Zondo Report: Lack of oversight body to fight corruption contributed to State Capture
The Zondo commission has found that despite legislation and agencies fighting corruption in the country, the lack of an oversight body specifically geared at fighting corruption has contributed to the capture of the state.
Looking at how the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) was flouted and contravened to allow the Guptas, private firms such Bain & Company, McKinsey, EOH, and others to unlawfully benefit from state coffers, the state capture commissions report says existing oversight bodies are fragmented.
“The oversight function is a vital component in protecting the procurement system from abuse. In South Africa the oversight function has been fragmented both in response to excessive decentralisation of the procurement system and because of the complicated legislative mosaic which spreads the responsibilities of oversight very wide,” notes Zondo in his report, released on Tuesday.
He said the oversight functions are crowded, which leads to overlaps and gaps.
Zondo says in a decade State Capture took place with no action from oversight bodies such as parliament.
“Twenty years of frustration which includes a decade of state capture pitilessly exposed the flaws and weaknesses in the public procurement system which have been exploited by criminals to inflict lasting damage to the South Africa economy,” the report says.
It says it’s because of this that the government has largely failed at service delivery.
He recommends a National Charter against corruption, which has a standardised Code of Conduct, be adopted by the government, the business sector, and other stakeholders; this includes the establishment of an independent and properly resourced anti-corruption authority or agency for South Africa.
Full Report
Judicial Commission of Inquiry Into State Capture Report-Part 1 (1) by GaoOliviaPhalaetsile on Scribd
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