South Africa

ANALYSIS

Zondo Commission may have changed South Africa forever – for the better

Zondo Commission may have changed South Africa forever – for the better
State Capture inquiry chair Judge Raymond Zondo. (Photo: GCIS / Elmond Jiyane) | Former president Jacob Zuma. (Photo: Neville Hopwood / Getty Images) | Former minister Malusi Gigaba. (Photo: Gallo Images / Rapport / Deon Raath) | Suspended Secretary-General of the ANC Ace Magashule. (Photo: Felix Dlangamandla)

The focus of the last week of SA’s political story has been President Cyril Ramaphosa’s final two days at the Zondo Commission. As the commission moves into drafting the final report on its findings there is strong evidence that it has already altered our politics. This might lead to important, long-term and fundamental changes.

While it is not possible to predict the future, it seems that the biggest change the Zondo Commission has instituted concerns the rule of law and the entrenchment of accountability. The commission, it appears, has made it much harder to get away with corruption now than in the past.

The short-term consequences of the commission became apparent during its earlier phases. The testimony from people who provided evidence of corruption put those who were allegedly corrupt under intense and public pressure. In some cases, they were required to come and testify under oath.

People who were once considered almost untouchable, such as Malusi Gigaba, had to explain themselves to the nation, salacious details included.

The political narrative in the ANC started changing.

As more evidence emerged, in public, about the way that Ace Magashule had dealt with tenders in the Free State, it became harder for him to oppose his ultimate suspension from the position of ANC secretary-general. This strengthened President Cyril Ramaphosa and his efforts to enforce the ANC’s “step-aside resolution”.

But the longer-term impact of the commission may cut much deeper than that.

It is now clear that during the Zuma era many people were protected and did not have to be concerned about being exposed. Even if they were, nothing would happen. In one case, the then Prasa chair, Popo Molefe, had to go to court to get the Hawks to investigate corruption. The Hawks actually opposed the application, simply refusing to investigate.

Now, the people involved in that kind of corruption have something to fear – public exposure. Even if they are not prosecuted in the near term, their reputations, and sometimes political careers (there was not always a direct throughline between those two) may well be destroyed.

This means that there have now been consequences for those people, even if they do currently fall short of legal accountability and prosecutions.

And the sight of officials and politicians having to sweat in public in this way might well have created a proper disincentive for others to engage in corruption in the future.

Before the Zondo Commission it was unthinkable that such an inquiry could be held. During the height of State Capture in 2015 and 2016 very few people would have thought it possible that they could have been called to account in this, or any other, way.

Now that the commission has completed its biggest and most public phase it will be much easier for such an inquiry to be established again.

But perhaps the biggest contribution made by the commission to our future was around the rule of law. It demonstrated that no one, including a former president, is above the rule of law, just as the Constitution states, “Everyone is equal before the law and has the rights to equal protection and benefit of the law.”

While the consequences of the arrest of former president Jacob Zuma have been immense, in the longer term the price should be worth it.

It may in fact be hard to put a price on the inculcation of the rule of law in a country.

The commission has had other effects.

There might well have been changes to the way some companies operate.

The consulting firms Bain and McKinsey might have had to alter their policies after the intense negative publicity they suffered during the commission. It may be impossible for them to claim that they are doing “business as usual”.

Of course, one should not have too much confidence in private companies self-correcting their behaviour, but the hot glare should be instrumental in their course correction.

There might also have been a change in the attitudes of voters to our politicians.

The deference to ministers and the presumption that people in government are always correct have surely been weakened by the commission. This was not just a series of media reports and denials about corruption; it was about people who had to now account for their actions. And their explanations were often wanting. (Stephen, the word you were looking for is “pathetic” – Ed)

But more than that, it may be that now the people of South Africa will demand proper transparency, to know the details of every deal when it is signed.

One can imagine, for example, that should Eskom ever want to work with McKinsey again there will be demands for complete transparency.

While it appears that the longer-term consequences of the commission are inherently positive for accountability and the rule of law, there could be some risks to this.

Many people have seen the evidence that has been presented against wrongdoers in SA politics and in government. But if there are no proper prosecutions post-commission, then public confidence in the rule of law, and with it the legitimacy of the state, could be further weakened.

There is now even greater urgency for the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) to prosecute. For us to have seen the evidence and then for there to be no clear and precise court cases would be to allow, in the most publicly damaging way, people to get away with corruption.

And if those prosecutions fail, it might also reveal the weakness of the state.

This means that there is now more pressure on the NPA to hold those accused of wrongdoing legally accountable through an open court process.

Intriguingly, the key to whether these impacts are positive in the longer term might well have to do with the biggest short-term impact of the commission. It has surely strengthened Ramaphosa’s hand, and his political position.

Ramaphosa’s supporters believe that the interests of the state in ensuring that the rule of law prevails are aligned with his interests and those of the South African people. The biggest impact of the commission could be the space it has given the president to continue with that process.

Very little in our politics is certain. But it is almost certain that the Zondo Commission has already affected our politics for years to come. It was long, occasionally painful and hardly ever boring. A spectacle of public accountability was certainly worth all the pain in setting it up, maintaining the flame while the pandemic was raging and pushing to where no one has gone before. Now, the next phase better begin. DM

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  • Dennis Bailey says:

    But the president is not moving fast enough, despite space created by Zondo for this, and corrupt politicians abound in parliament without consequence to their livelihood (EFF, corrupt Floyd and JuJu but even smarmy Gigaba and co in the ANC) until politicians are themselves censored by parliament we will see more of the same because they can. Sorry, I share none of your optimism at all.

