Department disputes PPE fraud allegations

THE provincial Health Department is not under investigation for PPE procurement by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), according to Health MEC Nomafrench Mbombo.

Mbombo has disputed a report in which SIU chief national investigations officer Leonard Lekgetho, told Parliament’s standing committee on public accounts (Scopa) that the department, along with that of education and two municipalities, Matzikama and Laingsburg, were being investigated.

“I am not aware that the SIU is investigating Health on PPE procurement. What I was informed about was a company complaining about a medical device model. I am aware about microscopic equipment and that’s not under PPE,” said Mbombo.

“It’s a routine normal procurement for another discipline of medicine unrelated to Covid. My gripe is when it is linked to PPE,” said Mbombo.

In a recent briefing to Scopa, Lekgetho said: “The matters under investigation in the Western Cape relate to: 1) procurement of PPE which had seen bid manipulation which had been exposed in leaked bid documents, the sale of fraudulent hand sanitiser where a service provider had stolen labelling from another provider, and a general irregular procurement process; 2) the procurement of neurological microscopic equipment; and 3) the procurement of food parcels.”

Yesterday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the government is looking into establishing special courts, similar to those set up for the 2010 Soccer World Cup, in a bid to tackle corruption allegations related to Covid-19 procurement.

In the provincial legislature, Good MPL Brett Herron claimed the Western Cape education department’s R111.8 million PPE procurement from a company operating in Edgemead must be investigated. “A single supplier got 74 of the 87 tenders and were paid R111.8 million or 99.8% of all PPE spending,” said Herron.