‘Capturing the state capturers’ or ‘a dog’s breakfast?’ — Mzansi weighs in on state capture report

The handing over of the first part of the state capture inquiry report to President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday has been met with mixed reaction online from politicians and citizens.

Acting chief justice and chairperson of the state capture inquiry Raymond Zondo gave Ramaphosa part 1 of the three-part report, which has since been made public.

This comes after four years of gathering evidence of state capture, including at the state-owned SA Revenue Service (Sars), Eskom and SAA, among others. 

Some described the release of the report as a defining moment in SA’s history and a step forward in the quest to tackle corruption, while others claimed it was full of bias.

Former President Jacob Zuma and former Sars boss Tom Moyane are among the individuals implicated in the report. It alleged the pair played a critical role in collapsing the tax authority.

“Sars was systemically and deliberately weakened, chiefly through the restructuring of its institutional capacity, strategic appointments and dismissals of key individuals, and a pervasive culture of fear and bullying. It is a clear example of state capture,” said the report.

It said Moyane was promised his position at Sars well in advance by the former president, and some units at Sars were restructured or dismantled, which meant their functions were either abandoned or not carried out effectively.

Controversial former SAA chairperson and close associate of Zuma, Dudu Myeni, was also implicated in the report. It was recommended the National Prosecuting Authority charges Myeni for fraud and corruption.

The commission found Myeni and her ally Yakhe Kwinana, who led the company’s technical side, both ran SAA into the ground.

Myeni is accused of intimidation of staff members and acting with “corrupt intent”.

“The evidence reveals Ms Myeni was appointed chairperson of the board of SAA in circumstances where she was an underperforming board member.

“She proceeded, through a mixture of negligence, incompetence and deliberate corrupt intent, to dismantle governance procedures at SAA, create a climate of fear and intimidation and make a series of operational choices at SAA that saw it decline into a shambolic state,” the report said.

Here are some responses from social media: