Dear Editor,

Enough evidence has already emerged during the ongoing hearings in parliament and before the Madlanga Commission to reveal with clarity that SA has a problem with the capacity of the state to deal with corruption and organised crime effectively. When he appointed the commission, the president called for an interim report by the end of October, 2025.

On any reasonable interpretation of the evidence already available, the country has a huge problem with unaddressed corruption and organised crime. The clout or sapiential authority (in human resource management terminology) of those tasked with countering the corrupt and organised criminals is simply not up to the mark. This shortcoming can be traced back to the failure of government properly to implement the findings of the Constitutional Court made in the second Glenister case in March 2011. The majority finding in that case called for a body outside executive control to deal effectively with the scourge of corruption. Most organised crime involves serious corruption in various guises. No such body exists.

The can of worms on display in any fair conspectus of all the evidence reveals that executive control is omnipresent in the workings of the institutions tasked with countering corruption and organised crime. This should not be so. A “Scorpions-like” body with a structure and operational capacity that exists beyond the control of the executive branch of government is needed. There is nothing novel in this suggestion: all of the Chapter Nine Institutions created to support constitutional democracy report to parliament and have no reporting line to the national cabinet or any part of the executive branch of government. Because parliament is a multi-party entity the opportunity for political influence and interference is nullified by the structure of a body outside executive control. The national executive in SA has not covered itself in glory over the years: Mbeki had his arms deals, Zuma his state capture project and Ramaphosa sits in the shadow cast by the questionable goings on at his game farm, Phala Phala. A body outside executive control which specialises in anti-corruption work using the services of properly trained experts housed in an independent structure and operating free of the executive using guaranteed resources and enjoying secure tenure of office is what the court required back in 2011.

The time has come to comply with the binding findings laid down by that court.

Two private members bills are before parliament at present which envisage establishing and enabling a Chapter Nine Anti-Corruption body that ticks all the boxes created by the court. It is now necessary to encourage parliament to process the bills thoroughly by acting on them diligently and without delay, as is required by Section 237 of the Constitution. Any failure to adopt the bills will lead inevitably to litigation aimed at securing compliance with the rulings of our highest court. The urgency of the situation demands swift action by parliament.

Yours in accountability,

Paul Hoffman SC