Durban - The Special Tribunal has set aside a R4.9 million contract, which was irregularly awarded to Rosette Investments, by the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Social Development.
The ruling came after the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) approached the Special Tribunal in October 2020, to review and set aside four contracts awarded by the Social Development Department – to supply 48 000 blankets to the tune of more than R18 million, as part of the Covid-19 pandemic relief – and to recover financial losses suffered by the Department.
SIU spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago said the Rosette Investments contract was the second of the four contracts that were successfully reviewed and set aside.
“The SIU investigation had found that Rosette Investments had indeed delivered the blankets as per the terms of the irregular contract.
“As a result, the SIU calculated the profit earned from the procurement contract by the investment company and demanded that it be paid back.
“Rosette Investments agreed to pay back R864 005 and the agreement was made an order of the Special Tribunal,” Kganyago said.
The head of the SIU advocate Andy Mothibi has welcomed the Special Tribunal order.
“This is a continuation of implementation of the SIU investigations, outcomes and consequence management, to recover financial losses suffered by government departments, municipalities and state-owned entities (SOEs) due to irregular award of personal protective equipment (PPE) contracts.
“There are other cases enrolled at the Special Tribunal awaiting adjudication and will result in further recoveries for the state institutions,” Mothibi said.
The SIU received allegations of irregular award of blanket contracts through its whistle-blower hotline and investigated the allegations, as part of Proclamation R23 of 2020 – authorising the corruption busting unit to investigate allegations of corruption and maladministration in PPE procurement, by state institutions, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The SIU is an independent statutory body, with a primary mandate to investigate allegations of corruption, malpractice and maladministration in the affairs of government departments, municipalities and SOEs, and to recover financial losses suffered by state institutions.
Political Bureau