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Jacob Khawe, provincial secretary of the ANC Gauteng.
- The ANC in Gauteng says it has consulted the heads of Presidential Spokesperson Khusela Diko, Dr. Bandile Masuku of the Gauteng Health MEC and the MMC Loyiso Masuku of Joburg City about their decision that all three should remain on leave. special.
- Provincial Secretary Jacob Khawe says the party has given itself two weeks to finalize the matter in which its political future is expected to be decided.
- He said that there were numerous loopholes in an integrity commission report on the matter.
The ANC in Gauteng told President Cyril Ramaphosa that its spokesperson, Khusela Diko, would not be able to return to work for two weeks, pending the completion of a report from the provincial working committee (PWC) on his political fate.
ANC Gauteng Secretary Jacob Khawe said the party told the president that the best thing for the government was for the party to achieve the goal in the cloud over her head before she returned to work.
Khawe spoke to News24 on Tuesday morning, following a marathon provincial executive committee (PEC) meeting about an integrity commission report on Diko, Gauteng Health MEC Bandile Masuku, and City of Johannesburg MMC Loyiso Masuku, who have been in the center of a Gauteng health center. personal protective equipment tender scandal.
After the integrity commission’s report was found to be poorly drafted and inconclusive, it was resolved at Monday’s meeting that the three should remain on special leave from their government duties for two more weeks.
“The problem in this case would be for the members to go back to work without having been acquitted of any crime,” Khawe said.
The PWC is expected to do more work before making a decision.
Gaps
Khawe said numerous gaps remain.
He said the extended license would give the PEC an opportunity to “improve” some aspects of the report that ANC veterans produced.
“It is to obtain various sets of minutes from the Health Department. These will confirm or verify the lack of action, if that is the case, as there was a lot of reference to this but it was not properly examined,” Khawe said.
On Tuesday, News24 reported that there was consensus in the PEC on the quality of the report, with some insiders saying it was poorly written.
Diko and Masuku also challenged the report, questioning some of the findings made against them last week.
READ MORE | Masuku Strikes Back: MEC challenges some of the integrity commission’s damning findings
Khawe described the meeting as “strong” and said that the arguments presented did not reflect factional lines, but that the PEC wanted to adopt a report that “would stand the test of time.”
He said that during the two weeks, the ANC also intended to hear from Gauteng health officials, including the department head, supply chain, finance and CFOs.
Khawe added that he would understand if there was outrage over the PEC’s decision on extended leave while being paid, but insisted the executive committee wanted to conclude the matter in the shortest possible time. However, it would create the wrong impression of cutting their salaries or even causing affected leaders to resume their duties without being authorized.
The PEC is expected to return to the issue on October 3.
The Masukus and Diko, who are friends, were brought before the provincial integrity commission (PIC) after media reported that the latter’s husband, Chief Madzikane Diko II, irregularly received a tender from the Gauteng health department of several million rand.
News24 previously reported on PIC’s findings against Masuku, which included that he did not exercise sufficient oversight, failed to handle public perceptions about claims that he was involved in corrupt activity, and that he was not close enough to the hiring processes. This, despite the Public Finance Management Law, which establishes guidelines against such practices.
The PIC report did not include a finding of apparent wrongdoing against him.
Khawe also said the PEC wanted to better understand how Diko’s husband was appointed to the Johannesburg City Joburg Market board.
Diko said in a statement with his wife in July that he applied to be a member of the City entities because he had the necessary skills to provide valuable advice and guidance.
