After SIU investigated more than 5,000 Covid-19 fund contracts rift with irregularities
The President of South Africa has said that the report of the Covid-19 fund contracts tendered by South Africa’s Special Investigating Unit (SIU) will be referred for prosecution.
After investigation, the SIU found out that most of the tenders of the Covid-19 fund contracts were rift with irregularities involving 940 cases worth 800 million euros in Covid funds.
Furious Ramaphosa said: “It is unacceptable that so many contracts associated with saving lives and protecting livelihoods were irregular, unlawful or fraudulent.”
The Covid-19 pandemic was hard on South Africa than any other country any country on the continent, with over 94,000 deaths and more than 3.5 million diagnosed infections.
According to Ramaphosa, “This investigation targeted individuals and institutions who believed they could exploit a moment of national vulnerability to enrich themselves and those with whom they colluded to abuse public resources.”
President @CyrilRamaphosa has authorised the release to the public of the final report of the investigation by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) into procurement by all spheres of government of goods, works and services associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.— Presidency | South Africa 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) January 25, 2022
More than 385 cases has been referred to court, over 220 cases for disciplinary action against government officials involved, and 330 will be dealt with for “administrative action”, which includes public contract blacklisting, by SIU, an independent law enforcement agency.
Ramaphosa’s zero tolerance for corruption could be the basis for this investigation and others. His political vision and mission was structured to fighting corruption, following the previous government’s corruption-tainted image, which also had former president, Zuma, as one of the beneficiaries.
It was in June 2021, the South Africa’s health minister was placed on special leave over a corruption scandal involving an irregular government contract where $11 million was paid to a company connected to two people who used to work for him.
Zweli Mkhize who was spearheading the COVID-19 response in South Africa, had the highest Covid-19 cases and numbers of deaths in Africa under his management, was indicted by the SIU for complicity over the pandemic contracts.
The money, earmarked to educate the South African public about Covid-19, was partially used by Mkhize’s son Dedani to purchase a Land Cruiser vehicle, according to the SIU report. His son also withdrew large amounts of cash, it added.
Mkhize resigned from his post in August.
The SIU did not specify how the rest of the funds were spent.
Money is already in the process of being recovered in a number of cases, according to SIU.
