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AG reveals scale of COVID-19 procurement corruption; UIF execs suspended

The first report-back today by the Auditor-General on the extent of the COVID-19 corruption has uncovered outright fraud and widespread ignoring of procurement rules by government officials, writes LegalbriefThe latest casualties were Unemployment Insurance Fund commissioner Teboho Maruping, who was suspended today along with the entire senior management of the fund.

TimesLIVE reports that the AG's office found that national and provincial Departments of Health, and Education have paid up to five times more than they should have for personal protective equipment (PPE). Auditors found the quality of supplied PPE to be poor. 'The problem with the quality of PPE purchased is most evident in a few schools that were visited where the masks provided were not to specifications and were often one-size-fits-all. Instances were also found where specified PPE items ordered by a Health Department were substituted by the supplier with items of a lower specification, which the department accepted and even paid for at the higher price of the originally ordered item,' Makwetu said. Auditors have also identified clear cases of fraud, but more information will be provided in subsequent reports.

Makwetu said pre-existing deficiencies in government's supply chain were amplified by the introduction of emergency procurement processes allowed for PPE contracts, reports News24. Various issues across both the health and education sectors require further investigation. These include:

* Suppliers not having valid tax clearance certificates;

* Quotation and competitive bidding processes not being correctly applied;

* Inadequate or inaccurate specifications and evaluation criteria, and the incorrect application thereof; and

* Conflicts of interest.

'In addition, in the health sector, contracts were awarded to suppliers with no previous history of supplying or delivering PPE,' he said. The report also stated that there were insufficient controls to ensure receipt of and payment for PPE at the level of quality and price ordered. Makwetu said of the budgeted R22.4bn, only R6.7bn was actual expenditure. He

[link url="https://www.timeslive.co.za/politics/2020-09-02-some-items-more-than-double-even-five-times-the-price-a-g-on-ppe-scandal/"]TimesLive full report[/link]

[link url="https://www.news24.com/news24/southafrica/news/clear-signs-of-overpricing-unfair-processes-potential-fraud-in-ppe-tenders-ag-report-reveals-20200902"]News24 full report[/link]

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