Three senior Gauteng ANC members have been granted leave of absence after being implicated in corruption linked to personal protective equipment (PPE) tenders in the province.
The African National Congress (ANC) in Gauteng confirmed this leave of absence to the three members which was extended by its provincial executive committee (PEC).
The three suspended members are the presidential spokesperson Khusela Diko, Health MEC Bandile Masuku and his wife Joburg MMC Loyiso Masuku.
According to the party’s provincial secretary Jacob Khawe, the two-week extension would give the integrity commission more time to address its report’s weaknesses discussed during the PEC’s meeting over the weekend.
Khawe also dismissed claims saying the extension is meant to soften the blow to the ANC senior members.
He explained that the integrity commission’s report needs to be worked on to address the evidence relied on and to know whether the Special Investigating Unit was investigating them.
“I think on this matter, we wanted a report that could stand the test of time.”
The commission was given four weeks to investigate the multimillion-rand PPE tender awarded by the Gauteng Health Department to Diko’s husband.
Khawe however said the time was too short for the committee to make solid recommendations.
