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By Sifiso Mahlangu 
4h ago
Johannesburg – There is a tug of war at the ANC over the release of the Covid-19 corruption investigation from the provincial integrity commission (PIC).
In what was to be a fact-finding mission into alleged corruption in the Gauteng Health Department that saw President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Khusela Diko and Health MEC Bandile Masuku and his wife Loyiso take leave after being linked to a controversial R125 million personal protective equipment scandal.
The report, which was supposed to be released on Tuesday, has now been sent back to the committee. In what appears to be an ANC factional battle, the report has reportedly not been presented to the Gauteng provincial executive committee (PEC) because it waives the adverse findings against Diko.
Independent Media has seen the report, which found that Masuku “had not broken the law but lacked the expected oversight.”
The report also found that Masuku may not have done enough to protect the ANC’s reputation, but acknowledged that he acted with integrity when he called the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) to investigate the Covid-19 bidding irregularity.
Regarding Diko, the investigation found that it was wrong for her husband, Thandisizwe Diko, to do business with the government given his role in the ANC, the government and his proximity to the president. Sources within the PIC have revealed that Masuku took over the commission yesterday, saying they should prove where the supervision was. Sources within the commission have revealed that Masuku sent a “legal document” to the PIC informing them of the procurement process at the Health Department and how the processes were possibly mocked.
“Masuku wants the commission to tell him where he went wrong because he was not in charge of acquisitions and he was the one who called the SIU to investigate when the Covid-19 tenders occurred. He wants the law to apply, not politics, ”said the source.
The report was presented to Masuku and Diko separately; Diko at 12pm on Monday and Masuku at 4pm. The report was due to be presented to the Gauteng ANC PEC yesterday, when there was a tug of war over the report. According to sources, the Ramaphosa faction in Gauteng was displeased with the adverse findings against Diko and wanted the commission to “review” the report.
“It is wrong for us to want to blame the MEC when we know what is going on here. Why is the report not published? We were waiting for a report. It cannot be returned, ”said the source.
Diko was not available for comment and Masuku replied that he could not speak to the media and directed us back to the integrity commission.
Masuku, whose wife is a close friend of the Dikos, is said to have strained relations with Diko after feeling that they betrayed her trust. The PIC report has also endorsed Ramaphosa’s proclamation that allowed the SIU to investigate corruption around stolen or misused Covid-19 welfare funds.
The star
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