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Report: How South African Airways, others looted – Ramaphosa
By Oluwaseun Sonde
South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa has received a report from the Acting Chief Justice, Raymond Zondo which part of it exposed details of how several public institutions were infiltrated, looted and severely damaged.
In his address to the Nation on Monday, Ramaphosa revealed that this damage extended to State owned enterprises like South African Airways, the Government Communication, Information System and the South African Revenue Service.
According to him, “the submitted report of the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture known as Zondo Commission report paints a deeply disturbing picture of how key institutions of our democracy were compromised and undermined with criminal intent.
“Not only were significant amounts of money stolen, but these institutions were not able to properly fulfil the functions for which they were established. The findings and recommendations of the Zondo Commission will help the country to rebuild these institutions and to hold those responsible to account”.
Ramaphosa vowed to use culprits to safeguard the institutions into the future so that they may never be captured again. “The things that we have read in the Zondo Commission report should strengthen our resolve to defend the institutions of our democracy, all the entities of our state and, indeed, our democratic constitutional order.
“We must safeguard against any and all efforts to diminish our hard-won democracy whether these efforts take the form of corruption in state owned enterprises, the subversion of our law enforcement agencies, the sabotage of our economic infrastructure, or attacks on the independence and integrity of our judiciary”, he said.
He also revealed that there’s ongoing investigation over the fire incident that engulfed the Parliament building. “On the second day of 2022, the country watched on in horror as a huge fire engulfed our Parliament, just a hundred metres from where we had gathered the day before to pay our last respects to Archbishop Tutu.
“The fire, which spread quickly through the buildings that house both the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces, took days to fully extinguish. We are relieved that there was no loss of life and that no-one was injured in the fire.
“We are extremely grateful to the firefighters who battled the blaze and finally extinguished it. The investigations into the cause of the fire are now underway. We need to ensure that these investigations are thorough and concluded without delay. The country needs to know what happened”.
The President noted that arrangements are being made to ensure that the work of Parliament can continue even if the buildings cannot be used. “It is vital that Parliament continues to consider and pass laws that will transform society and continues to provide oversight and ensure accountability as government works to implement the mandate it received from the people.
In his address to the Nation on Monday, Ramaphosa revealed that this damage extended to State owned enterprises like South African Airways, the Government Communication, Information System and the South African Revenue Service.
According to him, “the submitted report of the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture known as Zondo Commission report paints a deeply disturbing picture of how key institutions of our democracy were compromised and undermined with criminal intent.
“Not only were significant amounts of money stolen, but these institutions were not able to properly fulfil the functions for which they were established. The findings and recommendations of the Zondo Commission will help the country to rebuild these institutions and to hold those responsible to account”.
Ramaphosa vowed to use culprits to safeguard the institutions into the future so that they may never be captured again. “The things that we have read in the Zondo Commission report should strengthen our resolve to defend the institutions of our democracy, all the entities of our state and, indeed, our democratic constitutional order.
“We must safeguard against any and all efforts to diminish our hard-won democracy whether these efforts take the form of corruption in state owned enterprises, the subversion of our law enforcement agencies, the sabotage of our economic infrastructure, or attacks on the independence and integrity of our judiciary”, he said.
He also revealed that there’s ongoing investigation over the fire incident that engulfed the Parliament building. “On the second day of 2022, the country watched on in horror as a huge fire engulfed our Parliament, just a hundred metres from where we had gathered the day before to pay our last respects to Archbishop Tutu.
“The fire, which spread quickly through the buildings that house both the National Assembly and the National Council of Provinces, took days to fully extinguish. We are relieved that there was no loss of life and that no-one was injured in the fire.
“We are extremely grateful to the firefighters who battled the blaze and finally extinguished it. The investigations into the cause of the fire are now underway. We need to ensure that these investigations are thorough and concluded without delay. The country needs to know what happened”.
The President noted that arrangements are being made to ensure that the work of Parliament can continue even if the buildings cannot be used. “It is vital that Parliament continues to consider and pass laws that will transform society and continues to provide oversight and ensure accountability as government works to implement the mandate it received from the people.
