Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen said the recently released State Capture Inquiry Report must spell the end of political unaccountability and cadre deployment in South Africa once and for all, and he urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to urgently table the first Zondo Report in Parliament.

On Tuesday Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo submitted the first part of the report in the long-awaited probe into allegations of State capture under former President Jacob Zuma.

The last two reports are expected at the end of February.  

Steenhuisen pointed out that over the years South Africans had seen many commissions of inquiry, investigations and reports which had led to no prosecutions and no consequences for those implicated.

He said the DA would ensure that Zondo’s findings were implemented.

Steenhuisen said despite the devastating fire at the National Assembly on Sunday, Parliament in its duty to the people of South Africa must remain strong and effective as the country enters a crucial period in post-democratic history, both for political accountability and constitutional democracy.

He added that the DA would not bow to threats of political terrorism by those who seek to evade scrutiny and prosecution.

“Whether it be alleged acts of sabotage on our buildings and institutions, incitement to violence by politicians and their ilk, or any other attempts to derail political accountability, we will fight to the very end to ensure that South Africa has a government of transparency and integrity, based on the founding principles of our constitutional democracy,” he said.

Steenhuisen blamed the African National Congress (ANC) for hollowing out the country’s public service.

“But, more importantly, the ANC’s culture of political unaccountability and impunity must fall if we are to set a precedent to deter the wholesale capture of the State by politicians ever again,” he said.

He said South Africans deserved justice for the estimated R1-trillion looted through ANC corruption over the past decade and the subsequent decline of the country and its people in the shadow of political greed.