African Christian Democratic Party (ACDP) leader Kenneth Meshoe says his party is totally opposed to President Cyril Ramaphosa’s appointment of a ministerial committee to investigate allegations of corruption related to the procurement of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
The President made the announcement on Wednesday following a cabinet decision on how the PPE corruption will be probed.
Meshoe says the hands of some ministers are not clean in the alleged corrupt PPE tenders.
“How does he think that South Africans can believe that he’s serious about fighting corruption when he knows that these ministers are part of the problem? There are allegations also against them. So, if the president is serious about fighting corruption, he must allow the investigation to be done by institutions and units such as the Hawks and Special Investigative Unit (SIU) because they will come to the root of the problem and they will also have the courage to point fingers at ministers, cabinet ministers who are also involved in corruption.”
Role of ministerial team
In its response, the government says the role of the ministerial team is to compile and publish details of all COVID-19 related contracts awarded by all state entities.
“Contrary to some reports, the ministerial team does not have a responsibility to investigate COVID-related contracts. This remains the task of the relevant law enforcement agencies,” the statement reads.
Allegations
Among those accused of corruption is Presidential Spokesperson Khusela Diko, after allegations surfaced claiming that her husband’s company had received R125 million PPE tender through a friendship with Gauteng Health MEC Bandile Masuku.
Masuku and his wife Loyiso, MMC in the City of Johannesburg, have also taken a leave of absence while the matter is being probed by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU).
Earlier, the Free State Treasury said that political and friendship ties have no bearing in the awarding of tenders when responding to reports that those close to former Free State Premier and current African National Congress (ANC) Secretary-General, Ace Magashule, have benefitted from PPE tenders worth millions in the province.
At least seven companies with links to those close to Magashule have been awarded PPE tenders in the province.
The provincial treasury maintains the procurement processes were followed in line with the instruction notes of the National Treasury for emergency procurement of COVID-19 PPE.
