Woman perishes in road mishap
ONE person has died while six others are battling for their lives in Solwezi General Hospital after the vehicle they were travelling in overturned.
North-Western Province Commissioner of police, Joe Njase confirmed the accident which happened near Mutanda in Kalumbila.
He identified the deceased as Ms Phenny Mwelumuka aged 54 of Mwelumuka village in Kasempa district.
Mr Njase explained that the driver, Casious Kalusa, with five passengers on board, lost control and the vehicle careered off the road before overturning.
Kalusa of Kyawama compound in Solwezi was driving a Toyota Regius registration number ATB 1295.
He said due to the impact, the victim sustained fatal head injuries and died on spot while the other passengers including the driver sustained different injuries.
Mr Njase said the body has been taken to Mukinge Mission Hospital awaiting post mortem while the surviving victims have been admitted to Solwezi General Hospital.
He said the driver would be charged for causing death by dangerous driving.
JOHANNESBURG - The "net is closing in on those involved in corrupt acts," President Cyril Ramaphosa has assured South Africans following a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) report on investigations into personal protective equipment (PPE) procurement corruption.
On Friday, SIU head advocate Andy Mothibi delivered a report on the SIU's finalised investigations into allegations of corruption in the procurement of PPE by state institutions.
Mothibi said according to data received from National Treasury, R30.7 billion was spent by state institutions between April and November 2020, of which R13 billion was subject to SIU investigations. The investigation scrutinised more than 2, 500 PPE contracts.
In his weekly newsletter,
Ramaphosa said:
As a country that has become far too used to hearing stories of corruption, little could have prepared us for seeing, in detail, the lengths to which some among our people have gone to steal at a time when our nation is facing the worst health emergency crisis.
The president described the report as "disturbing reading," saying that many "purposefully set out to steal millions in public money."
The report found that some entities with no experience in the manufacture and provision of medical supplies were established solely to obtain purchase orders.
Different front companies
were used to obtain multiple tenders and PPE was in some cases marked up by 400 percent, while some products did not meet specifications, he said.
Investigations into 164 PPE contracts to the value of over R3.5 billion have been finalised. About 1, 541 contracts to the value of R6.8 billion were currently being investigated, while investigations into 851 were yet to commence.
According to Ramaphosa, civil litigation cases have been instituted to recover funds, while some cases have been referred for prosecution. Unlawful contracts have been cancelled and disciplinary action has started against implicated officials. – NEWS24.