Johannesburg - Former Bosasa chief operations officer Angelo Agrizzi said on Thursday one of the company's directors was responsible for paying bribes of up to R71 000 a month to junior officials of the Correctional Services department for almost a decade, as well as to a couple of journalists in order "to work with them".

Agrizzi said Bosasa director Papa Leshabane paid the journalists whose role was to allegedly give information to Bosasa and not write certain stories about the company. Agrizzi, however, did not name the journalists in question.

Agrizzi said the code name PLS on his list of bribe recipients referred to Leshabane.

"A R71 000 total amount was given to Leshabane, from which he would pay Zack Modise (the former national commissioner of Correctional Services) and three journalists," he said.

Commission president, Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo asked Agrizzi; "He paid journalists? For what?" to which Agrizzi replied; "For information, not to write stories."