Ramaphosa hits back at detractors at ANC conference

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President Cyril Ramaphosa fired a salvo at his detractors while delivering his political report at the beginning of the ANC elective conference, making reference to state capture which visibly raised the ire of his predecessor Jacob Zuma.

Zuma — who had just hours before announced that he had opened a private criminal case against his successor — made his grand entrance to the Nasrec venue of the conference just after Ramaphosa started delivering his address.

Ramaphosa went on to deliver the report despite heckling from a small group of KwaZulu-Natal delegates who continued to boo and chant as he spoke. Ramaphosa said the party had taken decisive measures to end state capture, restore good governance at state-owned enterprises, rebuild public institutions and enable the criminal justice system to pursue the perpetrators of corruption.

As Ramaphosa delivered the political report, a small group again called for him to step aside after an independent panel recently found he had a case to answer over the theft at his Phala Phala game farm.

He said the report by the Zondo commission on state capture had produced a detailed and “deeply disturbing account of the nature, extent and mechanics of state capture”.

The report implicated Zuma in state capture during his tenure as president, and highlighted his questionable relationship with the Gupta family, said to be at the centre of the rot.

“The commission’s report revealed extensive corruption, fraud and malfeasance within government departments, state-owned enterprises, provincial governments, security services, law enforcement agencies and both local and international companies,” Ramaphosa said.

He said the ANC had set up processes to engage with the findings and recommendations of the Zondo commission to determine “how these can help to enhance the process of fundamental renewal and rebuilding within our movement as well as in the government and broader society”.

“From the deliberations and resolutions of this conference, we must ensure that we use the work  of the state capture commission to consolidate and intensify the efforts against state capture, and ensure that those responsible — wherever they may be located — face the full might of the law.” 

The ANC is expected to deliberate on the state capture report during the conference, where delegates will decide whether or not to adopt the recommendations made by Chief Justice Raymond Zondo.

Ramaphosa said actions taken by the party against corruption and state capture had at times caused internal friction.

“As we implemented conference resolutions, some leaders — including NEC (national executive committee) members — have had to step aside pending the conclusion of criminal proceedings against them, and others have been required to present themselves to the (ANC) Integrity Commission,” he said.

“While such steps, as mandated by the national conference, do not imply guilt, they are critical to the renewal of the movement and to its standing in the eyes of society.”