South Africans will have to wait a little longer to know the findings and recommendations from the highly anticipated state capture report penned by Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.
The courts this week granted President Cyril Ramaphosa until the end of June 2022 to submit a copy of the report and communicate to parliament how he intends to implement the recommendations.
Earlier this month, Zondo announced that he would make a court application requesting another extension for the commission of inquiry to complete its work. He said that while compiling the report, his team and he realised that they would not be able to hand over a full report at once and proposed the report be divided into three parts.
On Tuesday, advocate Timothy Bruinders, SC, said Ramaphosa preferred the report to be submitted to him in its entirety rather than instalments by the end of February because it would “make for coherence, comprehensiveness and practicality.”
He said that in addition, Ramaphosa sought to extend the time to allow him four months after receipt of the complete report from the commission before submitting a copy of the report to parliament and communicating his intentions about the implementation of the report to parliament.
“Effective communication with parliament about the report is only possible after sight of the complete report, after consideration and advice of the complete report and after engagement with relevant colleagues, persons and institutions about the implementation of the complete report,” Ramaphosa stated in his replying affidavit.
Judge Mandla Mbongwe, who presided over the matter, said that Zondo must submit his final report to President Cyril Ramaphosa by February 2022.
Zondo proposed he would deliver his report in a three-part series saying that part one would be handed over before the end of December, part two before the end of January and part three before the end of February.
Political Bureau