Acting Chief Justice Raymond Zondo has been given another three months to complete his State Capture Inquiry report, after the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria found that not granting the extension would "disadvantage the whole country". 

Had Zondo not succeeded in his application for an extension of the commission's lifespan, he would have had until Thursday to hand over its final report to President Cyril Ramaphosa.

He told the High Court that this was "not possible".

Judge Tshifhiwa Maumela on Wednesday said that "it wouldn’t make any sense at all" for the court not to extend the commission's lifespan so that Zondo could complete his long-awaited report on the alleged "capture" of large chunks of government by private interests - at massive cost to the South African economy.

"It would not only be unreasonable, but it would also disadvantage everyone, the whole country. Everyone has an interest in this matter," he said. 

Earlier this week, Justice Minister Ronald Lamola raised objections to Zondo's application and described the three months he had sought to complete his report as "excessive", particularly because of the "financial repercussions" to his department.

Costs capped

In papers filed in the High Court, department Director-General Doctor Mashabane said the minister wanted the future costs of the commission to be capped at R15-million. 

Lamola also wanted the commission's lifespan to be extended by only six weeks.

A day after filing that objection, however, Lamola withdrew it - on the basis that the department had received "an assurance" that the matters it had raised "will be attended to in due course". 

Advocate Paul Kennedy SC, for the commission, on Wednesday told Maumela "that the issue that has been raised by the Director-General, signing on behalf of the Minister is a matter that has been discussed between the chairperson [Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo] and the highest officials, including the president". 

These issues would be further addressed through discussions between the government and inquiry officials, he said.

In 2017, when the Gauteng High Court in Pretoria endorsed then Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's "State of Capture" report, which ordered the establishment of a judicial inquiry into state capture, it ordered that the president was "required to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the commission of inquiry is adequately resourced by the National Treasury". 

In other words, it remains Ramaphosa’s court-ordered responsibility to ensure the commission has the money it needs to complete its work. 

The Council for the Advancement of the SA Constitution has however criticised Zondo for being "vague" over how he would use the three months he had asked for to complete his report. 

Advocate Ofentse Motlhasedi, for CASAC, told Maumela that the council had invited Zondo to "file a replying affidavit and give this court a plan of action of how it will use the three months so as to ensure that this further extension is hopefully the final extension and that a report would be forthcoming".

Zondo had chosen not to reply to this request.