Khusela Diko, who is currently on maternity leave, will return to work but has been redeployed to a different position in the public service, the Presidency confirmed on Tuesday.
In a statement, Minister in the Presidency Mondli Ngungubele’s office said disciplinary process against Diko “for her failure to disclose her interests in certain companies as required by public service regulations on the disclosure of financial interests” had been finalised.
Following the disciplinary process, Diko has been served with a written warning.
“The action taken by the Presidency management was in compliance with a recommendation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) that Ms Diko be disciplined for her failure to disclose certain interests. This recommendation arose from an SIU investigation into government’s procurement of Covid-19 personal protective equipment,” the statement read.
Tyrone Seale will continue as acting spokesperson to the president as he has been since Diko took a lengthy special leave of absence.
Last year, Diko took special leave after it was revealed that her husband’s company had controversially and irregularly secured a tender for the provision of personal protective equipment from the Gauteng Health Department, which was then led by his family friend and close ally Bandile Masuku.
Masuku, who also voluntarily stepped aside after the allegations surfaced, has since been removed from the provincial cabinet by Premier David Makhura, after the SIU found him to have failed in his oversight responsibility as the political head of the department, which was the most affected by the Covid-19 tender corruption allegations.
Political Bureau