Pretoria - Gauteng Premier David Makhura has asked the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) to investigate the controversial awarding of an information and communications technology (ICT) tender, reportedly without following due process.
“Premier David Makhura notes with concern the allegations of a tender that was irregularly awarded by the department of e-government. The premier views these allegations in a very serious light. Accordingly, he has requested the Special Investigative Unit to immediately investigate the allegations so that appropriate action can be taken should these allegations be proven to be true,” Makhura’s spokesperson Vuyo Mhaga said.
According to media reports, the R30-million contract was allocated to In2IT Technologies via a tender process that was open for only two business hours. The Gauteng government authorities allegedly used the current coronavirus pandemic to rush through the information technology (IT) contract without following proper tender processes.
Online publication ITWeb reported last week that cumulative irregular expenditure incurred by Gauteng’s e-government department over its cyber security contract now stands at R104 million.
On Monday, a displeased Makhura said Gauteng had sufficient checks to pick and deal decisively with corruption.
“Over the years, we have done tremendous work to promote clean governance and ethical leadership in Gauteng. The introduction of the Open Tender System and the Ethics and Anti-corruption Panel is about eliminating corruption,” said Makhura.
“The provincial government will continue acting decisively on the allegations of corruption.”