Gauteng Premier David Makhura has succeeded in persuading the Special Tribunal to amend parts of an affidavit which implicated him in personal protective equipment (PPE) procurement irregularities.
A judgment handed down by the Special Tribunal on Tuesday states that Makhura was correct in asserting that he did not provide names of companies which received PPE contracts and that it was the premier’s office instead that had been accused of this.
“I have, on receipt of the premier’s application, realised that the omission of the words ‘office of’ before ‘the premier’ and ‘the MEC’ in the judgment text is capable of being construed to mean that the tribunal has found or decided that it was the premier personally or the MEC personally who supplied the names. There was no such decision or finding made on the allegations,” the judgement by Judge Sewele Mothle reads.
“The application to insert the omitted words in paragraph 14 and 24 on the judgment in SIU v Ledla, dated December 10 2020, is granted,” the judge added.
The tribunal handed down a judgement at the end of last year where former department of health chief financial officer Kabelo Lehloenya was seen to have been central to the awarding of an unlawful tender to Ledla Structural Development.
Read: Makhura denies involvement in the PPE contracts scandal
However, in her answering affidavit, where she contests the non- payment of her pension fund, Lehloenya implicates Makhura, former Gauteng health MEC Bandile Masuku and health head of department Mkhululi Lukhele.
Shortly after accusations implicating him emerged, Makhura wrote to the Special Tribunal requesting that it rectify an error which seemed to purport that he was linked to wrongdoing.
The premier also issued a statement wherein he implied that this could be a means to discredit him.
“For quite a while, I have been aware of an orchestrated campaign to tarnish my name with the ultimate objective to remove me from the Gauteng political scene. It is quite clear that I have become an obstacle to the realisation of certain political ambitions and business agendas.”
“I can confidently say that smear campaigns and the lies underpinning them will not succeed because the truth is more powerful and stubborn than political trickery,” he said.
The premier has welcomed the decision saying that he has been vindicated.
“I am happy that the statement has been corrected, making it clear that there were no allegations made against my involvement in PPE procurement irregularities,” Makhura said.
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