We were subjected to a slow motion horror soapie for years during the so-called Seriti Commission whose outcome was known before the first cent of the R137 million of taxpayers’ money was wasted.
Only to be told now what was clear all along, that it was all part of a cover-up. While mountains of evidence existed and some key witnesses waltzed in and out, Judge Willie Seriti and his crew were determined to put up a well-choreographed and costly epic farce.
If they hadn’t been paid handsomely already for doing South Africa and its nascent democracy a humongous disservice, I’d nominate them all for Oscars. We are still paying former president Thabo Mbeki in his retirement for a job well done, clinching the R60billion deal soon after South Africa found itself with fewer enemies and more friends in the international community.
This week’s High Court judgment, dumping into the rubbish bin of history the Seriti findings, confirms what we’ve always known. The Arms Deal and subsequent “investigations” were a manifestation of State Capture 1.0. What we observe these days are simply the symptoms of the cancer that spread throughout society.
It is almost a pyrrhic victory, but at least no one can feign ignorance as to how to conduct a commission.
There were many corrupt actors in this tragicomedy soapie filled with costly horseplay and buffoonery that would have been funny if it weren’t real and at the expense of our democracy and economy.