Mixed feelings about state capture terms of reference
Allegations against the Gupta family and senior politicians, including President Jacob Zuma, will form part of the probe.
Former African National Congress (ANC) MP Vytjie Mentor says she has mixed feelings about the terms of reference for the commission of inquiry into state capture, which was gazetted on Thursday.
The scope of the inquiry, headed by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, ranges from allegations against the controversial Gupta family to alleged corruption by state officials.
The allegations by both Mentor and former deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas - that they were offered cabinet positions by the Guptas - will form part of the investigation.
President Jacob Zuma has also tasked the commission with establishing whether he himself "had any role in the alleged offers of Cabinet positions... by the Gupta family".
But Mentor says she first needs to be assured that the scope of the inquiry is neither too wide, nor too narrow.
"I will know by tonight or tomorrow morning whether those terms are too wide," Mentor told Jacaranda FM News. "Because the terms of reference can kill a commission, or they can make it attain what it is crafted for."
Terms of Reference for the commission of inquiry into state capture by Pieter van der Merwe on Scribd
While the terms of reference names specific individuals to be probed, the scope could possibly be widened.
The commission needs to establish whether "the Gupta family or any other family, individual or corporate entity" benefitted from illegally awarded tenders.
Mentor says she does not want to rush through the terms of reference before deciding whether, in her view, it is not too wide.
The commission has further been given powers to refer any matter for further prosecution or investigation.
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