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President Cyril Ramaphosa.
- The Special Investigation Unit has presented to the President its interim report on investigations into allegations of misuse of Covid-19 funds.
- The findings will be made public once the SIU completes its investigations.
- National Treaury is also releasing details of the Covid-19 related contracts for the sake of transparency and accountability.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has received the first interim report from the Special Investigation Unit, detailing the progress made so far in investigations related to the misuse of Covid-19 funds.
The president addressed the nation Wednesday night to announce that lockdown restrictions would be lowered to Level 1 starting Sunday, September 20.
Ramaphosa said that while many of the remaining restrictions on economic activity will be eased, it will still be some time before it is certain that all sectors are fully functional again.
The president also provided an update on efforts to crack down on Covid-19 corruption, which has complicated the state rollout of funds and emergency tenders.
There have been multiple allegations of corruption in the procurement of personal protective equipment, involving some people related to ANC officials.
“The coronavirus pandemic has exposed the extent to which corruption has infected our society and robbed our country of vital resources at a time when we need them most,” the president said.
The president said that the SIU is working together with eight other agencies at the Covid-19 fusion center that are detecting, investigating and prosecuting “any instance of corruption.”
“We continue to work to strengthen our anti-corruption efforts through measures to provide the NPA and other law enforcement agencies with the human and financial resources necessary to tackle corruption, strengthening specialized commercial crime courts, which will help accelerate cases related to Covid, and the completion of the new National Anti-Corruption Strategy. “
The National Treasury has also published details online of contracts related to Covid-19 awarded by public entities, both at the national and provincial levels, in order to “foster transparency and accountability,” Ramaphosa said.
Ramaphosa also noted that the Auditor General’s office had been helpful in “identifying weaknesses and risks in the management of Covid resources.” The Attorney General’s Office has been detecting cases of possible fraud for its investigation, he said.
Recovery plan on the way
The president also gave a brief update on the next stage of the country’s economic recovery plan, after meeting with the National Coronavirus Command Council, the President’s Coordinating Council, and the National Council for Economic Development and Labor (Nedlac) earlier. This week.
The cabinet was looking to finalize the plan in the “next few weeks,” he said, without providing additional details.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Cosatu labor federation, which is a member of Nedlac, released a statement saying there was “convergence” between government, workers and businesses in most areas to rebuild the economy.
The country’s economy will contract between 7% and 13% this year, the worst performance in 90 years.
Stats SA reported last week that for the second quarter, the country’s economy contracted 16% on a non-annualized basis for the second quarter of the year.
Other key economic takeaways from Ramaphosa’s speech
- The change to alert level 1 will go into effect at midnight on Sunday, September 20.
- Now the sale of alcohol will be allowed at points of sale for domestic consumption from Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00.
- Places for exercise, recreation and entertainment, such as gyms and theaters, which were limited to no more than 50 people, will now be able to accommodate up to 50% of the capacity of their venue, subject to social distancing and other health protocols.
- The state will open its borders to international business and leisure travel starting October 1. A restricted number of border posts and airports will be used, and travelers will be required to present a recent negative Covid-19 test result upon arrival, or else they will remain in quarantine.
- Ramaphosa said the Cabinet was looking to finalize the country’s economic recovery and reconstruction plan in the “coming weeks”, which would build on the state’s initial R500 billion stimulus package. Discussions about the direction the plan should take have been taking place at Nedlac.
- The president encourages all companies to make use of the R200 billion loan guarantee scheme. The scheme has been criticized for its poor acceptance.
