Diakonia Council of Churches welcomes the resolution of the “State Capture Report” case, in which the President, Mr Jacob Zuma voluntarily withdrew his interdict thus resolving the matter in a speedy manner. We also welcome the decision of the NPA announced on Monday 31 October to withdraw the charges against Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, charges which a number of legal minds indicated were flimsy and stood no chance of success if tested in a court room.
While we acknowledge that the whole issue of state capture can be broadened beyond Mr Zuma and the Gupta family in South Africa, and that it is not unique to this country that those with wealth and in positions of power in private enterprise seek to exercise influence over legislators, it is in the best interests of all that a report commissioned into this particular case be made public, which it now has, and thus cease to be a distraction from the other pressing social justice needs of the country, in addition to the economic fallout of the great uncertainty that has prevailed around these legal actions. The fact of Mr Zuma’s interdict, and the attempts of Ministers van Rooyen and Zwane to stop the report, would seem to indicate that there is some fire where the smoke was, and therefore the releasing of the report brings an important issue into the public eye.
We welcome the restored hope that the events of the last few days have provided to South Africans, and pray that we may continue to build on this hope to create the fabric of a healthy democratic society which seeks to meet the best interests of all.
Revd Ian Booth, Chairperson, Diakonia Council of Churches
2 November 2016