We are more than a year into the Zondo Commission, but sometimes one can be forgiven for thinking, where are the people's voices and who were the real victims? On 12 October a People's Hearing in Johannesburg aims to answer those questions.
In late 2018 a Civil Society Working Group on State Capture was established with the aim of helping to ensure the effectiveness of the Zondo Commission into State Capture. Nearly a year later the coalition includes more than 20 civil society organisations committed to working to ensure accountability for crimes linked to State Capture. They include Right2Know, Open Secrets, Corruption Watch, Equal Education, the Treatment Action Campaign, SECTION27 and Outa.
The working group operates independently of the commission, monitors its progress and has engaged openly with it on its objectives and concerns. This year it has coordinated the development and submission of a number of evidence-based submissions supported by a joint advocacy strategy. The organisations are also working on a joint submission to the commission which will hopefully become a roadmap for civil society for future action. The objective is to draw attention to the social costs of corruption and its negative impact on the transformation and the...