Special Tribunal nullifies two Mpumalanga PPE contracts
The Special Tribunal has ruled that two personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts awarded by the Mpumalanga health department to Vitae Zoe to the combined value of R9.1m were unlawful and invalid.
These contracts were for the supply and delivery of 3,000 infrared thermometers in April 2020 and an additional 1,000 devices in May 2020. The tribunal set aside the contracts after an application made by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).
The tribunal, in its order dated May 5, also directed Vita Zoe to submit audited financial statements for the 2020/2021 financial year to the SIU and the tribunal registrar within 30 days of the order to determine payments received by Vitae Zoe under the two contracts.
Vitae Zoe had to propose a repayment plan within 15 days of a formal demand by the SIU.
'The SIU has received Vitae Zoe's financial statement and is determining the amount Vitae Zoe must repay,' SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said.
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TimesLIVE
4 days ago
- TimesLIVE
Special Tribunal nullifies two Mpumalanga PPE contracts
The Special Tribunal has ruled that two personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts awarded by the Mpumalanga health department to Vitae Zoe to the combined value of R9.1m were unlawful and invalid. These contracts were for the supply and delivery of 3,000 infrared thermometers in April 2020 and an additional 1,000 devices in May 2020. The tribunal set aside the contracts after an application made by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU). The tribunal, in its order dated May 5, also directed Vita Zoe to submit audited financial statements for the 2020/2021 financial year to the SIU and the tribunal registrar within 30 days of the order to determine payments received by Vitae Zoe under the two contracts. Vitae Zoe had to propose a repayment plan within 15 days of a formal demand by the SIU. 'The SIU has received Vitae Zoe's financial statement and is determining the amount Vitae Zoe must repay,' SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said.
IOL News
4 days ago
- IOL News
Lesufi refutes DA pressure over forensic investigation report release
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The audits, conducted by the SIU, revealed that 37% of senior officials assessed were either high-risk or failed to satisfactorily explain their finances. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ The reports from multiple departments covered alleged abuse of state resources, irregular and unauthorised expenditure, theft, unfair labour practices, ghost employees, and suspected fraud. Some reports date as far back as 2016. According to Lesufi, 88 people have been sanctioned and held accountable for transgressions emanating from the findings and the recommendations of the investigations, with at least R2 million of the R3 million that was lost due to financial misconduct having been recovered. Overall, based on these 47 reports, approximately 88 people have faced consequence management, and 55 criminal cases have been registered with law enforcement by the departments. This reflects the Gauteng Provincial Government's (GPG) commitment to accountability. "This means that almost 60% of the value lost through fraud and corruption was recovered by the GPG departments in the last quarter," Lesufi said. However, the DA, through its provincial chairperson, Solly Msimanga, suggested that it is through their pressure that Lesufi has been able to comply. "Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has succumbed to pressure from the Democratic Alliance (DA) and has announced that he will release 47 forensic investigation reports to the public. This is out of 177 that are awaited. "We note that these reports are still waiting for the promised publication on the website. This has been long overdue, and more reports are still outstanding. We will continue to exert pressure on Premier Lesufi using the mechanisms at our disposal to force him to release all the reports," said Msimanga. However, reacting to the DA, spokesperson for the premier, Sizwe Pamla, denied that it is pressure from the DA that has resulted in the release of these reports, saying Lesufi had made the commitment to release these reports as soon as they are made available to him. "It is not true that the premier has succumbed to pressure, as the premier made a commitment in 2023 when he took over that he would release these reports as soon as they are made available to him, when he was appointed late in 2022. When he came, he released some of the reports within months of his appointment. The fact that political parties have been impatient is understandable as they had hoped that they would extract something from these reports," Pamla stated.
The Citizen
5 days ago
- The Citizen
Lesufi confirms more senior Gauteng officials failed lifestyle audits
The HODs have been removed from their positions. Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi has confirmed that more senior officials at his provincial government have failed lifestyle audits. Lesufi provided an update on Wednesday on the outcomes of lifestyle audits conducted on senior government officials. The premier said he received the final reports over the weekend. ALSO READ: 'Political gaslighting': Will Lesufi really fire corrupt officials? 'Of the four outstanding reports of these HODs [heads of departments], three of them again failed the audit outcome. On the basis of this, I've made a decision to immediately remove these HODs from their positions,' announced Lesufi. However, a removal may not mean they are out of a job. 'What the report says is that you're high risk where you are. So it means we must remove you and, if possible, give you responsibilities that are not high-risk. But we can't keep you where you are because of the conflict of interest and other things identified. 'It's one thing to get a report of a lifestyle outcome, it's another thing to do consequence management. You have to give the affected people their right to make presentations and proper processes. 'The DG will facilitate this process and make a public announcement on the changes to the administrative heads of departments. This reaffirms our commitment to ensure that our departments are led by people with credentials.' ALSO READ: Gauteng underspends budget but says R1.8bn not lost Last month, the Gauteng Ethics Advisory Council released the State of Integrity and Anti-Corruption Report, which revealed that 37% senior Gauteng government officials had failed their lifestyle audits. The 37% officials whose lifestyles were found to be inconsistent with the audits were given an opportunity to provide explanations. They were instructed to rectify the areas that the SIU was not satisfied with. Lesufi on Gauteng forensic reports Lesufi further announced that the province's forensic investigations had been completed. He released the reports to the public protector, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), and the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA). The reports cover alleged cases of abuse of state resources, irregular and unauthorised expenditure, theft, unfair labour practices, ghost employees, procurement irregularities, suspected fraud, HR irregularities, assault and death threats and corruption. ALSO READ: Arrested kingpins and service delivery: Lesufi lists Gauteng successes The majority of these investigation reports came from the Department of Health, with 16 reports, followed by the Social Development and Community Safety departments, which each had seven reports. Others came from the roads and transport, treasury, and human settlements departments (two reports from each), as well as the sport, arts, culture and recreation departments (three reports), to name a few. From the 47 reports, 88 people have faced consequence management, and 55 criminal cases have been opened by the departments. So far, the provincial government has recovered R2 million of the R3.4 million that was lost due to financial misconduct in the last quarter. 'We are serious about fighting corruption, very serious. We're not going to defend anyone, and we're not going to tolerate any form of crime, fraud or corruption. 'Where we believe we need to act, we will act, especially the businesses we really believe that need to be blacklisted, because these are repeat offenders. In the absence of a register to blacklist them, it makes business difficult. Now we have taken the initiative to do that as the province.' READ NEXT: 'Asi spani': Frustrated Gauteng ANCYL in an 'abusive relationship' with Lesufi
