President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Monday that in the coming months, many of the processes underway, as a result of the findings of the State Capture Commission, will be completed and much more progress will be recorded.

A significant note in his weekly letter to the nation revealed that R5.4-billion lost to State capture has been traced and returned to the State.

“The South African Revenue Service has collected unpaid taxes as a result of evidence before the State Capture Commission,” Ramaphosa said.

This week marks exactly two years since the State Capture Commission held its final public hearing. Over the course of its work, the Commission heard evidence from over 300 witnesses and collected more than 1.7-million pages of documentary evidence.

In October last year, Ramaphosa submitted the government’s plan to Parliament in relation to the implementation of the Commission’s recommendations. Since then, significant progress has been made to implement various parts of the plan, he assured.

The State Capture Commission made 205 recommendations on the criminal investigation and possible prosecution of people and companies implicated in evidence before the commission.

Ramaphosa explained that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) and the Hawks set up an Integrated Task Force to coordinate investigations and prosecutions, adding that there are currently nine cases in court, involving 41 people and 12 companies.

He said significant progress has also been made in recovering the proceeds of crime, with freezing orders to the value of R13-billion granted to the NPA.

LEGISLATION AND INSTITUTIONAL CHANGES

Ramaphosa noted that eight of the 14 new laws or legislative amendments identified in government’s implementation plan have been approved by Cabinet and tabled in Parliament.

“These address areas such as public procurement, the involvement of politicians in administrative matters, the conduct of public servants, the intelligence services, money laundering and electoral reforms. A further six draft laws are in the process of public consultation with stakeholders. Further research is being done on some of the recommendations of the Commission, such as making the abuse of political power a criminal offence,” he said.

Ramaphosa explained that the State Capture Commission also made recommendations about the establishment of additional anti-corruption bodies, saying these proposals are being considered as part of a broader review of the country’s anti-corruption architecture.

“Part of this work is being led by the National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council, which is working across society to build ethical values and mobilise the nation against corruption,” he added.

The Commission found that the public procurement system was the main site for the theft and abuse of State resources, along with corruption in State-owned enterprises (SOEs) with large budgets.

In response to the Commission’s recommendation on dealing with corruption in the procurement system, government submitted the Public Procurement Bill to Parliament in May 2023.

This draft law will increase transparency in procurement processes, will introduce binding codes of conduct for people involved in procurement and will improve processes to disallow suppliers who contravene procurement laws.

The Bill establishes the Public Procurement Office within the National Treasury, with powers to issue legally binding instructions and powers of search and seizure.

In furthering the government’s implementation of the State Capture Commission’s recommendations in relation to SOEs, Ramaphosa explained that the State-Owned Enterprises Bill will align the process for the appointment of SOE boards and executive management with the recommendations of the Commission.

This law will improve oversight, transparency and accountability of SOEs, he said.