The South African Federation of Trade Unions (SAFTU) says it rejects the offer, made by Business Unity South Africa (BUSA), to provide necessary resources to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to act on the findings of the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.
The NPA and the Hawks have recently announced the establishment of a task force in response to the Commission’s first report which highlights failures to prosecute State Capture corruption cases.
SAFTU says despite it encouraging the immediate prosecution of those implicated in corruption, the move to bring in private entities to assist could lead to another State Capture.
SAFTU’s General Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi says, “We believe that there is no free money. Money talks, it changes the opinions of individuals, influences the thinking of institutions. You cannot ask the very same people implicated by acts of corruption to offer money to investigate other corrupt business persons. We believe this is a conflict of interests. Despite its good intentions, and we do not doubt the integrity of some of the individual members of BUSA, but please not at an institutional level you can’t do that.”
State Capture Report Discussion I Business Unity SA’s Cas Coovadia and SAFTU SG Zwelinzima Vavi
BUSA CEO, Cas Coovadia, says the business sector has no intention of infringing on the independence of the NPA.
“The NPA has indicated previously and publically that they have resource and capacity constraints. They have to be well-resourced and capacitated o urgently act on the recommendations of the commission. We are very cognizant of the point that SAFTU is making and that is why we have said we are making the offer. Ideally, government should immediately resource the NPA. Let me be clear, we don’t want to create more State Capture or infringe on the independence of the NPA.”
State Capture Report | Calls for speedy prosecution of those implicated
“Funds lost will not be recovered”
Former Public Protector Advocate Thuli Madonsela says while some money that was lost through State Capture has been returned to the State, a lot of the funds will never be regained.
She says South Africa can only contend with the knowledge of how State Capture was imposed in order to avoid a similar occurrence in the future.
The State Capture Commission was established in 2018 by former President Jacob Zuma following recommendations made by Madonsela.
She says in order to get the fullest understanding of how State Capture came to be, the country must await the submission of all the Commission’s reports.
Madonsela provides more details:
