Johannesburg - The Chamber of Mines of South Africa on Wednesday welcomed the appointment of Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo to head the inquiry into state capture.
This comes after President Jacob Zuma on Tuesday announced that he had appointed Zondo to head the commission of inquiry into state capture on the basis recommended 15 months ago by former Public Protector Thuli Madonsela.
In December, the North Gauteng High Court ordered that the remedial action of the Public Protector was binding and that the President was directed to appoint a commission of inquiry within 30 days - headed by a judge solely selected by the Chief Justice - to probe allegations of State capture.
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In a statement, the Chamber said while it laments the inordinate delay in the announcement by Zuma of this appointment, it optimistically took the development as a signal of the beginnings of critical shifts in the quality of governance of South Africa.
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"The appointment of such a senior judicial officer to the position following his selection by the Chief Justice, is particularly welcomed given the importance of the task ahead, both for the country and for the mining industry," said the Chamber.
"In her October 2016 report, Ms Madonsela identified numerous mining-related issues. Further, poor governance has had a negative impact on investment, growth, jobs and the economy as a whole."
Business, trade unions, civil society and opposition parties have all welcomed the establishment of the commission of inquiry into State capture as the groups have been vocal about runaway corruption in the country.