Pretoria - The South African Communist Party in Limpopo has called on the National Prosecution Authority (NPA) to prosecute all those who are implicated in the multi-million rand Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) scandal that gripped the province.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) recommended in January that criminal charges be laid against Limpopo Department of Health head Thokozani Mhlongo and Chief Financial Officer Justice Mudau for their role in the PPE scandal.
The investigation report also revealed a range of offences on the procurement of the PPEs, including the irregular appointment of the company to distribute them.
Their investigation came more than a year after the Pretoria News’ sister paper the Sunday Independent reported that the Limpopo Department of Health had irregularly awarded PPE contracts.
The 735-page report confirmed that Pro Secure was one of the companies hand-picked to supply PPEs without being on the official database of suppliers.
The company was awarded a contract to the value of more that R160 million in March 2020, to supply and deliver 900 000 litres of hand sanitisers and install, maintain and repair 20 000 units of hand sanitiser dispenses.
Now the SACP in the province has asked for those recommendations to be implemented without further delay.
About 250 SACP delegates from in the province gathered for its 8th Provincial Congress on the weekend at the Tivumbeni TVET college in Nkowankowa near Tzaneen.
A statement issued by the newly-elected provincial secretary, Chuene Malebana, said the party had welcomed the SIU report on corruption and maladministration in the province, particularly on the PPE scandal.
They called on the NPA to prosecute all those implicated and for the provincial government to deal decisively with perpetrators.
“Congress also calls for decisive action to be taken on issues of corruption and maladministration regarding human settlements projects in the province.
“This should also include the ’Talana’ human settlement scandal in the Mopani/Lawrence Phokanoka District where prices were inflated for sub-standard and inhuman structures,” Malebana said.
The congress was held under the theme “Put People before Profit: Socialism is the Future – Build it now!” where the party also called for aggressive and direct state intervention in all key sectors of the economy and for massive industrialisation of some commodities as a way of growing the economy and boosting job creation.
Malebana said the provincial executive committee was to prioritise the convening of an economic summit which they believed would help in developing meaningful working class and pro-poor interventions in the economy of the province and country.
The summit would involve alliance partners, communities, and other relevant sectors of the society.
“Accordingly, we recommit ourselves to continue to fight the ’new tendencies’ that have accumulated in the movement: ill-discipline, self-enrichment, factionalism, dishonesty, corruption, patronage, and arrogance,” Malebana said.
In addition, the SACP called for an end to the war between Ukraine and Russia.
Pretoria News