Zuma’s appeal of court judgment ‘serious cause for concern’‚ says SACP

The appeal by President Jacob Zuma against the North Gauteng High Court judgment ordering him to establish an independent judicial commission to investigate state capture should be viewed as a serious cause for concern‚ the South African Communist Party says.

It said the appeal would prove to be a waste of taxpayers' money and a further delaying tactic‚ particularly should it be dismissed.

“All Alliance partners‚ inclusive of the ANC‚ and therefore without exception‚ and a wide range of other deeply concerned South Africans welcomed the judgment and called on President Zuma to comply‚” the SACP said in a statement.

It noted that it was the first organisation to call for an independent judicial commission to investigate corporate state capture.

“Our support for the commission however goes beyond this historical fact and is a matter of fundamental principle. South Africa needs to root out corruption in all its manifestation if it is to become a prosperous society underpinned by a fully developed democracy without the exploitation of public resources‚ national wealth and one person by another‚” the SACP said.

The ANC adopted a resolution at its recent national elective conference that a judicial commission of inquiry into state capture should be established immediately.