Commissions are 'unnecessary expenditure'

EXPERTS believe that commissions of inquiry have become “pawns in the bigger political chess game”, and warn that if recommendations are not implemented properly, the “root cause of the rot” would not be dealt with.

- YOSHINI PERUMAL

This follows research by the Human Sciences Research Council (HCRS) that revealed public confidence in commissions of inquiry would erode if prosecutorial action was not taken after the findings.

Zakhele Ndlovu, a UKZN political analyst, said South Africans were “growing tired” of commissions of inquiry.

“Public confidence in commissions is waning rather rapidly, and so is faith. Rightly so, questions abound about the usefulness of commissions. For example, the Zondo Commission cost taxpayers more than R1 billion and there was not much to show for it.

“Those fingered — from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) to the Zondo Commission — continue to evade justice.

“It also appears that commissions can, and sometimes are used, to serve particular political purposes. Therein lies the rub. Let us not forget that commissions, like law and economics, are the continuation of politics by other means."

Ndlovu said recent allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, that alluded to corruption and an organised crime syndicate involving role-players across the criminal justice system and was controlled by an international drug cartel, showed that the “rot was deep”.

“If one were to stretch one’s imagination, Mkhwanazi’s allegations suggest that the rot permeates almost every aspect of society. That being the case, commissions of inquiry become pawns in the bigger political chess game.