South African President Says Govt Will Act After Receiving All 3 Parts Of Inquiry Report

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday said the government will not make any pronouncements on the findings of the State Capture Inquiry before all three parts of the report have been received, reported News 24.

Ramaphosa’s statement came on Tuesday when Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo submitted the first of three parts of the report during a handover ceremony in Pretoria.

 The first part of the report is expected to include detailed findings related to state-owned airline South African Airways and its affiliates, the South African Revenue Service, and The New Age, a newspaper owned by the Gupta family, who were close associates of former president Jacob Zuma.

On receiving the first part of the three reports, the South African president said it will be possible to have complete sight of the report’s implications and to develop an implementation plan on the recommendations only once the final installment is received.

“We will, however, commence with the consideration of the parts of the report as they are submitted to the Presidency and will be putting in place appropriate mechanisms to effectively and thoroughly process the findings and recommendations,” Ramaphosa said.

He thanked the media and whistle-blowers for playing a crucial role in unraveling the evidence before the inquiry commission.

“I wish to thank the many people who gave evidence before the commission, and to the academics, investigators, and journalists whose work contributed to uncovering many of the matters before the commission,” the South African president said.

He said consideration of the report would include discussion with all relevant agencies, departments, public entities, and other stakeholders as considered necessary.  

During the handover ceremony, Justice Zondo said part two of the report, which will deal with a certain number of SOEs and topics, will be submitted by end of January and part three by the end of February.

The full report is due to be submitted to parliament by June 30.