The Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa (DENOSA) says they are hopeful that the Hawks’ raid at the offices of the Health Department in Polokwane in Limpopo will uncover evidence of wrongdoing.
The Hawks spokesperson, Matimba Maluleke, has confirmed that they are aiding the department in investigating allegations of corruption in multi-million rand PPE contracts. Workers at the department were barred from leaving the building or entering the department’s premises.
DENOSA provincial chairperson, Lesiba Monyaki says the raid was long overdue.
“Again as DENOSA, we are saying we made this call immediately when this was released. So we were hoping that all these things will have been implemented…they are trying to get hold of proper evidence. Let’s hope it hasn’t been lost because it has been long,” says Monyaki.
Head of the Limpopo Health Department, Doctor Thokozani Mhlongo resigned from her position on 1 July amid a disciplinary process over alleged irregularities in the awarding of PPE contracts.
Mhlongo and several other officials have been implicated in the alleged wrongdoing by both the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) and the Public Protector’s reports into COVID-19 procurement.
Mhlongo was appointed as the accounting officer in the Limpopo Health Department in February 2020. She and several other managers in the department have been implicated in the SIU’s report for allegedly irregularly awarding R125 million PPE contracts.
A Public Protector’s report on COVID-19 procurement also shows that Mhlongo flouted the Public Finance Management Act. She also faced an internal disciplinary process.
