The Minister of Public Works & Infrastructure, Dean Macpherson has laid criminal charges against the suspended Independent Development Trust CEO Tebogo Malaka.

This follows serious allegations by the Daily Maverick that Malaka sought to bribe journalist Pieter-Louis Myburgh to halt negative reporting.

Daily Maverick released an explosive video showing Malaka and the entity’s spokesperson offering Myburgh R60,000 in cash to drop an ongoing corruption investigation.

The attempted bribe is linked to an investigation into Malaka’s property dealings and suspicious IDT tenders.

Last week, Malaka was suspended over procurement irregularities linked to an R800m oxygen plant tender. Minister Macpherson released the findings of a forensic investigation in this regard last week.

Macpherson says he has laid multiple charges against Malaka, and asked police to investigate whether any other journalists have been approached and/or bribed for their silence.