The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) revealed that the North West Department of Education overspent R6,7 million on face masks. According to the SIU, the informal committee set up to manage the procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) had not followed Treasury’s regulations and may have committed financial misconduct.

It had failed to ensure that the supply chain management governing the public procurement process was fair, equitable, transparent, competitive and cost-effective. Kaizer Kganyago, the spokesperson of the SIU, says the investigation also shows that the committee issued two requests for quotations (RFQ) on behalf of the department to supply and deliver 50,000 masks. In the first RFQ, R3,7 million was allocated to three service providers. In the second RFQ, R5,512 million was set aside for five service providers. However, the department used the two RFQs to procure 400,000 masks, 300,000 more than initially requested. The irregularity resulted in the department paying more than R9.2 million for masks, instead of R2,5 million. “National Treasury regulated the price of the cloth face mask at R25,” says Kganyago.

The SIU investigation has also revealed that a service provider was appointed, despite submitting a quotation after the cut-off time. The committee allegedly requested one of the service providers to amend their quotation to below the National Treasury threshold. According to government supply chain management regulations, a bid adjudication committee must approve all competitive bids above R500,000 that government entities award. According to Kganyago, the bid adjudication committee considers the recommendations of a bid evaluation committee and, depending on the delegated powers, makes a final award or recommendation to the accounting officer.

The SIU has commenced with the civil litigation process to declare the contract invalid and unlawful and wants to recover any financial losses suffered by the North West Provincial Government. It has also made a disciplinary referral against the members of the informal procurement committee for flouting supply chain management processes and exposing the department to over-expenditure of more than R6.5 million in appointing the service providers. This is the second irregularity relating to PPE procurement the SIU has uncovered in the North West Department of Education. Elias Malindi, the spokesperson for the NW Department of Education, said the department would comment on these serious allegations later.