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Former Minister Mosebenzi Zwane is shown in the dock at the Bloemfontein Magistrates court in the Free State, in this September 28 2022 file photo, Picture: SUNDAY TIMES/ALAISTER RUSSELL
Former Minister Mosebenzi Zwane is shown in the dock at the Bloemfontein Magistrates court in the Free State, in this September 28 2022 file photo, Picture: SUNDAY TIMES/ALAISTER RUSSELL

The wheels of parliamentary justice turn excruciatingly slowly.

About six years after complaints were laid with parliament’s joint committee on ethics and members interests against former mineral resources minister Mosebenzi Zwane, the National Assembly agreed on Tuesday to sanction him for the undeclared benefits he received from the Guptas.

The committee is facing court action by activist group #UniteBehind for its failure to act on its complaints laid in August against six MPs allegedly implicated in the collapse of the Passenger Rail Agency of SA.

It is extraordinary that Zwane has remained an MP despite being the subject of the ANC’s step-aside rule after being charged with fraud and corruption in connection with the Vrede dairy farm scandal and being fingered by the Zondo inquiry into state capture.

The judicial consequences of the Zondo report have been slow to materialise and in the sole case where they did — that involving the Gupta-linked Nulane Investments — failed dismally. The National Prosecuting Authority has a lot to answer for in this regard.

The sole bright star in the pursuit of those involved in corruption is the Special Investigating Unit which has succeeded in freezing assets and recovering the proceeds of crime through civil action.

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