Pretoria – The presidency opposed the proposal that the recommendations of the state's capture committee were largely ignored and instead issued a detailed explanation of the actions taken in that regard.
The presidency on Monday, July 28, 2025 released its latest progress report on the implementation of actions arising from President Cyril Ramaphosa's response to the recommendations of the State Capture Commission.
“President Ramaphosa has also submitted this report to the Speaker of the Parliament and the Speaker of the State Assembly,” spokesman Vincent Magwenia told the president.
“The report covering the period to the end of the fourth quarter 2024/25 quarter reveals that of the 60 actions identified in the October 2022 response plan, 48% are either fully or substantially complete.
Key Accountability Outcomes
Advances in criminal justice
The presidency revealed that a combined task force led by national prosecutors is actively implementing 218 criminal investigation recommendations in multiple state capture focus areas.
“As of March 2025, 21% of these cases were registered for conclusion or court.
“A trial is scheduled for 2025-2026, including matters related to Free State asbestos removal cases, SA Express, and mutasa-related cases, and Transnet contracts.
“The capture-related lawsuits in the four states have already been concluded with convictions.”
Successful assets recovery
The presidency said the government has had a notable success in recovering stolen public funds, with total recovery now reaching around R11 billion, a significant increase from R2.9 billion reported in October 2022.
“This includes R2.9 billion recovered by the Special Investigation Division and R8 billion by the Asset Forfeiture Force,” the president said.
“In addition, assets worth R10.6 billion have now received binding or retention orders, indicating significant additional recovery rates in the future.
“Major collections include settlements from ABB (R2.55 billion), McKinsey (R1.2 billion), and SAP (R1.6 billion).”
Institutional reforms to prevent national capture
Strengthening of law enforcement
The National Prosecutors' Authority Amendment Act of 2024 established the Bureau of Investigation on Corruption (IDAC) as a permanent entity with enhanced police powers and criminal investigation capabilities.
IDAC officially began operating in August 2024.
Financial crime combat measures
The presidency said South Africa implemented comprehensive anti-money laundering reforms through the General Law Amendment Act of 2022, addressing all flaws identified by the Financial Action Task Force.
“In particular, these measures have increased the money laundering requirement by 40% from 2023 to 2024,” the president said.
Change in public procurement
The Public Procurement Act of 2024 represents a fundamental change in the procurement environment in South Africa, integrating previously fragmented systems into a single regulatory framework designed to increase transparency and combat corruption.
Intelligence Service Reform
The General Intelligence Report Act Amendment Act, enacted in March 2025, abolished the state's security agency and established two separate entities: the Intelligence Report Agency in South Africa (foreign Intelligence Report Agency) and the Intelligence Report Agency in South Africa (domestic Intelligence Report Agency), restoring the structure before 2009 and strengthening the surveillance mechanism.
Specialization of government
The government has made significant advances in specializing in public services professionals through the national framework for public sector specialization.
Key measures include mandatory lifestyle audits of senior officials and supply chain officials, with 138 departments conducting these audits by 2024.
Corporate Accountability Measures
“The Corporations and Intellectual Property Committee has completed a review of 10 private sector entities involved in state capture. Six investigations are underway,” the president revealed.
The National Treasury has imposed a 10-year ban on Bain & Co as it conducts business with South Africa, which will be held from September 2022 to September 2032.
The professional institution has undergone disciplinary action against relevant experts, including permanent immunity for Certified Public Accountants by the South African Association of Certified Public Accountants, and has fined R6.1 million.
Legislative achievements
The presidency said several important legislative fragments have been enacted to address the vulnerability of national capture.
Election Issues Amendment Act (Article 14 of the Act 2024): Criminal donations to political parties that affect contract forecasts or Judicial Issues Amendment Act (Article 15 of the Act 2023): Introducing corporate liability for failure to prevent corruption. Structure and monitoring
Looking ahead: 2025-2026 Priorities
President Ramaphosa emphasized that work will continue while substantial progress is being made.
Here are some important priorities for next year:
It accelerates famous prosecutions and brings new cases to court. Confirmation of whistleblower protection bill for presentations to Congress. The National Corporations Bill will be finalized as part of the SOE governance reform. Complete the SARS Act amendments based on the recommendations of the Nugent Committee. The proposal for anti-corruption architecture will be finalized and considered by executives.
“The developments outlined in this report show that the unwavering commitment to ensuring that state capture managers are held accountable and the systematic weaknesses that have made this attack on democracy permanently are being addressed,” President Ramaphosa said.
“We recovered almost R11 billion with stolen public funds, strengthened our law enforcement capabilities and implemented comprehensive reforms across the government.
“But our work is not complete. We continue to be committed to fully implementing the recommendations of the state capture committee and rebuilding public trust in the agency.”
The President emphasized that the effectiveness of these reforms will ultimately be measured by its ability to prevent future occurrences of state capture and restore public trust in national institutions.
A full progress report, including detailed appendixes on implementation status, new laws, court cases and asset recovery, is available on the Presidency website. https://tinyurl.com/25rx85jr
