Monies stolen from the state by unscrupulous companies and individuals by inflating the prices of personal protective equipment (PPE) will be recovered. Polity reports that's according to Minister in the Presidency Jackson Mthembu, who said those implicated in corruption would be severely punished.
"The scourge of corruption, which manifests itself in the blatant theft and looting of state resources, is the biggest societal cancer that has the potential to erode public trust in government's concerted efforts to improve the lives of the people. Cabinet condemns in the strongest possible terms all acts of corruption and is confident that all wrongdoers will eventually be prosecuted, without fear or favour," Mthembu said.
The report says law enforcement agencies had dealt with a flood of COVID-19 PPE tender corruption, most notably in Gauteng, where several high-ranking ANC politicians and their family members scored big tenders.
Mthembu said Cabinet would give the necessary support to all law-enforcement agencies. "This will include giving them the resources they need to function optimally, independently without fear, favour and prejudice in facilitating the investigation and prosecution of corruption-related cases without any further delay," he said.
The National Treasury this week published the details of all companies that received COVID-19 tenders. "National Treasury will continue with additional work to refine the submitted information for further processing. Cabinet reaffirms that law-enforcement agencies will continue to be responsible for the investigative work. Cabinet is also pleased with the progress made by the committee of ministers chaired by Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola. The team of ministers was expected to coordinate the compilation of all the COVID-19 procurements and make it accessible to the public," Mthembu said.
He said the Fusion Centre, which coordinated the work of all law-enforcement agencies, remained on track to present its first six-weekly report in the first week of September to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
Ramaphosa has said that the online publication of COVID-19 government expenditure is historic, reports Polity. The office of the chief procurement officer (OCPO) has published on the National Treasury website a full list of all companies awarded government contracts to supply goods and services for the COVID-19 pandemic, the presidency said. The list includes COVID-19 procurement information from all provinces, national departments and more than 70 public entities.
The report says the move is in line with a directive issued by Ramaphosa on 5 August for departments to submit full information on COVID-19 tenders to the inter-ministerial commission, which Lamola convenes.
The President has congratulated the national Treasury, department of justice and constitutional development, national and provincial government departments and public entities for acting with urgency to collate the required information.
The presidency statement said that national Treasury would regularly update the online register to ensure information was current.
Orders placed by the Gauteng Health Department for personal protective equipment may have seen taxpayers being ripped off to the tune of at least R500m. According to a Daily Maverick report, Scorpio’s month-long data investigation into the department’s controversial PPE purchases reveals that department officials ordered products from suppliers whose mark-ups sometimes exceeded 200%.
The report says the month-long data deep dive into the department’s procurement of products like face masks, surgical gloves and hand sanitiser reveals that department officials ordered a range of items at a cost of R1.28bn, while these same items could have been bought at a cost of only R776.5m. This means the Gauteng’s contentious PPE suppliers collectively inflated their prices by a whopping R507.5m, or 65%, compared to goods on offer in the open market.
Daily Maverick says Scorpio only managed to assess about half of the department’s total expenditure for PPE and related goods. The total over-expenditure figure could grow as more data on government’s expansive PPE procurement drive becomes available.
The report says another startling finding from the analysis is that more than R500m, or a quarter of Gauteng’s PPE spend, was paid to companies that were only registered as suppliers to the province after South Africa’s state of disaster was announced in mid-March.
The GDH did not want to respond to our detailed queries, Spotlight said. “As you are aware, the issue (of) PPE procurement is currently under SIU (Special Investigating Unit) investigations and dealt with by the Office of the Premier,” said department spokesperson Kwara Kekana.
Thabo Masebe, spokesperson for the provincial government, echoed the Gauteng Health’s stance. “The questions that you are raising all form part of the scope of the investigation. The Gauteng provincial government hopes that the investigation by the SIU will help establish the truth about what happened in the procurement of PPE,” Masebe stated.
Scorpio said: “In all, our study suggests the GDH overpaid the 44 suppliers by R507.5m. It is worth repeating that this might turn out to be an extremely conservative estimate. Our comparative market-related prices were sometimes set at very generous averages, and we could only analyse about half of the GDH’s total spend. All indications are that South Africans will eventually be confronted by harrowing over-expenditure figures once the country’s PPE procurement has been properly accounted for.”
Branded backpacks and umbrellas worth R1.9m and digital tablets costing R1.7m are among some of the suspicious items procured by the Mpumalanga Health Department in its fight against COVID-19. A report in The Star says preliminary investigations have indicated that seven departments and agencies in the province misused COVID-19 disaster management funds and bought PPE at inflated prices.
According to a leaked report, the entities include Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs, the Department of Culture, Sports & Recreation, the Department of Health, the Department of Social Development, Mpumalanga Regional Training Trust, Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency, and provincial Treasury.
The report shows fluctuating and inflated amounts of PPE procured by these departments. Mpumalanga Premier Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane said he would be appointing an independent team of investigators that will be tasked with establishing reasons for irregularities.
He said the team would complete its work in the next two weeks. “If there is prima facie evidence of wrongdoing, we shall request the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) to investigate further. I will allow the head official from the provincial Treasury to provide a detailed analysis of expenditure patterns throughout the various departments and agencies.”
Meanwhile, a senior Gauteng Health Department official is in hot water after acting MEC Jacob Mamabolo ordered disciplinary action against him for his role in the financial capture of the department when ANC politician Brian Hlongwa was MEC.
The Star reports Tebogo Lebodi was being investigated by the SIU after former President Jacob Zuma signed a proclamation into the theft of more than R1.2bn between 2006 and 2009. He was linked to an irregular procurement of goods and services relating to the evaluation of the transformation project at the surgical division of the Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital.
The SIU report was made public by Ramaphosa in May 2018 following an application by Section27. In the SIU’s concluding remarks, the report noted that disciplinary action could not be taken against him as he was no longer working for the department.
However, Lebodi remains director of human resources and human and organisational development.
Action against Lebodi was prompted after DA spokesperson Jack Bloom asked whether the acting Health MEC Jacob Mamabolo was aware of Lebodi’s misdemeanours. In his reply, Mamabolo said: “Following the announcement of the investigation by SIU on COVID-19 and implicating officials, I have instructed the department to compile a report on outstanding cases and immediately institute disciplinary measures.”
[link url="https://www.polity.org.za/article/covid-19-ppe-money-stolen-from-the-state-will-be-recovered-jackson-mthembu-2020-08-27"]Full Polity report[/link]
[link url="https://www.polity.org.za/article/ramaphosa-welcomes-publishing-of-government-covid-19-tender-lists-2020-08-27"]Full Polity report[/link]
[link url="http://www.thepresidency.gov.za/press-statements/president-ramaphosa-welcomes-publishing-lists-government-wide-covid-19-tenders"]Presidency statement[/link]
[link url="http://www.treasury.gov.za/Covid19.aspx"]Lists[/link]
[link url="https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-08-30-gauteng-healths-deadly-r500m-ppe-rip-off/"]Scorpio study in The Daily Maverick[/link]
[link url="http://thestar.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/showarticle.aspx?article=ce838fc3-9a16-4f79-94a7-3cce195ba9b8&key=ZnPLLgRTLcuEyPToUvE3bQ%3d%3d&issue=65102020082600000000001001"]Full report in The Star (subscription needed)[/link]
[link url="http://thestar.newspaperdirect.com/epaper/showarticle.aspx?article=126122e5-cc16-4c47-8944-353784b18b4e&key=h5RSOEnc97d1iwCtVj7gaw%3d%3d&issue=65102020082700000000001001"]Full report in The Star (subscription needed)[/link]