Chamber of Mines supports inquiry into state capture

Teke said the chamber would seek urgent engagements with the Presidency and the ANC to consider the material damage caused to the international reputation of the South African mining industry by the allegations of impropriety and corruption raised in the report.

The Public Protector investigated the alleged influence and improper relationship of the Gupta family in the removal and appointment of ministers and directors of state-owned entities.

Teke said the Public Protector's report provided more detail on these allegations and the alleged improper use of state machinery for nefarious ends.

"While the report comes to few formal conclusions, its recommendation that the matter is so serious and so significant that it needs to be handled by a formal and independently selected judicial commission of enquiry is to be welcomed, and is a process that is fully supported by the Chamber," Teke said in a statement.

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"The Chamber has repeatedly raised its concerns - first in private, but more lately in public - about the state of governance in South Africa, particularly as this applies to the allegations of impropriety within the department of mineral resources (DMR)."

Teke said many civil society groups had added their calls for better governance in the country.

"These efforts have been reinforced by our judicial and other constitutional institutions that are still credible and which still function," Teke said.

"Their wheels may grind more slowly than we would like, but they do so inevitably and inexorably. It is these concerted efforts that will ensure that the rule of law and good governance will carry the day."

Teke said the chamber recognised that the commission of inquiry would need at least the 180 days allocated, adding that an urgent intervention was needed to restore the integrity of the DMR in the intervening period.