Hawks grill KwaDukuza municipality officials as investigations into PPE spend intensifies

In recent weeks the SIU investigation into the PPE spending picked up speed when investigators questioned the newly elected mayor, Dolly Govender, supply chain management head, Louie Moothusamy and chief financial officer, Shamir Rajcoomar, over almost R5-million worth of awards made to 33 companies, small businesses and individuals.

The SIU started their investigation on October 2, when the Hawks officials raided the KDM offices seizing documentation relating to Covid-19 PPE contracts, North Coast Courier reports.

During National Treasury’s parliamentary briefing on PPE procurement in August, finance minister Tito Mboweni called for all PPE contracts to be made public amid reports of alleged corruption by “tenderpreneurs” and government officials.

The finance minister said it appeared that Treasury’s instructions on PPE contracts were not followed in some instances and people found the opportunity to “do that which is wrong”.

“All those who won tenders must be published for the public to see, as well as who the competitors were, and on what basis the losing companies lost. We also want to know the age of the companies.”

While treasury relaxed rules to allow national departments, provinces, and municipalities to secure PPE and other goods on an emergency basis to address urgent needs generated by Covid-19, it was a condition that suppliers had to be registered with the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (Sahpra) – the country’s regulatory body for medical devices, PPE and related products.

However, the majority of suppliers were discovered to be unlicensed, and most successful in winning tenders had no experience in the PPE business.

According to the Medicines and Related Substances Act companies or individuals are prohibited from selling medical devices, including PPE, without a licence.

KDM council heard on September 30 that the municipality had spent R4.1 million on PPEs between March 15 and September 11.

The report said that all procurement conducted by the supply chain management unit had complied with the Supply Chain Regulations.

However, the Hawks have decided that the municipality bore closer examination. It has since emerged that the spend was closer to R5 million, according to KZN MEC for Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) Sipho Hlomuka, who disclosed the figures at a recent portfolio committee meeting.

According to official documents seen by the Courier, one of the contracts under scrutiny includes MK Vets Enterprises (Pty) Ltd, whose sole director is listed as Nonhlanhla Busani.

The company, registered on June 11, 2019, was awarded contracts worth R1.7 million.

The Central Supplier Database lists the company as non tax-compliant – a basic requirement of the normal government tender system that by law disqualifies companies from getting any state contracts.

An independent company search shows MK Vets business address listed as 4 Scheffer Road, KwaDukuza.

However, when the Courier visited the location, it was found that the premises were occupied by Fabweld Engineering and Civils, a company owned by relatives allegedly linked to a senior KDM official.

No offices of the MK Vets could be located.

Nonhlanhla Busani did not respond to a request for comment.

Notice: Coronavirus reporting at Caxton Local Media aims to combat fake news

Dear reader,
As your local news provider, we have the duty of keeping you factually informed on Covid-19 developments. As you may have noticed, mis- and disinformation (also known as “fake news”) is circulating online. Caxton Local Media is determined to filter through the masses of information doing the rounds and to separate truth from untruth in order to keep you adequately informed. Local newsrooms follow a strict pre-publication fact-checking protocol. A national task team has been established to assist in bringing you credible news reports on Covid-19.
Readers with any comments or queries may contact National Group Editor Irma Green (irma@caxton.co.za) or Legal Adviser Helene Eloff (helene@caxton.co.za).