By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has received the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) report on corruption in the procurement of Covid-19 personal protective equipment (PPE), the Presidency confirmed.
In 2020, Ramaphosa signed a proclamation authorising investigations into widespread corruption in PPE procurement.
“The Presidency is studying the report and will keep the public abreast of developments in this matter. The Presidency will do so in a manner that preserves information that may be or become the subject of prosecution, civil action or disciplinary proceedings,” Presidency said in a statement.
Allegations of corruption with lucrative PPE tenders and Covid-19 relief funding arose after the pandemic hit in 2020.
The SIU probed 5054 irregular contracts amounting to R14.8 billion related to Covid-19 procurement in the public sector.
Millions in public funds were channelled to politically connected companies, some of which were found to have been registered around the time the Covid-19 pandemic hit South Africa.
The head of the SIU advocate Andy Mothibi on Tuesday told parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) that the unit had referred 168 matters to the NPA for prosecution.
He said the charges ranged from fraud to corruption and forgery, with some of the cases referred to the Hawks for further investigation.