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JOHANNESBURG. – The era of impunity is over, President Cyril Ramaphosa promised during his address at the party’s final rally on Sunday.

President Ramaphosa spoke firmly on his mission to eradicate corruption going so far as to apologise for the wrongs done by the party in the past.

He assured South Africans that he would not appoint anyone to his Cabinet who is found to have been involved in corruption.

“We are determined that those found guilty of corruption or involved in state capture will not be allowed to occupy positions of responsibility, either in the ANC, in Parliament or in government. The era of impunity is over. We are now entering the era of accountability. We are now entering the era of consequence. As the African National Congress, we have embarked on a path of renewal and rebuilding,” he said.

This comes as the party is hit with overwhelming allegations of state capture and corruption with some of its top-ranking leaders being implicated. The ANC has also received huge criticism over its national and provincial lists which bear the names of party leaders who are implicated in state capture.

Declaring the party’s stance on corruption, he punted that the party had embarked on an age of renewal, saying it will never surrender the country’s freedom to corruption and state capture.

“We will not submit and we will not retreat. We will fight with every means at our disposal to ensure that those who occupy positions of authority serve only the public interest. Over the last year, we have taken decisive steps to fight corruption across society.”

He equated this to the establishment of the Zondo Commission on state capture and his mission to restore the credibility of the justice, crime prevention and security clusters.

President Ramaphosa recently fired NPA heavyweights advocates Nomgcobo Jiba and Lawrence Mrwebi who were reportedly linked to president Jacob Zuma.

The Mokgoro Inquiry into their fitness to hold office found that Jiba’s conduct on multiple occasions showed a “lack of conscientiousness”, while Mrwebi was found to have failed to act without favour, and to the prejudice of the NPA, News24 reported .

“But the road ahead is long, and there is still much more to do. We should expect resistance from those who have benefited from wrongdoing. But let there be no doubt – those responsible for state capture and corruption will be held to account. We are restoring the rule of law.”

He said police and prosecutors will be further strengthened and their independence will be assured to act against those who are corrupt without fear or favour.

“We recognise how patronage and corruption have eroded the people’s trust and confidence, and how they have undermined our ability to serve the interests of all South Africans. That is why we have been working hard to restore the integrity of our movement. – News24