JOHANNESBURG 

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said Tuesday that the just released “State Capture Inquiry” report will provide a foundation for greater transparency, accountability and ethical conduct in the country. 

Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, the chairman of the “State Capture” commission, handed over the first volume of the report to Ramaphosa at the seat of government in the capital Pretoria.

The commission was probing allegations of widespread corruption during President Jacob Zuma’s nearly a decade in office.

Zondo heard testimony from hundreds of witnesses detailing their account of events in how the state was captured by business and friends of Zuma– particularly the influential Gupta family – who allegedly took control of most state operations and finances.

“It’s been a grueling four years of the commission, and in a few days’ time, on Jan. 9, we will complete four years since the announcement of the establishment of the commission,” Zondo said at the handover of the first volume of the report, which established that private interests played a major role in decision making during Zuma’s tenure.

“We have a collective responsibility to ensure that the findings and recommendations of the commission not only mark a decisive break with the corrupt practices of the past, but that they provide the foundation for greater transparency, accountability and ethical conduct within all state institutions and across society,” Ramaphosa said as he received the report.

The second part of the report will be handed over to the president by the end of January and the third and last volume by the end of February.

The first volume of the report released Tuesday has three parts which discuss how state-owned enterprise South African Airways and its associated companies where managed and how the New Age newspaper owned by the Guptas benefited from state advertisements as well as the topic of public procurement in South Africa.