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With his own political career at stake, it’s no wonder Gauteng Health’s MEC Bandile Masuku is preparing to launch a career-saving legal battle to clear his name, but it won’t be easy.
If Masuku does not fight to clear his name, he risks his political career dying in its infancy and his illustrious and well-earned medical career will be marred by allegations of corruption.
With public anger directed at alleged looters of Covid-19 funds through bid fraud, and the need to set an example, you have a lot of work to do.
Masuku, 44, began his government career 14 months ago when the fraud scandal broke out in the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) in his department.
After the May 2019 national elections, he was one of the young politicians elevated to state bodies, directly from the ANC Youth League (ANCYL), as part of the ANC’s policy to ensure a mix of intergenerational leadership across all levels.
Other ANCYL graduates in the David Makhura executive were Mbali Hlophe, who is MEC for Sports, Arts, Culture and Recreation, and Tasneem Motara, MEC for Infrastructure Development and Property Management.
They were joined by another former lion cub, Lebogang Maile, MEC for Human Settlements, Urban Planning and Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, who had been there for some time.
The ANC’s policy to elevate younger politicians to positions of power led to many of them being sent to provincial administrations, national legislatures and cabinets, as well as municipal councils.
Former ANCYL presidents who served in the national government over the years include Fikile Mbalula and Malusi Gigaba, as well as, more recently, Ronald Lamola, Zizi Kodwa, and Njabulo Nzuza, among others.
Makhura, the prime minister of Gauteng, fired Masuku on Friday last week based on the findings of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU), which said that he had failed to fulfill his role in terms of the constitution and the Management Law of Public Finance (PFMA).
Masuku, along with his wife Loyiso, a member of the mayoral committee for corporate and group shared services in Johannesburg, were implicated in Covid-19 bidding corruption, prompting the ANC Gauteng to ask them to step aside.
The allegations stemmed from the award of a PPE contract to a company owned by the husband of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Khusela Diko.
In his defense against the SIU finding, Masuku issued a 13-page statement this week rejecting any wrongdoing.
Masuku insisted that, in terms of supply chain management principles and the PFMA, he was not allowed to instruct the finance director and the departmental accountant, who is the department head, on what to do regarding tenders. .
His job was to carry out political oversight in the department by receiving monthly and quarterly reports from various directorates, including finance, and presenting them to the executive.
According to the statement, the SIU could have confused its functions with those of the accountant, hence its conclusions.
“The SIU report makes incorrect and non-factual findings about my role as an executive authority,” Masuku said.
With the final SIU report still awaited, Masuku will have to wait, especially since Makhura vowed to reinstate him should he be exonerated in the unit’s final report.
But there are signs that the SIU’s initial findings will stand, even if the MEC is cleared of actual corruption allegations.
SIU spokesman Kaizer Kganyago said they had proof that Masuku had failed to perform his role, which is why Makhura fired him.
If that were the case in the final report, it would be difficult for the prime minister to change his decision.
Born in Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Soweto, Masuku enrolled in the famous Sekano-Ntoane High School and graduated as a physician from the Sefako Makgatho University of Health Sciences.
While there, he served on the executive of the South African Student Congress and became president of the student representative council.
He served on ANCYL’s national executive and became the league’s national spokesperson.
Prior to becoming a MEC, Masuku headed the obstetrics and gynecology unit at Thelle Mogoerane Regional Hospital in Vosloorus and practiced at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, Pholosong Hospital, and Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital.
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