Zondo Commission recommendations update: Where do we stand in 2024?

This briefing by the Public Affairs Research Institute (PARI) evaluates the progress made by the South African executive and legislature in implementing the institutional and systemic reform recommendations of the Judicial Commission of Inquiry into Allegations of State Capture (Zondo Commission) as of 2024.

• Parliament has largely rejected the Zondo Commission's recommendations for improving its own oversight functions, deciding against almost all of them on the basis that they were unnecessary. Of 19 recommendations, 13 were addressed by March 2024, but in 10 of those cases, Parliament decided not to implement the recommendation. Notable rejections include refusing to enact legislation protecting MPs from losing party membership for exercising oversight and declining to increase the number of committee chairs from minority parties.
• While the NPA Amendment Act of 2024 established the Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (IDAC) as a permanent entity, it failed to address critical commitments regarding the financial and administrative independence of the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) or the reform of the appointment process for the National Director of Public Prosecutions (NDPP).
• The General Intelligence Laws Amendment Bill, passed by Parliament in May 2024, aims to disestablish the State Security Agency and create separate domestic and foreign intelligence agencies. However, civil society and the report note that the Bill is flawed, expanding surveillance and intelligence scopes while weakening oversight and ignoring the Commission's recommendations for new legislative amendments to oversee intelligence services.
• The Public Procurement Act, signed in July 2024, establishes the Public Procurement Office (PPO) within the National Treasury to promote transparency and standards. Despite this, the Act is criticized for its heavy reliance on unpublished subordinate law (regulations) and for failing to implement the Zondo Commission's recommendation to incentivize whistleblowing in procurement.
• Efforts to professionalize the public sector include the reintroduction of the Public Service Amendment Bill, the Public Administration and Management Amendment Bill, and the Public Service Commission Bill. These aim to delineate the roles of political leaders and senior administrators and prohibit public sector employees from doing business with the state. Additionally, a centralized register now contains over 12,000 records of public servants dismissed or who resigned to avoid discipline.
• The National State Enterprises Bill proposes a single shareholder model via a holding company to supervise certain state enterprises and would disband the Department of Public Enterprises. However, the Bill is criticized for not specifying how boards and executives of SOEs under the holding company will be appointed, and it removes these entities from the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) Public Entities schedule, meaning they will not be subject to the Public Procurement Act.
• Progress on whistleblower protection has stalled. A July 2023 discussion document from the Department of Justice proposed amending the Protected Disclosures Act and Witness Protection Act but rejected the Zondo Commission's recommendation to provide financial incentives to whistleblowers. No concrete policy commitments or timelines for legislative amendments have been issued since mid-2023.
• Accountability for private sector actors remains limited, though some specific actions have occurred: SAP agreed to pay R2.2 billion in restitution, Bain & Co was blacklisted from state business (currently under litigation), and the NPA brought charges against McKinsey & Co.

APA

Public Affairs Research Institute (2024). Zondo Commission recommendations update: Where do we stand in 2024? https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Zondo-SUmmary-Nov-2024.pdf

Chicago

Public Affairs Research Institute. Zondo Commission recommendations update: Where do we stand in 2024? 2024. https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Zondo-SUmmary-Nov-2024.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Public Affairs Research Institute |title=Zondo Commission recommendations update: Where do we stand in 2024? |date=2024 |url=https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Zondo-SUmmary-Nov-2024.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{publicaffairsresearchinstitute2024zondo, author = {{Public Affairs Research Institute}}, title = {{Zondo Commission recommendations update: Where do we stand in 2024?}}, institution = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2024}, url = {https://pari.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Zondo-SUmmary-Nov-2024.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }