The South African Police Service (SAPS) has once again come under the magnifying glass following an internal audit report that uncovered an alleged amount of R1.6-billion in irregular personal protective equipment (PPE) procurements in just six months of 2020.
According to Daily Maverick, the substantial amount includes R11 million paid out “on a verbal order” in May last year to a non-profit company, Dr Love Foundation.
This could not be traced on the Treasury’s Database of Small Business Development, the report said.
The tender for cloth masks and other items such as hand sanitiser was awarded to a supplier who allegedly wrote a correspondence letter to the police indicating his organisation wanted to offer services to SAPS.
The 27-page draft report dated September 2020, covered transactions from March 2020 to August 2020 which did not form part of the Auditor-General’s sample.
The report pointed to a serious lack of management, indicating that the safeguard against fraud, misstatement, and irregularities was an effective system of internal control.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) has called on the Hawks to urgently brief Parliament on their investigation into the R1.6 billion PPE “scandal”.
The DA calls on the Hawks to urgently brief Parliament on their investigation into the R1.6 billion that SAPS irregularly spent on procuring personal protective equipment between March and August last year. – @andrewhitfield https://t.co/2WCZNMbcij
— Democratic Alliance (@Our_DA) May 31, 2021
“It is shocking that the very institution that should protect the country and apprehend corrupt looters, is part of a massive PPE corruption scandal. SAPS is supposed to be beyond reproach and set the example for all South Africans but has instead allowed its credibility to be torn to shreds.
“The Hawks must leave no stone unturned and should ensure that this crucial investigation is impeccable,” the DA said in a statement.
It added: “The DA looks forward to their update to the parliamentary portfolio committee on police. Oversight has become more important than ever as the ANC government’s unscrupulous looting of Covid-19 funds is revealed.”
Picture: Cape Town Etc gallery