Justice and Constitutional Development Minister Penuel Maduna says the report of the Hefer Commission into spy allegations against the National Director of Public Prosecutions Bulelani Ngcuka would soon be made public.

Retired Judge Joos Hefer, who headed the commission, handed over his 62-page report to Minister Maduna in Pretoria today.

The minister will present the report, anxiously awaited by many people, to President Thabo Mbeki, within the next 24 hours. He said the report may then be made available to the public within two weeks after the President has read it and applied his mind on the findings.

Maduna said the report, like similar ones that came before it, would be made public since "the matter was of public interest".

"There had to be serious, sounder reasons if the President was not going to make it public..." he said adding that "so far the President has not hidden, from the public, any commission's report". The minister said it was nonetheless President Mbeki's call to decide whether to avail the report to the public or not. "It will be up to the President to make whatever necessary decisions," he asserted.

President Mbeki set-up the commission last year following a news report by City Press, backed by foreign affairs special adviser Mo Shaik and former transport minister Mac Maharaj, that Ngcuka may have been an apartheid spy and as a result abused his powers.

The claims saw scores of witnesses, including Mr Ngcuka's main accusers, appear before the Hefer Commission, which conducted its hearing in Bloemfontein towards the end of last year.

The thin-looking report contains only factual findings and Judge Hefer said it was "easy" to compile and it contained "no surprises". He dismissed suggestions that allegations were part of an internal fight in the ruling party and should not have come to the commission.

"We are dealing here with a person who is in charge of all the public prosecutions on behalf of the State in the country...any allegations that are made which impact on performing his duties and the very question that he is abusing his powers, I cannot see it been disposed in any other way than by way of a public inquiry," said Judge Hefer. –BuaNews.