Johannesburg - Limpopo ANC deputy chairperson Florence Radzilani’s daughter and the wife of a senior official in Premier Stan Mathabatha’s office are among the beneficiaries of the province’s irregularly awarded Covid-19 PPE contracts.
Ndivhuwo Radzilani’s construction company, Ndia Business Trading, was awarded a R1.1 million contract to supply PPE to the Limpopo Department of Health. Her mother, who is a former Vhembe District Municipality mayor and current MPL, serves on the provincial ANC executive committee (PEC).
Another notable beneficiary is Susan Managa, the wife of deputy director general for institutional support in the Premier’s Office, Eddie Managa, who scored contracts worth R2.2m, according to official records.
This came as health sector union Nehawu revealed this week that sub-standard PPE were supplied to most hospitals and clinics, risking the lives of front line workers, while Mathabatha insisted he would not place Health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba on special leave.
Sources within the department said finance and supply chain management officials, led by deputy director for purchasing Justice Nepfumbada, deliberately frustrated some service providers out of their contracts.
They allegedly reduced face mask orders or changed the banking details to redirect business and payments to their cronies and relatives.
They said this was part of a pattern of tender and appointment irregularities which resulted in the department awarding a private hospital licence to its own head of department, Dr Thokozani Mhlongo, before allegedly backdating it to create an impression she got it before joining the department.
Sunday Independent reported last week that the department awarded lucrative contracts to hand-picked companies, including Durban-based company Pro Secure (PTY) Ltd which got a R185m deal despite not being on the database.
Ndivhuwo Radzilani said: “I don’t know what you are talking about. Anyway I won’t take this call.”
Managa, whose companies - Luhura and Spotless Ideas - were awarded R1.2m and R1m contracts respectively denied benefiting from her husband’s political influence, saying she had been an entrepreneur for over a decade.
“At all times my businesses have stood or fallen on the strength of their offerings and not any kind of extraneous influence,” said Managa, whose husband is also a former SACP provincial office bearer.
Service providers in Limpopo this week revealed how officials deliberately frustrated them out of their PPE contracts or allegedly used their company names to award themselves contracts.
In a letter to Limpopo's Nehawu secretary Jacob Adams, Tsalach Solutions PTY LTD director Howarf Muthathi said he tendered to supply 318 000 masks for R14.50 per mask but “when the results came out it was now indicating we have have quoted R16.68 for 12 600 masks”.
He said the 12 600 order was reduced further halfway through by officials who refused to grant days extension despite having been sent official proof of planned load shedding in Makhado.
This resulted in his failing to pay the 18 casual workers and having no money to repay the capital loans.
“At last we were closed out with thousands and thousands of masks which are well packaged which we have been denied to submit because we were told it was late by hours,” Muthathi said.
Muthathi confirmed writing to Nehawu but declined to comment further.
Florence Magaga, the director of Magaga Ditshwene Trade and General Projects, said her 318 000 face mask order was also unilaterally reduced to 12 666 masks.
This resulted in her expected income dropping from R5m to R252 000.
“I have heard about the investigation in Limpopo for Covid-19 PPE. I just want to inform you that I am another person who has been robbed by the Department of Health,” said Magaga, of Tafelkop in Sekhukhune.
Adams confirmed receipt of complaint letters, adding that mostly sub-standard PPE was supplied. He said Nehawu was “disappointed” that the Limpopo Health Department was “in this particular mess where they find themselves in”.
“Instead of a 3 ply facial mask you find that maybe it’s a 1 ply, or 2 ply. The quality thereof is not satisfactory. You look at the sanitisers which were provided, some of them are within the 70% alcohol and some of them are just pure water,” Adams said.
Sources close to businessman Kenny Mpho Nesengani said he received no work and payment from the department despite his company, Muthuhadini General Trading, having been listed as a beneficiary of a R1m PPE contract.
Nesengani declined to comment.
Nepfumbada denied any wrong-doing. In a telephone interview on Friday, he said it was impossible for him to manipulate the payment system because the banking details used to pay service providers through the basic accounting system (BAS) had to “interface” with information from the South African Revenue Service and the National Treasury’s central supplier database.
“For changes to happen on BAS it means I must have your personal details on CSD and be able to change your banking details. In terms of PPE, our responsibility was only to upload your banking details if they are not appearing on BAS. We would take the supplier number and upload it on BAS so that expenditure can be able to pay the amount. How you can manipulate and pay somebody with someone’s banking details, I wish I knew. I would be very rich,” Nepfumbada said.
However, another source added that the similar prices appearing on the list showed there was a lot of collusion.
“If we are bidding separately, how can we quote the same prices for the same commodities? It shows Mudau and his staff were communicating with the service providers.”
Neil Shikwambana, the spokesperson of the Limpopo Department of Health, would not respond to specific questions, citing the ongoing SIU probe.
“The Department of Health has noted that a number of questions which are being raised in your follow up enquiry are about alleged irregularities in the awarding of PPE tenders during the fight of Covid-19 pandemic. The department has further noted that following the SIU proclamation on matters affecting irregularities of PPE tenders by the president, the premier has handed over all matters involving the three big departments, like Health, Education and COGHSTA, to SIU and they are currently busy with the investigations,” Shikwambana said.
“The department has further submitted to Treasury the entire list of bidders, contracts, those who have managed to deliver as per their orders, those who have been paid and also the amounts paid to bidders. Treasury has equally submitted the same information to the SIU. The department therefore feels that it will be incorrect to start responding to each and every individual allegation as raised below when all these matters are already being investigated by the SIU.”
This came as the SIU obtained an order to freeze the accounts of 40 companies including Royal Bhaca, Ledla Structural Development, manufacturer Mediwaste, Sasol, Boxlee and Buhle Waste in connection with the Gauteng PPE procurement irregularities.
However, Mediwaste director Jonathan Maake yesterday said Sasol, Buhle Waste and Boxlee were “innocent companies which sold raw materials and medical waste boxes to Mediwaste”.