Timeslive Apologises To Dean Macpherson Over Jj Tabane's Bribery Claim

TimesLIVE has issued a retraction and apology to Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson for publishing columnist JJ Tabanes bribery allegations against him.

In a Sunday Times opinion article last week, Tabane cited an allegation that Macpherson had concocted a narrative, with the help of a journalist, to tarnish the reputation of the CEO of the IDT Independent Development Trust.

This appears to be a deliberate plot to replace the CEO with a DA-aligned puppet, he claimed.

A whistle-blower has shared damning information that reveals this conversation between the minister and the journalist, including an exchange of money where the minister paid the journalist to write negative stories about the IDT.

In its apology on Monday 27 January, TimesLIVE said it had received a complaint from the Ministry of Public Works and Infrastructure.

After careful reconsideration of the opinion piece, TimesLIVE has found that there was insufficient evidence of the allegations upon which highly critical opinions were made of and concerning the Minster of Public Works and Infrastructure in opinion. In the circumstances, TimesLIVE retracts the opinion and unreservedly apologises to the Minister.

Although Macpherson welcomed the apology, he said he is seeking legal advice on how to hold Mr Tabane accountable for the false accusations.

I will not be deterred in my efforts to clean up the department and root out corruption, even in the face of fabricated stories designed to unite individuals and parties in an attempt to hinder me from doing my job, he said in a statement .

We always knew there would be a strong backlash as we began challenging corruption networks within the department. Publications and journalists, therefore, have a responsibility to ensure that they are not used to shield compromised individuals and protect them from accountability.

The controversy surrounds an R800 million oxygen plant tender at IDT which Daily Maverick reported on in December. Pieter-Louis Myburgh, a co-author of the investigative report, denied Tabanes claim.