal prosecutions.
In March, Corruption Watch executive director Karam Singh in an article penned for News24 said the Zondo report ensures that corruption remains firmly embedded in the public discourse.
“We as civil society must now push for the quick action and real penalties. We must not let up, otherwise, the report will become another white elephant. Civil society must now push for quick action and real penalties.”
Meanwhile, Parliament has already begun establishing ‘appropriate systems’ to process and oversee the implementation of Zondo’s reports.
The Joint Ethics Committee has been tasked to investigate possible contraventions of the parliamentary code of conduct during the state capture era.
