Johannesburg - Following months of anticipation, President Cyril Ramaphosa will today finally take the hot seat at the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture.
Ramaphosa, who is set to begin his testimony at 10am, is expected to testify in his capacity as former ANC deputy president and as the party’s current leader.
This will be the first of four appearances with another scheduled for Thursday and the other two days set for mid-May.
By early morning, the commission’s office at the Civic Centre in Braamfontein was a hive of activity ahead of Ramaphosa’s arrival.
The inquiry has over the past two years heard evidence that has implicated the ANC and some of its members. It is expected that Ramaphosa may need to answer questions on what the ANC did once state capture allegations were presented to the party's leaders.
WATCH LIVE FEED
AFTERNOON SESSION
MORNING SESSION
Ramaphosa was the deputy president of the ANC under former president Jacob Zuma's leadership and the president of the country when the bulk of the allegations of state capture first surfaced.
He can expect to be asked about what the party did and what he had attempted to do about concerns on the Gupta family's influence on party and government business.
What type of evidence has implicated the ANC at the inquiry?
*Bosasa - The party is said to have received funding and donations from utilities management company Bosasa. This is while the company received contracts from government entities.
*Banks - various representatives from the country's big banks, including Absa and Standard Bank, testified that when the banks began closing Gupta-linked bank accounts, they were summoned to a meeting at Luthuli House with ANC officials.
*ANC deployment - Ramaphosa may also be questioned on the ANC’s cadre deployment strategy. Zondo has previously asked questions on this subject and why certain individuals were placed in key government positions even though they did not have the needed qualifications.
*ANC kick-back payments - The inquiry has also heard allegations that the ANC may have received kick-back donations from a Prasa contract linked to businessman Auswell Mashaba. Mashaba's company, Swifambo Rail Leasing, was awarded an R3.5 billion contract.
Other kick-back allegations surfaced with businessman Edwin Sodi when he admitted to making donations to the ANC and various ANC members. Sodi was the beneficiary of millions of rands worth of government contracts - which were mostly linked to human settlement projects.
zintle.mahlati@inl.co.za
Political Bureau