State capture being rolled back day by day

The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation notes the announcement detailing the terms of reference of the state capture commission of inquiry.

“We welcome the fact that the terms of reference appear to be largely in keeping with former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela’s State of Capture report, as well as the High Court judgement that reiterated Madonsela’s remedial actions,” said the Foundation’s Executive Director, Neeshan Balton.

“We have however, noted the inclusion of a broader scope of focus to extend the probe across all government departments, agencies and entities.  We are confident that the Deputy Chief Justice will find a way to deal with this extended focus, but still keep to the required timeframes as set out in the judgement,” he added.

“At the same time, we are encouraged that parallel investigations by law enforcement agencies into state capture has started and has not been put on hold by the announcement of the establishment of the commission. Society will only start to regain some level of confidence in government’s commitment to clean up corruption when people are prosecuted and jailed when found guilty. Action will, in this case, speak much louder than words.”

Balton stated that the raids by the Hawks on the Office of the Free State Premier and Department of Agriculture today “provides us with some comfort that there is serious intent to match words with deeds”.

Yesterday also brought news of the High Court judgement declaring that former Eskom CEO Brian Molefe will have to pay back the money he received as part of a ‘pension payout’.  “That Molefe will have to pay back R11 million, in 10 days, which he had received as part of a R30 million payout, is especially gratifying to the many who were utterly shocked at the unlawful payment,” Balton said.

“We welcome the ruling and commend Solidarity, the DA and EFF who had taken the matter to court.

“If anything, news over the last few days – be it around the commission of inquiry or the tough stance that’s being taken at Eskom – shows that cracks are starting to appear in the cases put forward by the engineers of the state capture project. It also shows that there is a greater willingness from government to earnestly tackle state capture.

“At the same time, we urge South Africans and civil society to continue keeping up the pressure  against state capture and corruption. The ‘un-capturing’ and rebuilding of a state with integrity will be a long drawn out battle. We however relish the small and big victories scored each day by the many anti-state capture soldiers.”