South Africa suffering from ‘commission fatigue’ - Lawson Naidoo, Council for Advancement of SA Constitution
Critics say South Africans are weary of judicial commissions with little follow-through, as the Madlanga Commission into alleged police corruption prepares to get underway.
FILE: South African President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered the State of the Nation address at the Cape Town City Hall on 6 February 2025. Picture: Rodger Bosch/AFP
CapeTalk's Lester Kiewit speaks to Lawson Naidoo of the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution (CASAC) about the pending Madlanga Commission of Inquiry.
Listen below:
President Cyril Ramaphosa's response to allegations of corruption within the police service has been the topic of much debate in the last few days.
On Sunday, following claims made by KZN top cop Lt-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, Ramaphosa announced he was ordering a Commission of Inquiry to be established to look into the assertions.
This week, the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) said the move is a delay tactic by Ramaphosa to avoid taking decisive action against his political ally, Police Minister Senzo Mchunu.
In his recent Sowetan article, Naidoo suggests South Africa is suffering from 'commission fatigue'.
However, despite parties shooting down Ramaphosa’s judicial commission, critics have not proposed a viable alternative plan to deal with the serious allegations.
Naidoo says the President had little option in how he responded to the allegations.
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"Commissions of Inquiry are tools in the toolbox of the President to resolve matters that require a factual determination of complex sets of facts or circumstances."
- Lawson Naidoo, Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution
The problem with commissions, argues Naidoo, is the lack of implementation by the executive arm of the state.
"I think it's important that the President has given some indication of timelines."
- Lawson Naidoo, Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution
He adds that it's also encouraging that the President has committed to providing interim reports every three to six months.
"This was a major oversight for the Zondo commission, for example, where we had to wait four years for the various volumes of reports to be presented."
- Lawson Naidoo, Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution
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Some argue that the Madlanga Inquiry will be a waste of time, and instead suggest that the best way of dealing with the allegations would be through a criminal trial.
Naidoo says there are problems with that suggestion.
"The difficulty in that approach is, who is going to conduct that initial investigation if it is not someone already within the law enforcement agencies?"
- Lawson Naidoo, Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution
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