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By Zintle Mahlati 
18h ago
Johannesburg – Vice President of the Supreme Court Raymond Zondo, head of the Commission of Inquiry into the Capture of the State, will next year have the opportunity to question President Cyril Ramaphosa on allegations of corruption.
Judge Zondo confirmed that the president of the ruling party will take the stand on a date yet to be decided.
The investigation is also expected to hear evidence from the ANC and Parliament about their oversight role with respect to allegations of corruption and state capture.
Zondo said that the question of oversight was a crucial component of the investigative work and that, as part of the recommendations in the final report, issues such as oversight would be emphasized.
“I think that if we want to make a dent in corruption in this country, it will be important that we have a very good dispensation in the protection of whistleblowers.
“It will be very important that we analyze the issue of parliamentary oversight to ensure that its oversight over the executive can ensure that corruption is put on the books and presented through supervisory powers,” Judge Zondo said yesterday (Monday) during a press conference. which highlighted the work carried out by the commission over the last two years.
The commission began hearing oral evidence related to the state’s capture in August 2018.
The high court granted an extension of the hearings to the commission until March of next year (2021).
However, Judge Zondo said the commission would go back to the higher court to request another extension.
He said the blockade had interrupted the commission’s work for three months and had delayed efforts to end the oral evidence hearing by the end of this month (December).
If the court grants the extension, it will only be from April to June. Those months would be used to compile a report, the commission chairman said.
The investigation has heard extensive evidence so far covering multiple streams of work, which have included Eskom, Denel, Transnet, law enforcement agencies, and the public broadcaster.
The commission has heard oral evidence from 278 witnesses. The transcript of the evidence is over 51,000 pages long and the affidavits and evidence submitted amount to 59,109.
The investigation has heard evidence for 323 days, and 2,300 rule 33 notifications have been issued.
Zondo said there are only a few issues left in various workflows.
He stressed that the final report of the investigation would be credible even without the Guptas’ testimony.
The family fled South Africa before the investigation began its hearings.
Zondo reiterated his position that former President Jacob Zuma was a critical witness and should have been asked certain questions regarding allegations of state capture that took place while he was head of state.
Zuma is expected to appear in the investigation next month (January).
The president said he was disappointed by the number of cabinet ministers, former and current, who had not come forward and had not provided evidence of corruption to the commission.
“We would have expected more ministers to come forward. The number of those who have come forward is very small. Many have not done it themselves. I don’t have much hope because they have had around two and a half years,” Judge Zondo said.
On the costs accrued by the investigation, he said the commission had spent about R800 million so far.
He said these costs need to be considered in context, especially given the extensive research work done and the multiple streams of work the research had to investigate.
Political Bureau
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