Ramaphosa back at State Capture Commission – will he be grilled?

President Cyril Ramaphosa is returning to the State Capture Commission on Thursday, April 29, 2021 to continue giving his testimony as the leader of the African National Congress (ANC) and the party’s second in command, under his predecessor Jacob Zuma.

Ramaphosa’s first appearance before the commission, chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, failed to live up to expectations. South Africans were glued to their tv sets hoping to hear Ramaphosa and by extension, the ANC, be subjected to tough questions pertaining to their involvement in the great state capture project.

However some viewed it as an opportunity for Ramaphosa to outline ANC resolutions, instead of providing an honest account of his (and other party members’) connection to grand looting which took place, allegedly at the hands of Zuma and the Gupta family.

He assured South Africans that as the ANC, members who are accused of corruption will not be protected by the party and further admitted that for the most part, they failed to prevent the abuse of power and misappropriation of resources that defined the era of state capture.

“We acknowledge to the people of South Africa that we did not always live up to the values and principles that have defined the movement for over more than a century of its existence,” he said.

“We are determined and we undertake to work alongside all South Africans to ensure that the era of state capture is relegated to history and that the excesses that took place may never again occur in our country”

ANC president Cyril Ramaphosa

Ramaphosa admits to mistakes in Zuma administration

Referring to the Zuma era, President Cyril Ramaphosa acknowledged that as per evidence heard before the State Capture Commission, certain people were appointed to key posts for specific reasons.

“Certain people were put in certain positions to advance certain agendas as you are investigating now on the capture of some of those entities,” he said.

“Some of it was so hidden, so masked, that you just could not see that a certain individual (who) was there was (part of) a particular agenda.”

Having been Zuma’s deputy, Ramaphosa has the tough task of explaining why he failed to act amid all the wrongdoing taking place.

Ramaphosa further admitted that the ANC was wrong to accept donations from the scandal-plagued company Bosasa.