Five staggering Covid-related corruption scandals
Diko took special leave from her office after a report emerged that her husband, the late Chief Madzikane II Thandisiwe Diko, was awarded the multimillion-rand tender to supply PPE to the department of health.The report also indicated that the Diko family was closely acquainted with the family of former Gauteng health MEC Bandile Masuku.She was subsequently placed on precautionary suspension pending the outcome of her disciplinary hearing.
Diko and Masuku were cleared by the ANC’s national disciplinary committee, even though the party’s integrity committee had initially found that both had brought the party into disrepute.Suspended ANC secretary-general Ace Magashule’s name was dragged into the PPE corruption dialogue through his associates.His two sons, Tshepiso and Thato Magashule, were both awarded contracts from the Free State provincial government despite having no track record in providing PPE.
They were acquitted of any wrongdoing early this year by the SIU following its investigations into the provincial government’s PPE procurement processes. However, one of his associates, Free State businessman Ben Moseme, allegedly committed fraud to score two PPE tenders from the provincial government.Moseme’s company, C-Squared Consumer Connectedness, which is known for organising the annual Macufe Festival, allegedly scored a R4.9 million tender without following the proper procurement processes, the SIU found.Digital Vibes Media was unlawfully awarded a R150 million communications contract by the department of health.
Mkhize resigned as health minister in August amid the scandal, but denied any wrongdoing or any knowledge that he and his family had benefitted from the contract.The SIU report into PPE corruption revealed that Gauteng was the worst offender among all the provinces. With more than R6 billion worth of contracts under the probe, the SIU indicated that 93% of the province’s procurement contracts showed irregularities.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Watch | Covid-19 survivors left with emotional scars | CitypressIt has been over two years since the first Covid-19 case was reported in the country on March 5, 2020, followed by the first lockdown which came into effect on March 26.
Read more »
Covid-19 surge forces Beijing to postpone vehicle showAuto China, the event’s organiser, has yet to decide on a new date
Read more »
COVID-19 in SA | Two years since SA was placed on lockdownToday marks exactly two years since South Africa entered into Level 5 lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Read more »
WHITE ELEPHANTS: Gauteng’s ‘new’ R1.2bn Covid-19 ICU hospitals still lie abandoned, unfinished or underusedSince the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Gauteng government has spent a staggering R1.238bn of much-needed Covid-19 funds on the construction of four new “field intensive care” hospitals. The money was spent in 2020, but two are still not open. The other two are only partially open and are being repurposed for other aspects of healthcare. The Alternative Build Technology units were controversially commissioned in March 2020 to provide extra bed capacity for the first wave of the pandemic.
Read more »