SIU pounces on Western Cape municipality and supplier over irregular procurement of PPE

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) pounced on the premises of Matzikama Local Municipality and the offices of a supplier over irregular procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE).

This comes after members of the SIU in the Western Cape secured search and seizure warrants on Thursday in the magisterial districts of Vredendal and Beaufort West.

“The search-and-seizure operations were executed immediately (30 July 2020) simultaneously at three premises, i.e. the offices of the Matzikama Local Municapilty, the offices of a supplier who supplied the municipality with personal protective equipment with an estimated value of R1 million,” spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said.

“This resulted in the seizure of critical documentation and information relating to the irregular procurement of personal protective equipment for the Matzikama Local Municipality,” he added.

This comes after the matter was reported to the SIU in June 2020.

“On 23 July 2020, the President [Cyril Ramaphosa] authorised the SIU by means of Proclamation R.23 of 2020 to investigate the purchase of personal protective equipment in all state institutions,” Kganyago said.

The country has been inundated with reports of alleged impropriety relating to procurement of PPE for Covid-19.

Just recently, the Democratic Alliance in the Eastern Cape approached the SIU to probe “potential impropriety” in the awarding of several tenders to deliver PPE to the Nelson Mandela Bay Municipality.

In addition, the Gauteng ANC asked the MEC of Health in Gauteng, Bandile Masuku and his wife, City of Johannesburg shared services MMC Loyiso Masuku, to “step aside”, along with President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Khusela Diko, over the R125-million PPE tender awarded to King Madzikane II Diko’s Royal Bacha projects, News24 reported.

Diko has since taken a leave of absence from her governmental roles and Masuku has been placed on special leave amid investigations into alleged corruption at the Gauteng Department of Health.

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