State capture continues because Parliament has failed - Outa

The organisation’s parliamentary engagement manager Matt Johnston appeared before the commission.

Johnston told the commission that Parliament's ethics committee has failed to do its job and allowed for ministers and officials implicated in improper conduct to act with impunity.

In May 2018, Parliament conducted an inquiry into allegations of state capture at the Department of Mineral Resources.

Then minister Mosebenzi Zwane was scheduled to appear before that inquiry to account.

Johnston said instead of Zwane cooperating with the inquiry he was replaced.

"What I know is that Mr Zwane was replaced with Gwede Mantashe and suddenly there was no longer an interest to interview Mr Zwane. This is something that happens frequently, we have seen this everywhere, in SOEs and government," 

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“When someone becomes tarnished with allegations that have not been resolved, they are simply shipped into another position in the hope that the issue would be forgotten," said Johnston.

He added that Outa had laid a complaint against former communications minister Faith Muthambi for leaking confidential cabinet information to the Guptas and nothing was done.

"This is not only no action resulting from our allegation. The ad hoc committee had already recommended that the ethics committee discipline Muthambi, however, this was not done. Muthambi was instead placed in a chairperson position," he said.

He told the commission that he believes that state capture has continued due to the inaction of the Joint Committee on Ethics and Member's Interests.