18 officials dismissed for COVID-related corruption, Presidency tells SCOPA
The Presidency was before Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts on Wednesday to update it on the action being taken against civil servants implicated in corruption.
Deputy Minister in the Presidency Kenny Morolong before Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) on 13 November 2024. Picture: Parliament/Phando Jikelo
CAPE TOWN - The Presidency said that 18 officials, including two municipal managers, had been dismissed for COVID-19-related corruption.
It's finalised 190 cases stemming from the Special Investigating Unit (SIU)'s personal protective equipment (PPE) investigation, the biggest one the corruption-busting agency has produced to date.
The Presidency was before Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts on Wednesday to update it on the action being taken against civil servants implicated in corruption.
Of the 190 disciplinary cases related to COVID-19 PPE corruption, 98 of them resulted in guilty findings.
Fifty-six officials have received written warnings for the actions, something some MPs feel is not harsh enough.
The Presidency said it was taking active steps to prevent civil servants from dodging the consequences of their wrongdoing by resigning or from resurfacing in the public service before five years have passed.
This includes a central registry which must be consulted before interviews.
SIU head, Andy Mothibi, said civil litigation was also being pursued against errant officials.
"We should not hesitate in citing them as respondents so that we also recover from them and hence when they resign and there’s evidence pointing to them, we go to court and freeze their pensions."
Meanwhile, the committee was alarmed to learn that none of the 51 companies singled out by the SIU for COVID-19-related corruption have been blacklisted on the Treasury's database.