The Limpopo Health Department has conceded that there was political influence in the awarding of personal protective equipment (PPE) tenders. The MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba and her management team appeared before Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) in Polokwane.
Both the Special Investigative Unit (SIU) and Public Protector have identified wrongdoing in the awarding of contracts to supply and distribute PPEs in the province.
The SIU recommended that four officials, including the head of department, be taken through a disciplinary process. The head of the department has resigned.
SCOPA in Limpopo questions provincial health department’s plans to mitigate wasteful expenditure:
Meanwhile, The department has also accounted for a recently publicised coal tender awarded for the supply of coal at hospitals that do not have coal boilers. The acting head of the department Dr Mutheiwana Dombo says the contracts have been re-allocated to facilities with coal boilers.
“On the issue of awarding of coal we did a re-assessment, we then requested the meeting all the 14 bidders that have been awarded and that meeting resolve that there will be an allocation of 17 facilities that do use power tube coal in terms of the investigation there will be a need to involve law enforcement agency.”
VIDEO: Leaked documents show 14 Limpopo hospitals without coal boilers were issued with coal tenders
