The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the Northern Cape has called on the government to remove Macronym from doing business with the state.
This after the Public Protector’s office found that officials at the Northern Cape Health Department violated the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) when it awarded a tender amounting to millions of rand to Macronym for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) during the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s believed the owner of the company, Somandla Sibisi, is a friend of Northern Cape Premier Zamani Saul. But the report absolved the Premier, who was not found guilty of any involvement.
The report found that the awarding of the contract was not in accordance with relevant laws and prescripts regulating the procurement of goods and services.
The Northern Cape DA leader, Harold Mcgluwa, says they are vindicated.
“We are vindicated in the sense of the officials are implicated with wrongdoing irregularities and non-compliance in terms of PFMA. It cannot be that only corrective action is taken. These government officials must face the full might of the law and the Northern Cape needs harsh and serious judgment. “
The Northern Cape Health Department’s MEC, Maruping Lekwene, says they welcome the findings.
“So, we welcome the report of the Public Protector, and what we must do is to comply and report accordingly, and we have been reporting. This is not the first time. We have reported some other matters to the Public Protector. You know, with the said implicated officials they are already on suspension both the Dr. they are at the department and dr. Gaborone as the CFO. So, it indicates some work has been done as well,” says Lekwele.
