Nehawu and DA call on Mathabatha to suspend MEC Ramathuba – LNN

The National Education, Health and Allied Workers’ Union (Nehawu) and the Democratic Alliance (DA) are calling on Limpopo Premier Stan Mathabatha to suspend Health Minister Phophi Ramathuba and all officials who benefited from the R900-million personal protective equipment (PPE) tenders, The Citizen reports.

Earlier, the ANC’s Limpopo provincial secretary, Soviet Lekganyane, had accused senior government officials in the province and members of the ANC’s provincial executive committee (PEC) of doing deals with the government. Lekganyane said some officials had since confirmed in PEC meetings that they had been awarded tenders in some provincial departments, districts and municipalities.

“This is purely a conflict of interest. I urge all those who still do business with their own government to stop because this practice is prohibited and is considered a serious crime by both the government and the ANC,” Lekganyane said.

Speaking in Limpopo yesterday, Nehawu said it was time for Mathabatha and took decisive action against corruption in the awarding of PPE tenders. According to media reports, several Limpopo government officials in the Department of Health have benefited in one way or another from the PPE tenders.

It is believed that over R932 million worth of PPE contracts have been awarded to service providers since the coronavirus outbreak. The reports also revealed that senior government officials in the department influenced the awarding of the contracts to their friends, relatives, political juntas, journalists and businessmen with close ties to the upper echelons of the department or acted as front men for companies owned by their close political allies.

Thokozani Mhlongo, head of the Limpopo health department, said the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) would investigate the allegations. She said anyone with information about corruption in her department could report it to the police. “It should also be mentioned that we were able to save R311 million in the procurement of PPE.”

“These savings have been achieved because we negotiated prices below Treasury guidelines. Our total expenditure to date is R526 million and not the reported R932 million,” she added.

Jacob Adams, provincial secretary of Nehawu, said yesterday: “We want the Prime Minister to suspend all those involved or who have unfairly benefited from the program so that the investigation can be carried out without any problems.”

The DA called on Mathabatha to demand that the SIU investigate all tenders issued by the Limpopo Department of Health and to grant Ramathuba special leave for the duration of the investigation.

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