Zondo inquiry a wasteful dress rehearsal for trial of the corrupt
The NPA will have to repeat the process to secure evidence to convict state capture criminals
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s testimony before the Zondo commission of inquiry into state capture was predictably non-committal, a boilerplate version that filled the gap yet failed to satiate — like Sunday lunch without roast potatoes. A rehearsed and polished account, it took on the function of an anti-corruption public relations (PR) exercise for the state and ANC, akin to a statement read out at a media conference.
Ramaphosa’s inconsequential appearance, from a perspective of evidence gathering, is reminiscent of the commission itself: a sacrificial white elephant that has devoured taxpayer funds with a poor return on investment. The Zondo inquiry is estimated to have cost SA R1bn. The evidence presented, and the senior counsel evidence leader expertise, could just as well have been immediately employed by the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) in the criminal courts — at a fraction of the cost and with speedier criminal convictions...
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