Guptas’ defunct South African newspaper takes up entire volume of state capture report

The alleged irregular support from state institutions for now-defunct 'The New Age' newspaper owned by the wanted Gupta brothers takes up an the entire volume of the first part of the report of the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.

The first part of the report was handed over to President Cyril Ramaphosa at the seat of government, the Union Buildings in Pretoria, on Tuesday afternoon.

The further two parts will follow by the end of next month.

"It's been a gruelling four years," said Acting Chief Justice and Chair of the Commission Raymond Zondo said.

"In a few days' time, (on) the 9th of January, we will complete four years since the announcement of the establishment of the Commission. Three years of that period was the hearing of oral evidence by the commission," Zondo added.

Zondo said the first part of the report being handed over comprised three volumes, one of which deals with 'The New Age' newspaper, which was started by the Gupta family and was discontinued soon after they went into self-exile as witnesses testified at the Commission about their role in looting billions from state-owned enterprises, allegedly because of their closeness to former president Jacob Zuma.

The three brothers – Ajay, Atul and Rajesh – originally from Saharanpur in India, are believed to be in Dubai, from where South African authorities are seeking their extradition to face criminal charges here.

Zuma is currently appealing a 15-month jail sentence, of which he served just a few months before being granted medical parole after he refused to return to the Commission. His parle has now been ruled to have been made irregularly.

South Africa's highest judicial authority, the Constitutional Court, imposed the sentence for contempt of court.

"The advertisements and breakfast show briefings that used to happen, where various state-owned enterprises and government departments entered into contracts with the Gupta company that owned 'The New Age', is volume two," Zondo said.

Ramaphosa described the handover of the report as an important step in fighting corruption in South Africa.

"(This is) a defining moment in our country's effort to definitely end the era of state capture and to restore the integrity, the credibility and the capability of our institutions, but more importantly, our government," he said.

"Perhaps the most devastating and lasting cost of state capture and corruption is its effect on the confidence of the South African people in the leaders and officials in whom they placed great trust and responsibility.

"State capture has damaged people's confidence in the rule of law, in public institutions, in law enforcement agencies, and even to some extent, in the democratic process.

"The people of South Africa look to this Commission to uncover the truth; to identify those responsible, and to recommend measures that will prevent state capture from happening ever again in South Africa.

"This report enables us to up our tempo in dealing with state capture and I am sure that if we all work together, we will be able to rid our country of gross acts of corruption that we have seen in the past," the president added.

But there is unlikely to be any action on the report before the middle of this year.

Ramaphosa said that while the government would only submit recommendations for implementation of the report to Parliament by the end of June this year, other agencies in the country that might want to consider whatever action they deemed necessary could go ahead before this.

Commenting on allegations that he was also implicated at the Commission hearings, Ramaphosa said he would step back if required once he has read the report.

"Where I am conflicted, I have the sense of integrity to be able to step out of the way and to say 'I am conflicted in this', and I have engrained that in the way I do things all the time so that fingers should never be pointed at one about favouring oneself," the President said.

Earlier on Tuesday, the high court in Johannesburg struck off the roll an application brought by lobby group Democracy In Action that Ramaphosa should not be receiving the report because he was conflicted.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)