By Goodhope Dlangamandla
29:08:2022

Since the Zondo Commission of Inquiry into State Capture released the first instalment of its work and recommendations, political and other leaders implicated in the report have indicated that they will fight the findings linking them to State Capture in court.

News24 reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa, in court papers, stated that the recommendations are not binding but that commissions assist with the issues at the heart of an investigation.

Talking with Radio Islam International, Dr Cathy Powell, a Professor in Public Law at the University of Cape Town, says there is no dispute that the commission’s recommendations are not binding.

So, although they do not legally bind President Cyril Ramaphosa, it will cost him politically if he fails to follow recommendations that society has seen are cogent and that they are history.

“So, all the commissions of inquiry specifically established in terms of the commissions’ act, which is an age-old act. They will make recommendations, and if you are unhappy with whatever recommendation has been made and where it implicates you, you then have a right to approach a high court in the country and moralise where the commission is set, maybe Johannesburg or Pretoria, then you would approach that high court and say that I want to take the report on review because I was not allowed to give evidence, or I was not given a chance to cross-examine. So, you have all your rights that come from the fair trial rights that are entrenched in the constitution,” says the University of Johannesburg legal expert Elton Hart.

So, in conclusion, both Cathy and Elton say the commission’s recommendations are not binding.

“Usually, it’s just within the discretion of a person who sets up the commission. So, we have no guarantee that the commission is going to do a job well and with integrity and competently. So, we don’t want to give somebody with uncontrollable powers and uncontrollable methods the power to affect people directly in South Africa.

So, I think, unless there is a special process for vetting and appointing commissioners, we should keep their recommendations as they are as recommendations,” says Powell.

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