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Politically connected operator Ledla Structural Development received a payment of more than 46.4 million rand, the Gauteng government revealed on Thursday.
Ledla has been named in court documents as a “proxy” for Thandisizwe Madzikane Diko, a family friend of Gauteng Health MEC Bandile Masuku and the husband of Khusela Diko, spokesperson for President Cyril Ramaphosa, the Sunday Times reported in August.
The company was reported to have made an 800% profit on Covid-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) sold to the government, according to the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) established in court documents. Ledla was named Thursday among the companies that scored over the PPE scandal now harassing the Gauteng health department. In a report published on the provincial government website, it was revealed that the company received a payment of R46,465 million.
The report shows that various departments, entities and municipalities in Gauteng spent almost R2.3 billion on infrastructure related to PPE and Covid-19 combined, from April to August.
“Since the previous report on Covid-19 [expenditure] Gauteng province has cumulatively spent $ 263 billion during the review period. Spending on Covid-19 has increased from R2.112bn, representing an increase of 6.65%.
“The report only covers paid transactions,” the report says.
The report shows that the health department has spent more than R1.7bn, followed by the infrastructure development department with more than R291m. The report shows that the social development department spent more than R175m.
The report also shows that people with disabilities benefit from less than 0.2% of the province’s acquisitions, while companies owned by women benefit from just over 32% (R725.6 million). Young people benefited less than 4% (R78.8 million).
The report further shows that just over R1.1bn was spent on infrastructure, while over R254m was spent on masks. The report further showed that more than R217m was spent on surgical gowns and more than R182m on N95 masks.
In the Sunday Times story in August, Ledla was reported to have made an 800% profit on the Covid-19 personal protective equipment that he sold to the government.
