PRETORIA Justice Minister Penuell Maduna would meet officials of the Heath special investigating unit in Durban today, ministerial spokesman Paul Setsetse said yesterday. He said in Pretoria that the meeting was arranged at the request of the officials.

Members of the unit headed by Judge Willem Heath last week asked President Thabo Mbeki, in a letter, to distinguish between the head of the unit and its members. A unit manager, Marthinus Rheeder, said in the letter that members of the unit were loyal citizens who "worked very hard and will continue to do so to assist the state in its fight against corruption".

Rheeder said: "We further accept that the unit was created by government as an important tool to fight against corruption. "We trust that we will be able to continue with this important function."

A copy of the letter was sent to Maduna, Setsetse confirmed yesterday.

Maduna last week announced that the Heath unit would cease to exist once it had completed its current workload. This came after Mbeki decided to exclude the unit from a probe into SA's R43bn arms deal.

With acknowledgement to Sapa and Business Day.