Khusela Diko PPE corruption

Image via Twitter: Khusela Diko
@KhuselaS

They’re back! Corruption-accused ANC members return to Gauteng PEC

Khusela Diko served a hefty suspension, and Bandile Masuku lost his job as a result of the PPE corruption scandal.

Khusela Diko PPE corruption

Image via Twitter: Khusela Diko
@KhuselaS

Two politicians who were caught-up in the 2020 PPE corruption scandal have both been welcomed back to the frontline of politics in Gauteng. Senior ANC members Khusela Diko and Bandile Masuku were officially elected to the Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) this weekend.

PPE corruption: What were Khusela Diko and Bandile Masuku accused of?

Critics see these nominations as problematic. However, the ANC’s National Disciplinary Committee (NDC) cleared ex-Ramaphosa spokesperson Diko and former Gauteng Heath MEC Masuku of wrongdoing relating to dodgy PPE corruption last year.

Diko and her late husband – Bhaca royal King Madzikane II Thandisizwe Diko – were suspended by the ANC after it emerged that there may have been irregularities relating to a R125 million personal protective equipment (PPE) tender in 2020.

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) had previously recommended that action be taken against her for failing to disclose certain financial interests, as required by public service regulations. In September 2021, her suspension from the party was lifted – but Diko received a written warning.

New Gauteng PEC members cause a stir

The SIU’s investigation into the Gauteng Department of Health also found a number of irregularities in the appointment of service providers for the delivery and supply of PPE. It also uncovered ‘a failure by Bandile Masuku’ to exercise appropriate oversight’.

So, with one member suspended for more than a year after receiving an official warning, and another who lost his job for ‘failing to act against the tide of PPE corruption’, the return of these two politicians to Gauteng’s political arena is likely to remain a hot-button issue.

  • Dean Macpherson, the DA’s Shadow Trade Minister, has stated that this is a classic case of ‘the ANC being the ANC’.