Civil Society Working Group on State Capture (CSWG) Statement: President’s response to Zondo Commission’s State Capture report must be followed by decisive action

The Civil Society Working Group on State Capture (CSWG) welcomes the South African government's acceptance of the Zondo Commission's findings on state capture and the President's commitment to reforms in procurement, whistle-blower protection, and the depoliticisation of law enforcement appointments. However, the CSWG disputes the President's claim that state capture is "in the past," arguing that corruption remains pervasive and that the response plan fails to address enabling political factors or provide concrete actions against implicated members of the national executive. The group further criticises the Electoral Laws Amendment Bill for lacking accountability and calls on Parliament to develop its own implementation plan to improve oversight of the Executive.

• The CSWG supports the President's commitment to several reform areas, including the professionalisation of public administration, procurement reform, and the strengthening of law enforcement and accountability institutions. They specifically value the goal to "reform and depoliticise the appointment processes for the heads and commanding levels of [law enforcement] agencies to ensure that they are properly transparent and independent".
• The CSWG rejects the President's assertion that state capture has ended, stating that corruption is still widespread in government and that the mechanisms of state capture identified by the Zondo Commission are still largely in place.
• The group argues that the government's response is insufficient because it does not outline specific actions against members of the national executive implicated in state capture, which they claim undermines the President's stated ethical departure from past abuses.
• The CSWG identifies the current Electoral Laws Amendment Bill as "fundamentally flawed" because it fails to address the lack of accountability of members of Parliament to voters and creates disadvantages for independent candidates.
• The CSWG calls for Parliament to create its own implementation plan to address its own ineffectiveness in holding the Executive accountable and to improve oversight of the government's response to state capture.

APA

Public Affairs Research Institute (2022). Civil Society Working Group on State Capture (CSWG) Statement: President’s response to Zondo Commission’s State Capture report must be followed by decisive action. https://pari.org.za/cswg-response-to-the-zondo-commissions-report-2/

Chicago

Public Affairs Research Institute. Civil Society Working Group on State Capture (CSWG) Statement: President’s response to Zondo Commission’s State Capture report must be followed by decisive action. 2022. https://pari.org.za/cswg-response-to-the-zondo-commissions-report-2/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Public Affairs Research Institute |title=Civil Society Working Group on State Capture (CSWG) Statement: President’s response to Zondo Commission’s State Capture report must be followed by decisive action |date=28 October 2022 |url=https://pari.org.za/cswg-response-to-the-zondo-commissions-report-2/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{publicaffairsresearchinstitute2022civil, author = {{Public Affairs Research Institute}}, title = {{Civil Society Working Group on State Capture (CSWG) Statement: President’s response to Zondo Commission’s State Capture report must be followed by decisive action}}, publisher = {Public Affairs Research Institute}, year = {2022}, month = oct, url = {https://pari.org.za/cswg-response-to-the-zondo-commissions-report-2/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }