South Africa’s Ramaphosa Proposes New Anti-Corruption Agency as Zuma Shuns State Capture Probe

The refusal by the lead witness in the Zondo Commission’s state capture probe to show up in court is a lackluster finale to the three-year investigation. Ex-president Jacob Zuma is refusing to comply and on this issue it looks like President Cyril Ramaphosa’s hands are tied. His promise to appoint advisors this year to help form a new anti-corruption agency doesn’t inspire confidence, if the commission’s output is anything to go by.

Main Findings

Zuma did not appear before the Zondo Commission of Inquiry on 15 February, despite a Constitutional Court ruling that he must obey the summons. The commission is probing alleged corruption during Zuma’s tenure between 2009 and 2018, but the ex-president says he will no longer cooperate with the commission except the chairperson Raymond Zondo recuses himself. Zuma claims he had a personal relationship with Zondo which will prejudice the case.

The development threatens to derail investigations by the Zondo Commission which Zuma himself created in January 2018 to investigate state capture involving his business associates as he faced calls to resign or be impeached.

This subject featured chiefly when the cabinet debated Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address last week. Justice Minister Ronald Lamola described Zuma’s action as dangerous. He said, “The constitution and the rule of law are sacrosanct components of our democracy, and people in the country must respect these principles. To allow anything else will lead to anarchy and open the floodgates easily to a counter revolution.”

Even so, Zuma remains a highly influential figure within the African National Congress (ANC) such that the party spokesman Elias ‘Ace’ Magashule has personally spoken in his defense concerning the current development. So has the ANC chapter in Kwazulu-Natal that is Zuma’s home province and the province where the party’s membership is highest.

Ramaphosa has been under pressure to address corruption in the government and his party, especially since last year when many Covid procurement contracts were found to have been awarded to firms associated with ANC figures in government. In response, the president has now promised to appoint advisors this year to help form a new anti-corruption agency similar to the Scorpions (also Directorate of Special Operations), which was shut down in 2009 as Zuma began his presidency. 

Formed by Zuma’s foe Thabo Mbeki, the Scorpions were disbanded while there was tension between ANC, the government and the police. The rivalry between the police and the Scorpions took its toll when the agency began investigating Zuma and the head of the South Africa Police Service which ultimately led to the agency being shut down. The defunct team was then absorbed into a new police department now called the Hawks, placing it under a police chief appointed by the president. 

A series of scandals and unstable leadership within the police service have since weakened any anti-corruption efforts. None of the police chiefs since 2009 have completed their terms except Riah Phiyega, who was later declared unfit for the job by another commission of inquiry. Further, the current minister of police in Ramaphosa’s cabinet is Phiyega’s predecessor, Bheki Cele. He was dismissed in 2012 for alleged corruption. 

Outlook

The Zondo Commission is running out of time. It has until March to complete its work, but it is unlikely to get back on track or have made sufficient progress before then given the central subject’s refusal to cooperate. There is already popular disappointment in the country that the commission has spent three years without producing concrete proof leading to prosecution or asset recovery. 

Peacemaking will be the overarching goal for ANC leaders when they hold their next National General Council in May. The leaders recognize that tough action against Zuma and others accused of corruption will antagonize grassroots members, which the party needs to win upcoming local government elections this year[1]. Outnumbered, Ramaphosa will tow the party line and accept those political priorities. 

The president has proposed that the new anti-corruption agency will report to parliament when established. This will address past pitfalls relating to accountability for the Scorpions and state capture for the Hawks. However, the ANC national leadership appears inclined to preserve the current political and legal structure of law enforcement and will look to moderate the extent to which reforms are made.

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[1]The precise date has not yet been confirmed due to Covid-19.