The fight against corruption in South Africa has received a significant boost in a collaborative effort between Parliament and anti-corruption agency, Special Investigating Unit (SIU). The Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the SIU to ensure continuation in the seventh parliament of cases brought to Scopa by the SIU as part of the former’s oversight role.
The move was inspired by a need for continuity in the investigation and monitoring of state capture and corruption cases already on Scopa’s radar, and to help the committee in referring certain matters to the SIU.
“The primary purpose of the MoU is to strengthen the relationship between Scopa and the SIU in relation to investigating and reporting on matters pertaining to irregular, fruitless, and wasteful expenditure of public funds,” reads a statement by Parliament.
“Scopa has been receiving updates from the SIU on maladministration, malpractice, and corruption uncovered during its investigations at state institutions. It has noted the specific concerns raised with respect to the high levels of corruption, maladministration, malpractice, lack of consequence management, and delays in prosecutions, all resulting in the failure of the state to recover monies owed to it.”
The committee further expressed in the statement that during the sixth parliament, there was a consistent effort to resolve corruption cases and some of the active state capture matters that have been pursued by the SIU.
“Both parties acknowledge the importance of consultation, mutual support, and cooperation on aspects such as disclosure of information, reporting, and mutual cooperation and assistance to ensure effective financial oversight and accountability of state institutions, thereby combating maladministration, malpractice and corruption of state resources, money, and assets.”
Turning the tide
Parliament came under severe criticism from the chairperson of the State Capture Commission, Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, in his report released in 2022. He made damning findings regarding the failure of its portfolio committee on public enterprises to take state capture allegations seriously enough in 2016 to initiate an investigation and probe those implicated.
Even after the report’s release, Zondo made further pronouncements on his observation of Parliament’s readiness to deal with possible state capture in the future. He addressed a Human Sciences Research Council gathering in June 2023, where he noted little or no action by Parliament to implement the recommendations recorded in his report. National Assembly Speaker Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula defended the legislature, saying a majority of the recommendations particular to Parliament had been addressed and the rest were being actively explored.
Upholding democracy
In a democratic system like South Africa, the transition from one parliament to another, following general elections, is critical because there must be continuity in the implementation of tasks by committees. Besides being the platform for passing laws that govern the country, the national legislature has the important task of performing oversight duties over those in the executive tier of government who are in charge of running government departments and other public institutions. It also has the powers, through its various committees, to investigate matters that appear on its radar relating to corruption, maladministration, and abuse of public resources.
After the upcoming elections in May, the country’s seventh parliament will be ushered in to continue to oversee the work of government. The men and women who will be sworn in as its members will be assigned to different committees by their respective political parties for this purpose of oversight, and one of the first tasks is to peruse legacy reports compiled towards the end of the term of the previous parliament to ensure the continuity of these tasks.
Traditionally, Scopa is chaired by a member of an opposition party, and is otherwise made up of members from different parties, as with all other committees. A former chair of the committee, Themba Godi, told the state capture commission of the frustrations experienced during his Scopa term between 2007 and 2019, when many of its recommendations to members of the executive were not implemented fully or were simply ignored.
Zondo recommended in the commission report that the model used in Scopa be considered across other committees, which are all chaired by members of the ANC, given the party’s majority status in parliament. This, he noted, would help ensure the independence of committees from party influence on matters of importance such as corruption and state capture matters.
