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SIU’s Special Tribunal on PPE contracts to sit on Wednesday

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The Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU) Special Tribunal has set aside Wednesday and Thursday to hear a review application into the R39. 1 million-rand personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts in the Free State government.

In the application, the Treasury and Health MECs are cited as first and second respondents, respectively.

It is alleged that the provincial Health Department procured defective surgical masks from a number of service providers.

The SIU is seeking an order to review and set aside the contract and the provincial Treasury interdicted from making further payments in this regard.

The proceedings will be held virtually.

PPE tender fraud

In Gauteng, two suspects aged 32 and 57, as well as a company, appeared in the Palm Ridge Specialised Commercial Crimes Court in Johannesburg last week.

They were arrested by the Serious Corruption Investigation of the Hawks.

This follows a thorough investigation into the allegations of tender fraud at the National Health Laboratory Services amounting to over R14.4 million.

The suspects will be answering to charges relating to the contravention of the Public Finance Management Act, theft and fraud in the awarding of personal protective equipment tenders.

Murder

On Tuesday, the family of slain Gauteng health employee Babita Doekaran said that she had been experiencing tensions at work before she was murdered on Monday.

Doekaran was a witness in the Special Investigating Unit’s probe into the R2,2 billion PPE procurement by the Gauteng Department of Health during last year’s hard lockdown.

The health official was gunned down in a hail of bullets shortly after dropping off her daughter at school on Monday.

Source: SABC News


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