ANC members implicated in state capture can breathe a sigh of relief, at least for now, as the party only wants them to appear before the Integrity Commission.
These revelations were made by the party’s task team head on state capture, Jeff Radebe, when he presented the ANC NEC documents on corruption and state capture to the media at Luthuli House on Wednesday.
Radebe confirmed that the ANC has singled out at least 200 of its own members for now, who were implicated in the State Capture Commission Report.
He said his task team was still reading the State Capture Report, saying after completion, they would identify others with the view to ask them to appear before the party’s Integrity Commission for disciplinary action.
The ANC documents on corruption and state capture wants all those implicated to appear before its Integrity Commission but is mum on whether they should face criminal prosecution.
Asked about the glaring omission, Radebe told the media that any decision on criminal prosecution was the duty of the law enforcement agencies.
“We are not law enforcement agencies,” he said.
The party, however, admitted that some of its senior leaders implicated in the state capture project operated clandestinely with the Guptas to weaken the state.
“Some actions that may today be considered as instances of state capture were not necessarily recognised or described as such at the time. And even as the term gained currency, there were individuals in the ANC and in society more broadly who contested both the existence of the phenomenon and the use of the term,” he said.
Radebe, however, said his party members were made aware of state capture through two instances: the Waterkloof landing and removal of Nhlanhla Nene as finance minister in 2015.
One of the earliest signals to the ANC of an unhealthy influence by private individuals over state institutions and resources was the landing of a private aircraft at Waterkloof Air Force Base in April 2013, carrying guests for a wedding of the Gupta family.
Allegations of state capture assumed greater prominence in the aftermath of the removal of Nhlanhla Nene as minister of finance in December 2015 and revelations by deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas in March 2016 that members of the Gupta family had earlier offered him the position of finance minister.