Recent media reports have highlighted alleged tender corruption implicating Members of Parliament, including Gauteng Health MEC Dr Bandile Masuku and President Cyril Ramaphosa.
On Sunday Gauteng Health MEC Dr Bandile Masuku released a statement denying allegations that he was involved in granting his close friend, King Madzikane II Thandisizwe Diko of Royal Bhaca Project (RBP), an R125 million personal protective equipment (PPE) tender.
The media statement is in response to an article by the Sunday Independent which alleges that the President’s spokesperson and wife of the director of RBP, Khusela Diko, and the Health MEC’s wife Loyiso Lugayeni-Masuku are close friends and therefor raised suspicion whether their personal relationship influenced the tender given to RBP.
In the statement, Dr Masuku said, “As a Member of the Executive Council, I am not involved in, nor do I influence the Department’s procurement processes. The processes of awarding contracts within the department rest entirely with the Supply Chain Management function in Finance,”
Dr Masuku highlighted that he personally asked for an investigation into Covid-19 procurement by the Special Investigative Unit and says action will be taken should evidence of corruption surface.
The MEC says he is committed to the provincial health response and has always acted with integrity and conviction.
Just a day later, on Monday, Business Insider came out with a report alleging that the non-profit organisation that has been installing anti-COVID-19 technology in taxis in Gauteng is allegedly co-owned by the President’s son, Andile Ramaphosa.
Supplier Development Initiatives (SDI) Force, to whom the R6 million tender was allegedly awarded, has reportedly already fitted 200 taxis in Johannesburg at the cost of R1000 per taxi. Some of these measures include the installation of ventilator spacers and the inclusion of sanitising stations inside the vehicles.
According to Business Insider, SDI started off with a project to sanitise travellers by means of spraying them with disinfectant, however, by the end of May, the NPO changed their focus to installing anti-COVID technology in taxis.
