DURBAN - A purchase order commitment letter for the supply and delivery of surgical masks and gloves was circulating on social media on Thursday afternoon linked to a recently fired official from Gauteng Health for irregular tenders for personal protective equipment (PPE).
The unsigned document dated March 30, 2020 would have awarded a company named Bliss R495 000 for 3 000 gloves (for a box of 50) priced at R165 a unit; R27 million for 1 500 000 surgical masks priced at R18 each.
The purchase order commitment letter is linked to dismissed Gauteng health’s former chief director of supply chain and asset management Thandy Pino - the subject for the purchase order commitment letter would have been for the supply and delivery of masks and, is referenced as Covid-19.
Pino was dismissed by the provincial health department in July after the Special Investigations Unit (SIU) investigation and disciplinary hearing found her guilty of improper conduct, for irregular awarding of tenders of PPE in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
When contacted for comment by The Mercury, Pino referred the newspaper to Gauteng health.
Gauteng Health Department spokesperson Kwara Kekana said, “Thandi Pino is no longer in the employ of Gauteng Health.”
THE MERCURY