Dead man ‘did not bag PPE contract’, says health department

Under pressure to explain how an East London man who died years ago had his company awarded a Covid-19 tender worth a million rands, the Eastern Cape department of health over the weekend came out to shrug off as “false and absurd” media reports holding the provincial government responsible for the debacle.

Department spokesperson Siyanda Manana explained: “The department never awarded 2KS Construction any PPE (personal protective equipment) tender.

“The director of 2KS Construction is not the person listed in the newspaper article. The director is alive and he is Mr Nceba Kwakweni.

“If companies are asked to quote on certain items but do not receive any work, it is because the supply chain process is subject to compliance checks and competition with other bidders.”

News of “the dead man from East London bagging a huge PPE tender” spread like wildfire on social media, putting pressure on the embattled provincial government to come up with an explanation.

Commenting on Mdu Madikane’s company, Buhlebezwe, which was awarded an order for R1.13 million to supply 10 000 isolation gowns as part of a deviation, prior to the conclusion of the bid process, Manana said:

“Buhlebezwe has not delivered and therefore not paid. No other company where he is a director was awarded any other bid.

“Buhlebezwe arrived after the closing time for various PPE bids that were managed at Amathole district. The department refused to let them in and they were aggrieved and appealed that decision.”

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