Idac faces a crucial test as new leadership takes on institutional dysfunction

South Africa does not need another anti-corruption institution that exists on paper but struggles to command public confidence. It needs institutions that are feared by those who steal from the state, respected by those who uphold the law and trusted by the public.

Xola Nqola is a Member of Parliament for the ANC and the Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Justice and Constitutional Development.

The Investigating Directorate Against Corruption (Idac) has now been given something it urgently needs: a new beginning.

The appointment of Advocate Ntuthuzelo Vanara as acting head of Idac comes at a difficult moment for the institution, but it also presents a genuine opportunity for renewal. Vanara takes over following the resignation of Advocate Andrea Johnson and at a time when serious questions about corruption, criminal networks, governance and institutional weakness have been placed under intense public scrutiny.

The Madlanga Commission of Inquiry and the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee investigating allegations made by KwaZulu-Natal Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi have exposed just how much is at stake.

In terms of the National Prosecuting Authority Amendment Act, Idac has a clear and important mandate: to investigate and prosecute serious, high-profile and complex corruption, commercial and financial crime and, where appropriate, institute criminal proceedings. Yet in recent times, the disturbing perception has emerged that those doing the investigating are themselves being investigated, or should be investigated.

This cannot become the defining character of an institution established to fight corruption.

We should not, however, allow these developments to leave the public with the impression that our institutions are incapable of correcting themselves.

Vanara brings more than 25 years of experience in Parliament, state institutions and in other highly regulated environments. He served as a legal adviser in Parliament and currently serves as Chief Legal Counsel at the Special Investigating Unit. He has also been an evidence leader in major parliamentary inquiries, including the SABC Board inquiry and the Eskom inquiry into State Capture and maladministration.

This is not simply an impressive CV. It is experience forged in institutions under intense public and political scrutiny, dealing with evidence, accountability and difficult questions when the pressure is high. That experience will now be tested in a new environment.

Vanara cannot be expected to fix everything overnight. Nor should the public expect one individual to repair institutional weaknesses accumulated over time. But he has been given an opportunity to set a different tone and direction.

That redemption cannot come through public statements or promises. It must come through the work. Part of that work must be confronting the rot that may still remain within the institution. Idac must clean house where necessary for renewal to have meaning and public trust to be restored. This does not mean casting suspicion over every official.