By Alexander Winning

JOHANNESBURG – South African corruption investigators have found evidence of systemic graft under former President Jacob Zuma.

Raymond Zondo is the senior judge and chair of this inquiry. It was created in 2018 after corruption scandals had overshadowed South Africa’s politics for years.

Zuma denied any wrongdoing. He refused to cooperate with an inquiry. Zuma was arrested in July for contempt. After being placed on medical parole, Zuma was sent back to jail in July for contempt of court. He is currently appealing that decision.

Zuma has been accused of giving businessmen – his brothers Atul and Ajay Gupta- permission to steal state resources and infuse policy. It is commonly known in South Africa as “state capture”.

Guptas also denied wrongdoing and fled South Africa following Zuma’s second term. He was overthrown by Cyril Ramaphosa, now President of South Africa, before the conclusion of his second term.

Instalment 1 of Zondo’s first report focused on corruption allegations involving South African Airways (SAA), a state-owned airline, and other entities. It was controlled by Guptas as well the revenue service.

It stated that the SAA was “racked with corruption and fraud” during Zuma’s reign. According to two ex-finance ministers, Zuma’s personal preference meant that the SAA Chairwoman was kept.

“This is the antithesis for accountability. The report stated that President Zuma ran from the Commission knowing there would be questions that were put to him and which he might not be able to answer. The spokespersons for Zuma, and SAA didn’t immediately return calls seeking comment.

COLLAPSE OVER GOVERNANCE

According to the inquiry, the Guptas had “a calculated strategy… in order to take public funds from state owned enterprises” and that their influence over Zuma was “considerable”.

The revenue service SARS was described as “systemically, deliberately weakened” by the government. This included the restructuring of the institution, key appointments and firings of key people, as well as a culture of bullying and fear. Zuma and an ex-SARS Commissioner were cited as key players in its dismantling. SARS has not responded to an emailed request for comment.

In general, public procurement was addressed by the inquiry. The inquiry found that there was abuse at each stage of the process and that government governance collapsed in state-owned companies.

The government should publish a national anti-corruption charter for public procurement. It should also establish an independent anticorruption agency.

Ramaphosa is expected to receive the second part of the report before the end February.

Ramaphosa, who received the first section of Zondo’s report, promised to put into practice the recommendations of the inquiry at a ceremony held at Union Buildings.

Ramaphosa is making fighting corruption a top priority since replacing Zuma. Some opposition politicians, however, have criticised Ramaphosa because he did not do enough to stem the rot during his time as Zuma’s deputy from May 2014 through February 2018.

Zondo refused to speak at Tuesday’s ceremony about the contents of Zondo’s report.