Will Cyril Ramaphosa finally spring into action and deliver some knock-out blows to those implicated in the first two parts of the State Capture report? Hope springs eternal.
While the president has done well not to get in the way of the work done by the State Capture commission as headed by deputy chief justice Raymond Zondo, commentators are starting to ask for decisive leadership from the president in what could make or break his presidency.
As the Mail & Guardian writes, “…lauding Ramaphosa for not creating an obstacle course for acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo and his team is not how we should measure his commitment to rooting out corruption and protecting whistleblowers. Ramaphosa is, of course, one of the witnesses who provided Zondo with vague answers and obfuscated as much as former president Thabo Mbeki did when he was before the Seriti commission.”
The newspaper has labelled Ramaphosa’s actions to date as that of a chairperson looking for consensus from all factions before making a final decision. But when you have a country to run that style of leadership simply won’t cut it and we need a firm president to tackle the vast scale of crime and corruption presented in the State Capture report.
But if this is to be South Africa’s turning point from the precipice of a failed state to the renewed hope of a country that doesn’t stand for corruption, punishes those who try to steal from it, and becomes an inclusive society uplifting all those who live in it – then the state capture report must be the catalyst.
It’s time to get to work and every oversight body in the country should go after the perpetrators of State Capture (for subscribers) writes Wayne Duvenage of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa).
Duvenage argues that the ANC won’t be able to act on the report as they’ll have to go after their own, which would ultimately lead to the collapse of the party, perhaps overnight, given that factionalism and infighting will surely ensue.
“The action urgently required lies squarely in the domain of law enforcement and many other oversight agencies. From the National Prosecuting Authority; the Special Investigating Unit; the police and Hawks; the Asset Forfeiture Unit; South African Institute of Chartered Accountants; Independent Regulatory Board for Auditors; the law society and so many others, so much can and must be done.”
We can’t afford to sit on our hands for much longer. Our struggles run deep, and we desperately need to get the economy on track, create inclusivity and prosperity and punish the bad people who seek only to enrich themselves. We need our oversight bodies and leaders to show a little courage. Surely, we the people will reward such an act.
Here’s a roundup of interesting opinions, analyses, and editorials:
Zondo brings time of reckoning closer to Malusi Gigaba and Lynne Brown – Daily Maverick
State Capture: The UK and US governments must immediately suspend all public sector contracts with Bain – Daily Maverick
TOM EATON | And just like that Boris says he may smoke Bain, but not today – Sunday Times Daily (for subscribers)
HILARY JOFFE: Please let’s not have another dull as concrete Sona – Business Day (for subscribers)
FRIDAY BRIEFING | Zondo 2: How the Guptas shovelled billions of rand to their ‘racketeering enterprise’ – News24
Jessie Duarte | Mzansi, why do you hate black women? – News24
Image: GCIS
