The Presidency announced on Friday that Jacob Zuma would be taking former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela\u2019s state capture report on review.<\/p>\n
“The president has considered and also sought legal advice on the contents of the report, as well as the remedial action to be taken,” the Presidency said in a statement.<\/p>\n
According to the report, Madonsela uncovered corrupt activities involved in the Gupta state capture saga, and recommended that a\u00a0judicial inquisition of enquiry be set up to investigate the matter.<\/p>\n
President Zuma has denied any wrongdoing.<\/p>\n
The Democratic Alliance said it would be filing papers to oppose Zuma\u2019s application to review the remedial action required by the report.<\/p>\n
“While president Zuma is operating within the parameters of the law by taking the report on judicial review, we must remember that he has a long history of using the courts, which he has no respect for, to delay being held accountable for his acts of corruption,” said DA leader Mmusi Maimane.<\/p>\n
“What is clear is that the resident wants to use the courts to buy himself time while he plots his next move in order to again avoid accountability. We will not allow him to get out of this crisis of his own making.”<\/p>\n
The party said that the president must be made to fund his own litigation instead of using public money for his personal benefit and political machinations.<\/p>\n
The DA said that the report found, among other things that president Zuma exposed himself to \u201ca possible conflict of interest between the president as head of state and his private interest as a friend and father as envisaged under section 2.3(c) of the Executive Ethics Code which regulates conflict of interest and section 195 of the Constitution which requires a high level of professional ethics. Sections 96(2)(b) and (c) of the Constitution are also relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n
Furthermore, the report in remedial action instructed that the president:<\/p>\n
\u2022 Establish a judicial commission on inquiry;
\n\u2022 The President to ensure that the Executive Ethics Code is updated in line with the review of the Executive Members\u2019 Ethics Act.<\/p>\n
The most pertinent findings by the Public Protector\u2019s report include:<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Zuma will not resign, we look forward to the DA\u2019s Motion of No Confidence in President Zuma being debated in Parliament in the coming weeks,\u201d Maimane said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis affords Parliament the opportunity to end Jacob Zuma\u2019s disastrous presidency by relieving him of his duties once and for all. This report gives additional weight to this Motion of No Confidence, and there is no reasonable excuse for the ANC in Parliament to reject this motion in support of Jacob Zuma.\u201d<\/p>\n
The published report can be downloaded and read in full here<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n