Chief Justice and Chairperson of the State Capture Commission, Raymond Zondo has denied any malice in the delayed release of Part Five of the State Capture report. The official handover of the report was postponed for a second time on Monday after the Commission failed to hand over the report to President Cyril Ramaphosa by 6 pm.
Last week, the Commission cited certain challenges that led to its failure to meet the initial 15 June deadline. Zondo has hit back after speculation that he and President Cyril Ramaphosa held a meeting on the day of the expected release of the fifth instalment of the State Capture report, leading to further delays.
Zondo denies meeting with the President and claims there was an agreement for the postponement to check for errors before release, which Zondo claims he was unable to do on Monday due to his attendance at the JSC interview for Justice, Mandisa Maya.
Earlier, the Presidency rejected claims that Ramaphosa interfered with the work of the Commission, a claim Zondo also rejects. It’s expected that the report will now be released on Wednesday.
VIDEO: Release of final part of State Capture report expected on Wednesday: Dr Bernard Sebake
‘Litmus test for political elites’
The release of the fifth and final installment of the State Capture Report will be a litmus test for political elites’ maturity and commitment to the country’s democratic ideals, says Professor Joleen Steyn Kotze, a senior research specialist in Democracy and Citizenship at the Human Sciences Research Council.
According to Kotze, political leaders must exercise maturity as the process unfolds.
“You know, I think if we look at the work of the Zondo commission and the very critical questions the state capture team was tasked to investigate. I think it is a good strategy to practice due diligence and it can take a little bit longer to make sure you have crossed all the eyes etc. Because we are talking about the high-ranking political elite who are implicated in state capture.”
