Sports Minister named in corruption probe

He was reacting to the publication of leaked findings from the report of the Pillay Commission, which has been handed to the provincial government but has not yet been officially released, says a Mail & Guardian Online report. 'I just want to assure the people of the Eastern Cape that just as previous attempts to tarnish my image failed, even this one will be exposed for the political conspiracy it is,' he said. The Daily Dispatch said the report showed how Stofile, a former Premier of the Eastern Cape, and two other senior ANC politicians and their families had benefited from an 'orchestrated siphoning off' of nearly R200m in public funds. The report said another R250m simply disappeared form the province's public coffers over a decade. The other politicians named are current ANC Eastern Cape provincial chairperson Stone Sizani, a former provincial Minister of Education, and Enoch Godongwana, a former provincial Minister of Economic Affairs and current head of the Financial Sector Charter Council. Full Mail & Guardian Online report Full Daily Dispatch report

Sizani says he plans to sue the Daily Dispatch for reporting the alleged fraud. A report in Die Burger says Sizani denies the allegations and claimed the media reports were defamatory. Full report in Die Burger

The goings on in the Eastern Cape have not helped the cause of Premier Nosimo Balindlela, who is about to be axed by the ANC as it uses for the first time the powers it seized from President Thabo Mbeki in Polokwane last year to hire and fire Premiers. Balindlela, who has come under fire for under-performance in key areas such as health, education, public works and financial management, seems to have lost her battle to stay in office until her term ends next year, following a recent meeting of the ANC's national working committee, says a Business Day report. In terms of an ANC resolution adopted in Polokwane, the appointment of Premiers is no longer the prerogative of the party President. The new rules provide for the provincial executive committee to submit three candidates to be considered by the party's deployment committee, headed by ANC deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe. The report suggests Western Cape Premier Ebrahim Rasool could also be in the party's firing line. The ANC in the province has been wracked by internal divisions between Rasool and his ANC provincial secretary, Mcebisi Skwatsha. Full Business Day report