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President Cyril Ramaphosa receives on behalf of the government a shipment of R1 billion of critical personal protective equipment (PPE) and other medical supplies.
- The Auditor General has released shocking findings regarding Covid-19 PPE government contracts.
- Kimi Makwetu says there are clear signs of overpricing, unfair processes and possible fraud.
- He says that his report will “converge” with that of the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) so that those involved are held accountable.
Auditor General Kimi Makwetu has released damning findings on Covid-19 aid funding detailing the extent of the rot surrounding personal protective equipment (PPE) bidding processes.
Makwetu reported to the media on Wednesday, detailing how contracts have been embezzled in the PPE budget of R22.4 billion.
His office found clear signs of overpricing, unfair processes and possible fraud in public procurement.
Makwetu said that pre-existing deficiencies in the government’s supply chain processes were amplified by the introduction of permitted emergency procurement processes for PPE.
READ | SIU investigates R5bn worth of PPE contracts – Eastern Cape leads alleged irregular cases
“Based on what has been audited to date, there are clear signs of overpricing, unfair processes, potential fraud, and supply chain management legislation being circumvented. Additionally, delays in delivery of personal protective equipment and Quality concerns could have been avoided through better planning and supplier management. “
Through her research, she identified that unreliable methods were used to determine the number of employees and students in schools and the need for PPE for support staff in schools was not always considered.
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He added that some schools did not receive enough masks and face shields for students and teachers and some health facilities experienced shortages of certain PPE items during the pandemic due to significant delays in delivery by providers.
He said:
Orders placed by health departments included items that exceeded the maximum prices prescribed by the National Treasury and some items were priced more than double, or even five times, the prescribed price.
Makwetu said that several problems in the health and education sectors require further investigation. These include:
- Suppliers who do not have valid tax settlement certificates;
- The quotation and public bidding processes are not being applied correctly;
- Inadequate or inaccurate specifications and evaluation criteria, and their incorrect application;
- Conflicts of interest.
In addition, in the health sector, awarding of contracts to suppliers without prior history of supply or delivery of PPE ”, he said.
READ HERE | Covid-19 graft: Gauteng to use open tender system, asks SIU to investigate all acquisitions
The report also indicated that there were insufficient controls to guarantee receipt and payment of PPE at the level of quality and price requested.
He also found that the poor quality of the PPE purchased was more apparent in some schools his team visited, where the masks provided did not meet specifications and were often one size fits all.
READ ALSO | Stolen State Covid-19 PPE Money Will Be Recovered – Jackson Mthembu
The AG also reported that specified PPE items ordered by a health department were substituted by the supplier for items of lower specifications, which the department accepted and even paid at a higher price than the item originally ordered.
Makwetu said that of the R22.4 billion budgeted, only R6.7 billion were actual expenditures. He said he suspected that the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) investigation into the corruption of the PPE would be comparable to his findings.
“We believe that there [is] some level of convergence between the full scope of the quantity that SIU is pursuing and the things we have seen while conducting our analysis. “
