Corrections to be made to the State Capture Report could affect its credibility: Analyst

President Cyril Ramaphosa is due to hand over the full State Capture report to Parliament in October. This is in line with the directive from the high court.  

However, Chief Justice and State Capture Commission Chairperson, Raymond Zondo has been granted his application to correct parts of the report – a quest that has cast doubt on the credibility of the report. 

Analysts argue that Chief Justice and State Capture Commission Chairperson, Raymond Zondo’s correction of parts of the State Capture report could cast doubt on the report’s credibility.  

Last week, the Pretoria High Court granted Zondo permission to make corrections to Volumes 2 and 3 of the final instalment of the report.  

It delves deeper into the Vrede Dairy farm project, and former State Security Head, Arthur Fraser, amongst others

Deputy Judge President, Aubrey Ledwaba ruled that the corrections to be made in the said reports may not affect the substance, findings, and recommendations in the original report.  

However, Political Analyst, Thamsanqa Malinga says this could be used to settle political scores.  

“It says a lot. It says a lot about the credibility of those who wrote the report. It says a lot about the loopholes that are there that now politicians are seeking to use in terms of fighting their own battles. So, there is quite a lot that is still going to happen in the run-up to the ANC elections in December, (and) in the run-up to the national elections in 2024. There is still a lot we are going to see with the report being used to settle political scores.” 

How will amendments to Zondo report affect its credibility?

In June, this year, while receiving the fifth and final report, President Ramaphosa indicated that the work of the Zondo Commission was vital to the fight against corruption.  

Ramaphosa was due to present the full State Capture report to Parliament this month.  

The president was also expected to outline his intentions regarding the recommendations of the State Capture Commission. 

“In line with the directive of the high court, within four months of this date, I will formally present to parliament the full report of the commission, together with an indication of my intentions on the implementation of the commission’s recommendations. And I know that in this regard, we will also be working together with members of parliament to whom this report is going to be submitted and collectively, we will deal with state capture and outline precisely what needs to be done.”  

Zondo’s request delays the work of parliament again, whom he made findings against.  

Zondo found that parliament had failed to effectively control oversight of the executive during the tenure of former President, Jacob Zuma.  

Political Analyst, Levy Ndou says, “Equally, the Zondo Commission has indicated areas of concern regarding parliament’s pace in ensuring that the executive is accountable. One would expect parliament to respond positively to what came out from the report of the State Capture Commission.”  

According to the High Court judgment, Zondo is scheduled to hand over the amended report to Ramaphosa on Monday.