Companies implicated in SIU COVID-19 investigation still doing business with govt

CAPE TOWN - None of the 51 companies implicated in a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) COVID-19 investigation have been restricted from doing business with the government.

This emerged in Parliament on Wednesday where the Standing Committee of Public Accounts (SCOPA) has been probing whether the Presidency is implementing the recommendations of the SIU’s investigations.

The Presidency also revealed that there are currently no listings for tender defaulters involved in corruption in procuring personal protection equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 investigation is the biggest one ever carried out by the SIU.

But the Presidency, which received the final investigation report, said as of the end of October, none of the companies implicated appear on the database managed by the Treasury.

Eskom and Transnet have, however, reported that they have restricted suppliers on their databases.

The Presidency’s Jonathan Timm: “It is not for the National Treasury to act on the recommendations. At the accounting officer level, it must determine whether a supplier should be restricted and then make recommendations to Treasury.”

ActionSA Member of Parliament (MP) Alan Beesley has questioned the point of the restricted supplier database.

“It’s a farce, I think that’s the best way to put it. There’s only 199 companies listed on it.”

The Presidency said it’s tracking 297 recommendations for disciplinary action related to COVID-19 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) procurement.

Sixty-four per cent of these cases have now been finalised with guilty findings.