JOHANNESBURG - South African finance boss Tito Mboweni today said that the Covid-19 pandemic gave rise to shameful and exploitative acts of corruption.
“This has overshadowed our collective achievements in saving lives and supporting livelihoods. It is not true that the R500 billion relief package has been entirely lost to corruption.
’’It is being used to cushion the impact of the pandemic and aspects will continue to be rolled out over the medium term, particularly the Presidential Employment Programmes,” Mboweni said during his MTBPS address.
“We must continue to defeat the corrupt and plug the loopholes. Efforts to support a rapid response to COVID-19 underline the need for comprehensive procurement reforms.
’’The National Treasury has withdrawn the emergency procurement instruction note and required all state bodies to revert to normal procurement processes. Procurement is now slowed down due to a few scoundrels who put themselves ahead of the country, and we must all suffer.”
Mboweni further said, “The details of all COVID-19 related procurement, including the names of companies awarded contracts, have been published.
’’The majority of health spending takes place at provincial level. Provinces are taking actions against those found to have been involved in corrupt practices.”
The finance minister also said that the South African Revenue Services is working with other law enforcement agencies to evaluate R3.5 billion worth of tenders to awarded to entities not registered for VAT.
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