The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has requested that a contract worth close to R5 million from the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Social Development be set aside after irregularities emerged.
The SIU has instituted civil proceedings in the Special Tribunal to review and set aside the contract allegedly irregularly awarded to Rosette Investments to supply 12,000 blankets. The contract is worth R4,899,000.
“The 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 value 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 is the second of four contracts that were successfully reviewed and set aside.”
The SIU received allegations of irregularly awarded blanket contracts through its whistleblower hotline. It probed the allegations as part of a proclamation authorising the unit to investigate allegations of corruption and maladministration in personal protective equipment (PPE) procurement by state institutions.
The SIU investigation found that Rosette Investments 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 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.
On Friday, the Special Tribunal ordered Rosette Investments to pay the money to the SIU within seven days. The company was also ordered to pay SIU’s legal costs.
-The Citizen
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