IRR: New administration must follow Zondo recommendations

IRR Legal has written to 16 of 18 political parties with seats in the incoming National Assembly to call for the Zondo Report to be placed at the centre of negotiations on the next administration of South Africa.

The current administrative system’s facilitation of corrupt public spending, known as “state capture”, has not yet been fully accounted. Before the Zondo Report a treasury official estimated that as much as 40% of public procurement might be wasted annually, which would amount to more than R400 billion per year if that trend persisted.

The Zondo Report found a flaw in the law that drives state capture, specifically a nexus between corruption and laws that confuse priorities in spending. The “inevitable tension” between racial preference and “value-for-money” was cited.

It is not the existence of BEE premiums, but the lack of clarity around them, which was found to enable corruption. BEE premiums have never appeared in an official budget. Criminals of all races exploit the resultant lack of transparency.

To address this problem the Zondo Report stated:

“Ultimately in the view of the Commission the primary national interest is best served when the government derives the maximum value-for-money in the procurement process and procurement officials should be so advised.”

Heeding the Zondo Report’s “maximum value-for-money” advice would be the biggest change in South African administration since the Mandela-Mbeki era. The 2024 election beckons change.

Practically, the “maximum value-for-money” change is immediately actionable. Current procurement laws allow the finance minister to grant permission to any organ of state to maximise “value-for-money” when asked, without delay.

Parties that wish to govern in a manner that combats corruption have clear authority to demand that the Zondo Report “maximum value-for-money” advice be implemented, regardless of the race, gender, or political party of the person who performs the implementation.

The “value-for-money” call has been sent to all parties in the incoming National Assembly except MK, which denies the validity of the 2024 elections, and the EFF, which has previously responded to IRR Legal’s citation of the Zondo Report by stating that “value-for-money” should rather be removed from public procurement.

However, the Zondo Report’s advice provides common ground for a range of political parties representing most South Africans to gather on. Despite their differences, all parties say they agree that state capture must stop. The Zondo Report explained how to stop it.

Media contact: Gabriel Crouse, IRR Legal Executive Director Tel: 082 510 0360 Email: gabriel@irr.org.za

Media enquiries: Michael Morris Tel: 066 302 1968 Email: michael@irr.org.za