State capture in South Africa: how the rot set in and how the project was rumbled

IT seems the time of reckoning for the massive corruption that has hobbled South Africa’s economy is nigh.

Two parts of the three-part report by the judicial commission investigating allegations of state capture under former President Jacob Zuma have now been published. The third is due at the end of February.

“State capture” has become the South African term for what is elsewhere called kleptocracy.

Here I reflect on Part 2 of the report. Ideally, a review of the complex Zondo Commission Report Part 2 requires a team of three co-authors: a chartered accountant, a political scientist, and a jurist specialising in company law. This review cannot do justice to a summary of a report when part 2 alone exceeds 640 pages. Instead, I will focus on some thoughts and analysis.

These opening observations are drawn from my knowledge of politics, informed by what’s in the report.

Firstly, the Gupta family – friends of former President Jacob