The power, and the limitations, of the state capture report
If the public protector’s report has not changed minds, it will not change the country, writes Steven Friedman
THE public protector’s report on state capture has made many headlines. But if it hasn’t changed any minds, it will not change the country. Contrary to what some politicians would have us believe, the report is not in itself a game-changer. Opposition claims that it has proved the guilt of those it names, and complaints by the ANC’s patronage faction that it has condemned people without a fair hearing, miss the point. The report does not find anyone guilty of anything — that was not its purpose. Faced with complaints about "state capture" not long before she left office, the outgoing public protector opted to investigate whether anyone accused of improperly influencing politics had a case to answer.She found that they did and recommended a judicial commission to investigate their role. This is the report’s key binding recommendation — it did not recommend any action against anyone. Finding whether there has been any wrongdoing is the commission’s task. This means that, yet again, th...
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