President Jacob Zuma will release the report of the Donen Commission of Inquiry into the involvement of South Africans in the Iraq oil-for-food programme, his office said on Tuesday.

Spokesperson Mac Maharaj said the report would be released in recognition of the public interest in the subject matter.

"The presidency is aware of the potential misuse of the contents of the report," he said.

"We wish to caution that the comments made... about individuals must not be elevated to findings of fact as these were interim and untried comments."

In 2006, former President Thabo Mbeki commissioned an investigation into illegal transactions by South African individuals and companies in the United Nations oil-for-food programme.

The programme was established in 1995 to allow Iraq to sell oil in exchange for food, medicine, and other humanitarian aid without building up funds for military purposes.

It was tainted by corruption and abuse, with the Iraqi government demanding illicit payments from its customers.

Mbeki's commission of inquiry was headed by advocate Michael Donen, with assistance from advocate Andrew Chauke and senior superintendent Lucy Moleka.

Their report apparently implicated some top leaders in the African National Congress (ANC), including Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe and Human Settlements Minister Tokyo Sexwale, and was not released to the public.

Late on Tuesday, Sexwale released a statement saying he was not in a position to comment on the report until it had been released.

Maharaj said on Tuesday that the report "clearly established that the conduct of the individuals from South Africa affected by this report did not constitute any offence under South African law".

"Those who were caught up in the subject matter of the inquiry did not have an opportunity to deal with their alleged involvement fully."

On Tuesday, the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Freedom Front Plus (FF Plus) welcomed the release of the report, but questioned the motive behind its sudden release after failed attempts by Independent Newspapers to access it under the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia).

"The timing of the presidency's announcement is... interesting, given that the report is said to implicate two figures who appear to be opposed to Zuma's continued leadership of the ANC," DA parliamentary leader Atholl Trollip said.

"... It is crucial that information is released into the public domain for the right reasons, and not as a means to fight internal political battles."

The FF Plus wondered whether the Donen report had become part of an internal struggle in the run-up to the ANC's elective conference next year in December.

"The fact that Zuma is at this specific time prepared to release the Donen report, nearly 30 months after he took up his office... begs the question whether... he would possibly gain politically from it," parliamentary spokesperson on minerals Anton Alberts said.

He said the FF Plus wrote a letter to Motlanthe in October 2008 requesting him to release the report. The request was denied.

"It is high time that South Africa finds out what advantage the ANC had gained from this scandal."

Zuma will make the report available by December 7.