As Covid reaps its grim toll, the greedy see their chance

Acompany that scored an R800m contract with the Gauteng health department to supply personal protective equipment (PPE) is registered to a former adviser to a provincial government MEC.

This is one of the transactions flagged in an audit conducted by the provincial treasury into spending of R2bn on PPE by the department.

The audit follows reports that a company belonging to the husband of presidential spokesperson Khusela Diko had secured a R125m PPE contract with the same department at allegedly inflated prices. Diko and her husband maintain the money was never paid to the company and the contract was never finalised.

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU), which is part of a law enforcement team investigating the awarding of Covid-19 tenders by the Gauteng health department, said its investigators had uncovered 90 companies involved in questionable PPE contracts in the province. Almost all are owned by politically connected individuals.

In many cases, prices have been grossly inflated, over and above National Treasury price guidelines put in place to prevent unjustified price hikes.

Once again, politically connected rent-seekers have seen a gap to line their pockets. This time they are abusing a process intended to ensure that those at the frontline of the fight against Covid-19 - our health workers - have the essential equipment they need to protect themselves.

That the hyenas have pounced on these funds to line their pockets and those of their cronies even as health-care workers scramble to acquire enough masks, gloves, sanitiser and so on, speaks to the rot that has set in in this country.

Addressing the nation on Thursday, President Cyril Ramaphosa said he had signed a proclamation authorising the SIU to investigate "unlawful and improper conduct" in the procurement of goods related to the national state of disaster.

Let's hope these investigations bear fruit and that those found to have unduly and corruptly benefited from the procurement of PPE are speedily brought to book, regardless of their proximity to power.