Johannesburg, Feb 11 (PTI): In a candid admission, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said the government had failed on many counts leading to "criminal networks" infiltrating state-owned enterprises "intent on looting public money", leaving the country in dire economic condition.

At the 2022 State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday evening, Ramaphosa set forth his government's plans to fight corruption and boost the economy through a host of schemes.

"None of our efforts to revive our economy will succeed if we do not tackle the scourge of corruption once and for all," Ramaphosa said, in his nearly 70-minute long speech.

"State-owned enterprises were infiltrated by a criminal network intent on looting public money for private gain. State capture had a direct and very concrete negative impact on the lives of all South Africans, but especially the poorest and most vulnerable members of our society," Ramaphosa said, as he announced a slew of plans to address the challenges of poverty, inequality and rampant unemployment, especially among the youth.

"We must now do everything in our power to ensure that it never happens again," the president said, promising firm action on the findings of the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture by the end of June.

The first part of the Commission's report has identified a wide range of corrupt activities and looting of billions of rands from state enterprises by, among others, top officials at these enterprises.

Central to most of these have been the three Indian-origin Gupta brothers, who are now believed to be in self-exile in Dubai as the South African government seeks their extradition to face criminal charges here.

"State-owned enterprises play a vital role in our economy. From water and roads, to energy and ports, to defence and aviation, these strategic assets are necessary to keep our country running. It is essential that we reverse their decline, and position them to contribute positively.

"The ongoing damage to and theft of economic infrastructure has damaged confidence and severely constrained economic growth, investment and job creation," Ramaphosa admitted.

"Many individuals and companies that the Commission has found were responsible for state capture must now be held to account. I have every confidence that the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) will carry out the further investigations that the Commission has recommended, and that it will bring the members of the criminal network that infiltrated the government and captured the state swiftly to justice," Ramaphosa said.

The president said that discussions were also underway with the judiciary for the creation of special court rolls for state capture and corruption cases to avoid long delays in trials.

But the fight against corruption was far from over, he said, citing massive corruption that has been uncovered relating to emergency measures during the COVID-19 pandemic of the past two years.

"Even as the country was suffering the devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic, companies and individuals were conspiring with public officials to defraud the government of billions of rands in COVID-related contracts.

"As soon as evidence emerged of this corruption we acted. We withdrew certain emergency procurement regulations, set up a fusion centre that brought together various law enforcement agencies, published the details of all COVID-related contracts online and instituted the most extensive investigation that the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has undertaken since its formation," Ramaphosa said.

The SIU has referred 224 government officials for disciplinary action and referred 386 cases for possible prosecution to the NPA.

Referring to the violence that saw massive looting, violence and deaths of over 300 people in major economic provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng in July last year, Ramaphosa said the government in the aftermath has established specialised multi-disciplinary units to address economic sabotage, extortion at construction sites and vandalism of infrastructure.

This included making resources available for the South African Police Services to get an additional 12,000 new personnel.

The violence was allegedly sparked by protests against former president Jacob Zuma starting a 15-month jail sentence for contempt of court -- which was imposed by South Africa's apex Constitutional Court for Zuma walking out of a hearing at the Commission and refusing to return.

But the protests quickly devolved into massive looting and arson that the police were unable to control until Ramaphosa deployed the military into some hotspot areas.

Zuma only served two months of the sentence before being allowed out on controversial medical parole, which was subsequently declared invalid.

He is appealing the ruling.

Among the wide range of measures Ramaphosa announced was an emphasis on small business.

"This year, we are undertaking far-reaching measures to unleash the potential of small businesses, micro-businesses and informal businesses. These are the businesses that create the most jobs and provide the most opportunities for poor people to earn a living," the president said. PTI FH IND

(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)