Johannesburg - Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo on Tuesday appointed Peter Pedlar as acting secretary of the Commission of Inquiry into allegations of State capture until February 28.
Zondo chairs the commission that is probing allegations of graft at State-owned entities.
This is after the secretary of the commission, Dr Khotso De Wee, on Friday requested to take a special leave pending the outcome of the investigation into allegations of taking bribes levelled against him. Pedlar is a corporate governance expert.
"The chairperson has appointed Mr Peter Pedlar as acting secretary of the Commission for the period 22 Jan to 28 Feb 2019. Should the investigation against Dr De Wee be finalised earlier than 28 Feb, Mr Pedlar's appointment may be terminated earlier," Zondo said in a statement.
Bosasa chief operations officer, Angelo Agrizzi, who is testifying in the commission said he was told that De Wee was one of senior officials of the justice and constitutional development department who were paid bribes by Bosasa Operations in order to secure a 2013 tender for the installation of security systems at various courts around the country.
But Agrizzi did concede that he had no other information to confirm the correctness of this allegation. De Wee was appointed as the secretary for the commission in March 2018, but at the time the tender was awarded he was the chief operations officer (COO) at the department. The commission is investigating the allegation against Dr De Wee.