Corruption is one of the areas that the Commission has identified as a priority because corruption takes away the scarce resources that are set aside from public funds, each year, for the realization of the rights in the Bill of Rights, including rights to access sufficient food and water, housing, education, health care services, and social security. When these resources are stolen the corruption therefore impacts quite negatively on the rights of especially the poor and marginalized.

PPE tender irregularities have been reported in other provinces and, as is happening in the case of the procurement by the Gauteng provincial Department of Health, investigations have already been initiated by the Special Investigation Unit (SIU) and other bodies into those cases. The President of the country has also established and announced a multi-disciplinary investigating team into issues relating to alleged corruption in the procurement of PPE and other COVID-19 related expenditures out of the public purse. The practice of the Commission is to stand back and monitor when another competent body is already dealing with the matter. This is to ensure that public funds are not wasted and the duplication of processes is avoided.  

The Gauteng Provincial Office has been instructed to rather monitor the outcome of the various investigations of alleged COVID-19 tender irregularities in the province. This monitoring engagement will further inform the Commission’s decision going forward.   

Ends

Issued by the South African Human Rights Commission

Gushwell Brooks – Communications Co-ordinator Tel: 082 645 8573 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.