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Northern Cape Premier Zamani Saul
PHOTO: Christiaan Cloete / Netwerk24
- Northern Cape Prime Minister Zamani Saul has vehemently denied any link to the PPE tender fraud following an article in the Sunday Times.
- The article claimed that Saul had been drawn into a tendering scandal through his special adviser, whose wife allegedly obtained a R13 million PPE tender.
- Saúl has denied the accusations, saying that he does not participate in the “looting of public resources.”
Northern Cape Prime Minister Zamani Saul has said he is not involved in “looting public resources”, criticizing an article that appeared in the Sunday Times that links him to personal protective equipment (PPE) tender fraud.
“I want to mention at the outset that I do not participate in the looting of public resources. I have great respect for my fiduciary role as prime minister of the province,” Saúl said in a statement issued Sunday, after the publication of the article.
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The Sunday Times published an exposition detailing alleged unreliable PPE tenders within the government.
He said Saul had been drawn into the scandal following allegations that his special adviser’s wife received a R13 million tender to provide masks to the police.
But Saul has strongly denied these allegations, saying that he was never involved in unreliable acquisitions for the benefit of certain people.
“The innuendo in the article is shrouded in serious falsehoods and lacks substance,” Saul said.
He added: “At no time was I involved or tried to influence the procurement processes at the South African Department of Health or Police Service (SAPS) for the benefit of certain individuals.
“Worse still, I have no role in the management of SAPS and in the way they are tendered, since SAPS is a national competition (sic),” Saúl said.
Furthermore, he denied allegations made against him by an anonymous source who said that Somandla Christopher Sibisi was a close friend of Saul.
Sibisi is the owner of a company that allegedly received an offer worth more than 27 million rand despite being in the process of being deregistered, according to the Sunday Times article.
‘I have no deal with him’
Instead, Saul said that he related to Sibisi as a “business person.”
“I don’t have a close friend named Somandla Sibisi and I challenge anyone with information to the contrary to come out.
“I interact with him like any other businessman in the province, who in most cases I meet at ANC events and at addresses of the State of the province. I do not have any commercial, personal or professional dealings with him,” he said. Saul.
Regarding the alleged contract awarded to the wife of his special adviser, Saúl said that he had taken up the matter on social networks.
“To vaguely insinuate that I had some role in awarding the tender without a shred of evidence is gutter journalism.
“On various platforms I have spoken out vigorously against corruption. Therefore, it is very unpleasant that a matter as serious as this is used to launch an unwarranted attack on my person and integrity.”
He added that he did not understand where he fit into the matter.
“Mr. Norman Shushu, Mrs. Shushu’s husband, is my personal adviser, but I still don’t understand where I fit in on this matter.
“If the alleged tender was awarded by SAPS illegally, the matter must be reported to law enforcement and the law must take its course. Holding on to straws in an attempt to create a link between myself and the award of the tender is really silly and driven by ulterior motives. “
Saul said he was “among the first” to support President Cyril Ramaphosa’s call to publicly declare the PPE acquisition, and said he put on record that he requested full disclosure of all acquisitions.
Following this call, the Northern Cape government submitted a “detailed” report of Covid-19 spending.
Nothing to hide
“This is all due to the fact that there is nothing to hide from me,” Saúl said.
“It is fair to be subject to public scrutiny as public servants. But making reckless accusations that lack substance and are not backed by a shred of evidence against individuals will jeopardize our difficult and legitimate course against corruption,” Saúl said.
He added that since the beginning of the sixth administration, his government implemented “far-reaching” measures to reduce wasteful spending and corruption. This led to a saving of R200 million for the province in less than a year.
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“I am well aware of the fact that there are people who are deeply dissatisfied with these measures and who are busy with a serious rejection campaign. This attack is just one of those installments of the rejection campaign to tarnish my reputation.
“I will not be deterred by this witch hunt and blackmail, work to serve the people of [the] Northern Cape will continue in an honest and transparent manner. Let me assure the people of the Northern Cape that if there is something unfavorable with any of the Covid-19-related tenders issued to all 175 companies, there will be dire consequences for everyone involved, “Saul said.
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