President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Khusela Diko. (Photo: Facebook / Khusela Diko)
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Khusela Diko has taken leave until a probe into Covid-19 contracts is over.
amaBhaca king Thandisizwe Diko, who is the husband of presidential spokesperson Khusela Diko, receives a princely state allowance, but still sought Covid-19 contracts worth over R47-million.
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Now Diko is on leave until a probe into the contracts has been finalised.
The contracts are among 90 Gauteng government tenders being investigated by a nine-institution unit headed by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU). This was announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday July 24.
Diko took leave from the Presidency on Monday pending the conclusion of the probe – the contracts were first exposed by the Sunday Independent.
Her husband, the king, receives an annual allowance of almost R1.3-million, according to the latest report of the Independent Commission for the Remuneration of Public Office Bearers, released in February. This allowance is paid to all royals and traditional leaders to give them space and time to take care of their people.
But by March, the king had applied for and received commitments to supply medical goods worth over R47.5-million from the Gauteng government, according to data seen by the Daily Maverick. This included N95 masks, sanitiser, overalls, visors, goggles, biohazard healthcare waste (disposal) and biohazard disposal bags.
According to a database of Gauteng Covid-19 contracts, the deals were granted and then cancelled. Diko explained last week that she and her husband thought better of accepting the contracts because of her role in the Presidency. The contracts appear to have been cancelled ahead of being fulfilled and paid, but the SIU investigation will determine whether this is correct.
While close to Diko, who is a confidante and his public representative, Ramaphosa is distancing himself from Covid-19 corruption. Cronyism, which is the favouring of politically connected individuals in state contracts, is regarded as a subset of corruption. Addressing the country last week, Ramaphosa said:
“What concerns me, and what concerns all South Africans, are those instances where funds are stolen, where they are misused, where goods are overpriced, where food parcels are diverted from needy households – where there is corruption and mismanagement of public funds.
“Increasingly, we are hearing allegations about fraudulent UIF claims, overpricing of goods and services, violation of emergency procurement regulations, collusion between officials and service providers, abuse of food parcel distribution and the creation of fake non-profit organisations to access relief funding.”
Diko is also close to Gauteng Health MEC Bandile Masuku, and along with his wife, Loyiso Lugayeni-Masuku, the three were summoned to appear before the ANC Gauteng provincial executive, also on Monday, to explain themselves.
Gauteng premier and ANC provincial boss David Makhura wants to put a marathon distance between his provincial administration of health and scandals like the Life Esidimeni and others which beset the health department in the province. (For an account, read Judge Dikgang Moseneke’s arbitration award to the families of those who died through maladministration in that department.)
Lugayeni-Masuku is also a leading ANC politician and a member of the mayoral committee in the Johannesburg administration. In addition to speaking for Ramaphosa, Diko is a member of the ANC provincial executive committee in Gauteng.
Masuku has denied wrongdoing. In a statement, his spokesperson Kwara Kekana said that it was, in fact, Masuku who had raised red flags about procurement.
“In April 2020 MEC for Health in Gauteng, Dr Bandile Masuku made a request to the Gauteng Audit Services (GAS), to conduct an audit into COVID-19 procurement and donations. As a result of some red flags raised. MEC Masuku requested the Premier to institute a forensic investigation into COVID-19 procurement. The Premier subsequently requested the SIU in May to investigate the matter.
“As part of risk management, the Gauteng Provincial Treasury, through the Gauteng Audit Services, undertakes regular internal audit and review of major procurement processes of PPE, food and related infrastructure in order to ensure that clean governance is adhered to. Where issues need further probing they are escalated to relevant law enforcement authorities.”
Covid-19 corruption is becoming a growing political risk for Ramaphosa as news reports suggest the entire value chain of state procurement, from food to protective health equipment and other goods and services, is being compromised by overpricing, cronyism and other forms of tender shenanigans.
Diko did not respond to requests for comment. DM
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