President Ramaphosa’s handling of the State Capture Commission report holds lessons for Africa, writes Sonny Iroche
The first of a three-part Report of the State Capture Commission, inaugurated about four years ago was received recently by the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa. The Part one of the Report, is in three Sections of an 874- page Report.
Receiving the Report, President Cyril Ramaphosa, promised to post the report on his website, in a matter of hours after receipt of the Report. The Commission, according to the president, has been open and transparent. The Chief Justice promised that the recommendations of the Report shall be bidding. However, the president has the prerogative to either implement or not implement the recommendations of the report. But he has the moral obligation to give legal backing should he choose not to implement any parts of the recommendations.
The other two parts of the reports, shall all be submitted by the State Capture Commission to the president by end of February this year. The Report covers the massive corruption, associated with the demise of some State-owned enterprises such as South Africa Airways (SAA) and report on South Africa Revenue Services (SARS). The onus is upon the president to wait for the other two parts of the Report to be submitted before implementation.
This singular act of the ANC led government of President Ramaphosa of South Africa, to set up the Commission and not to attempt in any way to interfere with the inquiries of the report, are highly commendable and unprecedented in Africa.
Now, it is very clear that President Ramaphosa’s decision on the extent to which his government would use and implement the recommendations of the Commission, places him under the scrutiny and assessment of both the international community and the people of South Africa.
History beckons on President Ramaphosa, on how he wishes to go down in the annals of the country’s history on the fight against pervasive corruption and state capture. The president also commended and thanked the whistleblowers in the country for their patriotic act of bringing corruption cases to the fore, at the risk of their jobs and sometimes at the risk of their livelihood.
Those who have followed the long years of corporate and political career of President Ramaphosa, believe that he would toe the right part of implementing the recommendations in line with the legal framework.
The constitution of the State Capture Commission, the patriotic zeal of the whistleblowers, who volunteered information on corruption practices in several government departments and the men and women who worked tirelessly for nearly four years, President Cyril Ramaphosa for his steadfastness, must all be applauded and commended for this bold and unprecedented investigations of corruption on the African continent of an immediate past government of the same political party.
South Africa, by this unique action, has again gone down in history for setting the bar of intolerance of corruption, abuse of office and State Capture, irrespective of whose ox is gored.
Clearly, this has set a precedence and an agenda for all the 54-member countries that constitute the African Union.
All South Africans should remain calm, and come together to support whatever decisions that the government comes up with at the end of the submission of the three Reports.
Africa is indeed, truly rising.
Sonny Iroche is a trained Investment Banker, and Chairman of Strategic Alliance Promotion of Nigeria. He sits on a number of Boards of Nigerian Companies. He is a member of the Joint Ministerial Advisory Council on Industry, Trade & Investment between Nigeria and South Africa.
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