State capture update: progress on govt response to Zondo recommendations

The latest Cabinet meeting took place at Tuynhuys in Cape Town on 25 June, where ministers discussed issues ranging from international relations and safety and security to flood disaster management and the upcoming G20 summit.

Attendees also received an update regarding progress on the implementation of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s response to the recommendations of the state capture commission. This action plan was laid out in a comprehensive 77-page document released in October 2022.

Progress reports have been sparse and improvements have been slow in coming, but they have at least been regular. Nearly three years after the release of the government response, key highlights of the latest progress report include the following:

• Asset recovery linked to state capture increased from R2.9-billion in October 2022, when implementation began, to R11-billion by March 2025.
• Major reforms include the enactment of eight new laws addressing corruption, procurement, intelligence services, and corporate accountability.
• Criminal investigations and prosecutions: four state capture commission cases have been concluded all with guilty verdicts. Eleven other cases involving 51 natural persons and 27 companies are enrolled in court.
• Professional and regulatory actions: the erstwhile Department of Public Enterprises referred 71 former directors of state-owned entities to the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC) for delinquency proceedings. This resulted in nine active court cases.
• Corporate accountability: the CIPC has completed reviews for 10 private sector entities implicated in the state capture report, with six investigations ongoing and eight new Special Investigating Unit referrals under assessment.
• National Treasury imposed a 10-year (2022-2032) ban on Bain & Co. on doing business with the state, which Bain is challenging in court.
• Various reforms to prevent future state capture are under way while some have been implemented. Among the latter are:
  • The establishment of the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption which commenced its operations on 19 August 2024; 
  • The National Framework towards the Implementation of Professionalisation of the Public Sector was approved by Cabinet in October 2022;
  • The National Anti-Corruption Advisory Council has concluded research into the institutional reform recommendations of the state capture commission.