Cape Town – The Hawks have promised to arrest those involved in the looting of Covid-19 funds before Tuesday next week.
Hawks boss Godfrey Lebeya told MPs on Friday they were currently sitting with 23 dockets related to Covid-19 corruption and will be making arrests.
This comes after South African Revenue Service head Edward Kieswetter also told parliamentarians some of the companies were not registered for PPE before the tenders were issued.
He said 17 of the PPE tenders to the value of R1.2 billion involve politically exposed persons.
The law enforcement agencies were briefing the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on PPE tenders
This followed the decision of President Cyril Ramaphosa to appoint an Inter-Ministerial Committee, chaired by Justice Minister Ronald Lamola, to investigate the corruption related to the procurement and supply of PPE.
Lamola told Scopa they were co-ordinating the work of law enforcement agencies to ensure there was prosecution.
But MPs said there was no time, and they want the prosecution of those implicated in Covid-19 corruption.
Scopa chairperson Mkhuleko Hlengwa said the funds that were released by government were meant to protect poor people and the healthcare system, but some saw it as an opportunity to steal and loot.
"There needs to be successful prosecution as a deterrence to the discourse of financial management. What needs to happen is that the wrongs of the past need to be punished," said Hlengwa.
He said law enforcement had to start arresting those who had stolen. "When you rob money for healthcare you put lives at risk," said Hlengwa.
Political Bureau