  • Bert Kir says:

    Too many incidences of “might”, “may”, “might well”, “may well” in this article and not a single “will certainly” tells the story of what to expect…

    Is anyone out there really holding their breath?

  • Ravi Pillay says:

    The ultimate benefit should also include the Commission’s Return on Investment viz. Recovery of at least R1 billion to cover its costs and recovery of money stolen.

    • Charles Parr says:

      Ultimately the recovery resulting from all this must be at least R1 trillion. That we could consider a return on investment but will obviously take time and will hopefully stimulate employment in the orange overall industry.

  • P G Muller says:

    Might I just add that we have to thank Thuli Madonsela for starting the process…..she has changed the narrative for starters

    • Charles Parr says:

      Yes indeed, she was the only person that showed the courage that was needed while Cyril and the ANC NEC were cringing in the corner waiting for their turn.

    • Gerhard Pretorius says:

      Thuli has earned my respect long ago, along with everyone who had the balls to publicly turn their backs on the governing party when the facts about State Capture started to emerge. I am also including all whistleblowers who stood up to be counted, well knowing that years of hardship for spilling the beans would follow.

  • Fanie Rajesh Ngabiso says:

    Well done to Jacob for setting up the commission. 😀

  • Michael Stow says:

    Commissions exist mainly to whitewash public grievances by trial of exhaustion – by that measure, Zondo has succeeded in feeding us ANC politicians blandly “not remembering” and giggling. The heat has gone out of the anti Zuma/anti-ANC sentiment, so mission accomplished.

    Zondo skirted around the “values” that make entitlement, corruption, tender-preneurship not only desirable but lawful in terms of SA’s race laws on BBBEE. We are obliged to scorecard those very things in order to earn a living in SA.

    Cadre deployment, incompetence promotion and favouritism purely and exclusively on race and political connection, remains official #Only Black ANC Lives Matter policy all the way down from cabinet, national, provincial to local government. In every appointment, in every contract, every deal – from our ports and harbours, planes (no longer flying) in our skies, Eskom, pick an industry.

    Private companies bought with our own money and pension fund contributions, already had to give up more than half of their equity and contracts to the same ‘preferred vendors’ or become “black listed”.

    Zondo looked at none of this, instead choosing to play the man and not the ball in State capture. Zuma is not Satan, he is not alone. He will likely get an “ill health” free pass to “mansion arrest” with a fire pool.

    State capture is and remains the inevitable status quo, when one party sees itself as the state with racial entitlement to take whatever it wants.

  • Justin Vickers says:

    I disagree. Until these politicians are in jail there is no ‘consequence’ for them for them not be corrupt. Appearing in court for 2 days, answering some tough questions and sailing into the sunset is only going to encourage more corruption. Jail time is a non-negotiable here and SARS should lead the way.

  • Madeline Lass says:

    Thanks, Stephen for your clear insight. We live in a broken world and any positive news is good to hear.

  • Gerrie Pretorius Pretorius says:

    “But perhaps the biggest contribution made by the commission to our future was around the rule of law. It demonstrated that no one, including a former president, is above the rule of law, just as the Constitution states, “Everyone is equal before the law and has the rights to equal protection and benefit of the law.”” – I still find this very difficult to believe. The rich are still much better off and a lot less equal than the poor in this country.

  • Stoffel Van der Merwe says:

    And we should not forget the huge role of Thuli Madonsela in bringing the commission about.

  • Gerrie Pretorius Pretorius says:

    “There might also have been a change in the attitudes of voters to our politicians.” – and what do you base this ‘might’ on? And what, pray tell, may be the result of this perhaps change in attitude?

  • Sandra Goldberg says:

    It is all a lot of “maybe’s and “ ifs” . Of course one can’t predict what is going to happen as a consequence of the Zondo Commission, but it would seem that speed to act on the findings is a major requirement , and if Ramaphosa is going to wait ( as he indicated) for the report to be published, that on its own, does not augur well for the immediate future.

    • Geoff Young says:

      To put it mildy. Zondo himself has remonstrated Ramaphosa not to wait until the Commission’s report is released but imstead the crucial importance to act immediately. The speed at which he (and the NPA) does so will determine SA’s future as a viable state.

  • Michael Settas says:

    Optimistic as usual Stephen, and thank you for that! However, there are some caveats to your position, and you do highlight one of them – unless this results in justice there will be little to rejoice. The caveat you do not identify as malign, far greater than the first, is the causal link between the ANC’s rotten policies and the reason that the Zondo Commission was established in the first place, i.e. corruption. Their anti-growth, and thus anti-poor, policies of cadre deployment, BEE quota systems and the support of strangling minimum wage levels gives them the mechanism, through the first two policies, of maintaining (and even extending) the flow of patronage still firmly entrenched. In the final sell-out policy, it’s the buying of votes through the public sector unions. The rural vote is easy to procure through empty, populist promises, so that doesn’t even require much in the way of formal policy. The ANC’s policies will thus remain 100% focused about retaining power, in the face of dwindling ANC appeal at the ballot box. This means that CR cannot, and will not, implement the necessary reforms required to meet with “those of the South African people” as you note in your second last paragraph. We need to stop being deluded that CR is a reformer. He is both a consensus man and a believer in socialism. Why else would he be gleefully supporting retention of cadre deployment, BEE labour laws, EWC, NHI, prescribed assets – all disastrous policies, each one in their own right.

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