Baying for state capturers’ blood, opposition parties were underwhelmed by President Cyril Ramaphosa’s implementation plan on the Zondo Commission’s recommendations, with his apparent inaction for members of his executive a common concern.

After tabling his 76-page implementation plan with Parliament on Saturday, he outlined the plan in a public address on Sunday evening, promising a full-scale overhaul of South Africa’s “anti-corruption architecture”.

On the members of his executive implicated in the report, including influential ANC chairperson and Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe, Deputy Minister in the Presidency Zizi Kodwa and Deputy Human Settlements, Water and Sanitation Minister David Mahlobo, Ramaphosa was vague.

“The state capture commission made certain observations with respect to the responsibility of the president and premiers for the actions and failures of ministers and MECs respectively,” he said.

“The commission made the fundamental point that persons who occupy positions in government must be people of integrity who conduct themselves ethically and in compliance with the law.

“Therefore, in exercising my powers with respect to members of the executive, I am required to consider the commission’s findings, recommendations and observations about particular individuals.

“In this regard, I am attending to the commission’s recommendations on members of the executive against whom adverse findings were made.”

DA chief whip Siviwe Gwarube said in a statement on Monday morning said that Ramaphosa “simply provided an analysis of the Zondo judicial commission report, instead of stating what the executive he leads intends to do to insulate government processes from grand theft again”.

According to Gwarube, much of Ramaphosa’s plan was law enforcement agencies’ existing work.

“Nothing was said about bolstering their capacity to do the kind of investigative work that is needed to prosecute those who plundered public money.

“More glaringly, the president completely avoided making any announcements about Cabinet ministers who have been implicated in state capture and how he will be holding them to account. This is firmly within his mandate and yet he made a vague mention about looking into this.”

IFP leader Velenkosini Hlabisa said in a statement on Sunday evening that his party “notes the numerous announcements ” by Ramaphosa.

“Unfortunately, the ANC and this president have effectively failed our country in every respect, and it appears that these recommendations will only target inconsequential persons. This does not create much confidence.

“Only when we see those in the president’s executive who have been implicated by the Zondo Commission facing consequences, can the ANC have any hope of convincing South Africa that they can restore the broken country they created.”

Instead of decisive action against ANC luminaries, the plan offers a vague response, he said.

“We fear that the commitments made by the president in relation to ‘dealing with the perpetrators and enablers of state capture and corruption; righting the wrongs arising from the abuse of state power and institutions; [and] reforms to prevent, detect and prosecute future occurrences of state capture and corruption’ are merely empty promises,” Hlabisa said.

FF Plus leader Pieter Groenewald said in a statement that South Africa’s hopes that Ramaphosa would use the Zondo Commission’s report as a tool to eradicate fraud and corruption in the public sector were dashed “in a way typical of Ramaphosa”.

“The president spoke very eloquently but in truth, he merely put forward obvious principles for good governance. These principles should have been implemented in South Africa’s constitutional democracy from the outset.”

He also said Ramaphosa reiterated many of the steps he put in place in 2018 already, but that these failed to prevent corruption during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“He added that any decisions regarding action to be taken against a member of the executive authority rests with Parliament, which means that all members of Cabinet will still enjoy the full protection of the ANC.”

Groenewald said: “The president took no decision nor did he announce any steps that will make any state capturer lose any sleep. It is extremely disappointing.”

News24