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President Jacob Zuma says it is difficult to appoint a commission of inquiry into state capture because he has reservations about the State of Capture report.
Zuma revealed he was unhappy with the manner former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela conducted the investigation into so-called state capture.
“If a report has been investigated, the culture is that there is a preliminary report wherein those accused are given an opportunity to respond and then a final report (follows),” Zuma said.
“This report has been dealt with in a very funny way. Very funny, in my view. It affected me and many others. No fairness at all.”
Zuma was answering oral questions in the National Assembly yesterday in the final such session for this year.
Zuma said the manner in which the report came about and the recommendations made “is a matter that concerns some of us who are mentioned there. We would want that work to be done properly. And that’s why we are working on it and that’s why I can’t go further than that because I can’t then jump when I have these views to establish a commission”.
Zuma also spoke out against Madonsela’s recommendation that Chief Justice Mogoeng Mogoeng identify a judge to chair the inquiry.
“Even the manner in which the recommendation is; it is a president who has a right to appoint a commission. No one, no matter what position they hold, can instruct the president to establish a commission and even tell the process through which you must go. It’s very funny, I’ve never heard of it.
“That’s the problem we are faced with in regard to this report,” he added.
Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane had asked Zuma why he “deliberately misled the NCOP (National Council of Provinces) and violated the law”.
Maimane was referring to Zuma’s statement in the upper House of Parliament that he interdicted the State of Capture report because Madonsela was going to issue it “having not talked to me or asked me any questions”.
But the report revealed that she, in fact, interacted with him on a number of occasions.
Zuma explained: “I never misled anyone. Never.”
He explained how Madonsela wrote to him in March or April reporting that the DA and others had brought a complaint about state capture and that she was still evaluating the complaint.
The public protector never said he should answer questions and there were no questions, Zuma said.
“She later wrote to me to request a meeting to brief me about where her work was.
Two or three days before the meeting, she then said: you will have to answer questions. I had not received any questions up to that point.”
Zuma said during their four hour meeting, he raised the issue of procedural flaws, saying he was in no position to answer questions.
“We spent four hours arguing and I was saying that is not fair. If you wanted me to answer questions, you should have sent questions. I would read and send answers,” said Zuma.
