Limpopo’s R932 million PPE tender mess

The Limpopo Department of Health has awarded a KwaZulu-Natal company a R185 million contract to supply Covid-19 personal protective equipment (PPE) despite it not appearing on the official database of suppliers.

Pro Secure (Pty) Ltd, whose sole chief executive is Durban businessman Ferrel Govender, scored the contract to supply hand sanitisers, according to official documents seen by the Sunday Independent. Pro Secure is among 216 hand-picked companies which shared Limpopo’s R932 million worth of PPE contracts. The majority of the successful bidders appear to be politically connected individuals, ANC activists and relatives of senior officials and prominent politicians.

They include the 22-year-old daughter of former Limpopo sports MEC Onicca Mokgobedi Moloi, Motlatso Elizabeth Moloi, who scored a R2.2 million contract. Moloi and provincial Health MEC Dr Phophi Ramathuba are allegedly close friends and comrades who served together in Premier Stan Mathaba’s fifth administration cabinet. Most of the beneficiaries are from Vhembe, the home region of Ramathuba, her chief of staff Nyambeni Matshivha and chief financial officer Justice Mudau.

Insiders said the trio, assisted by the department’s manager for supply and demand, Tintswalo Olivia Simango, allegedly manipulated procurement processes to benefit their associates and close comrades before locking all the PPE documents in Mudau’s office.

Other major beneficiaries included Enro Laboratories (R64 million), Mizana Trading (R53 million), Tsopane Pharmacy (R39 million), Clinipro (R30 million), Sedilaka Projects (R21.5 million), Mmapadi Group (R12.9 million), Smandi Projects Management (R14 million), Mkhacani Holdings (Pty) Ltd (R12.7 million), Ngoako GM Holdings (R17.7 million), Pro-Asanta (R10 million), Confidence No 1 Trading (Pty) Ltd (R8.3 million), RIHM (R7.5 million), and Machawana Trading Enterprise (R6 million).

Other notable successful bidders were Mmazwi Civil and Construction (R1.7 million), Azaniaafrocomedia (Pty) Ltd (R1.7 million) and 777 MPS Logistics. Almost all of the entities do not appear on the Limpopo PPE supplier database, which raises questions about how the provincial health department came to know about them and their services.

According to official documents, the owners of the successful bidders include Avhashoni Edward Matakanye and lufuno Matakanye (Enro), Bhekani Mashaba and Kennedy Liphoko (Mizana), Patrick Bongani Madungandaba (Sedilaka), Tsekiso Tsopane (Tsopane), former Limpopo health department employee Matome Malatji (Mmapadi), Divhamudzimu Aaron Suwani (777 MPS), Mpho Dube (Azaniaafrocomedia), Mpho Lesufi (Mmazwi), Nhlamulo Sharlot Shikwambana and Milton Moagi (Machawana), N Mphephu (Confidence), Nakedi Shane Maela (Ngoako Holdings), Smangele Phalandwa (Smandi), ML Machaka (Afro Asanta) and Theshen Moodley (AG Medical), among others.

The list of cases of procurement fraud, irregularities and nepotism involving PPE contracts in the country is growing. Sunday Independent previously exposed procurement fraud at the Gauteng Department of Health, including the awarding of a R139 million contract to Royal Bhaca Projects, a company owned by the husband of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Khusela Diko, which was also hand-picked.

The Special Investigating Unit (SIU), which is probing multibillion-rand PPE procurement fraud and corruption across the country, has since laid criminal charges against three Gauteng companies and frozen their bank accounts for their role in tender irregularities. Govender was awarded four contracts in March 18 amid claims that Pro Secure subsequently subcontracted companies owned by relatives of some politicians and departmental officials.

Three of its contracts are worth R55.9 million each, and another one R7.5 million. The value of his contracts accounts for 20% of the province’s overall PPE budget. An independent company search shows that Pro Secure is based in Morningside in Durban. A list of Limpopo PPE suppliers shows that Mokgobedi Training and Consulting, a company owned by Moloi’s daughter Motlatso Elizabeth Moloi, scored a R2.2 million contract to supply surgical gloves and single bodysuits despite not being on the PPE supplier database.

Three Limpopo business people whose companies supply medical equipment said they had been excluded from PPE contracts in favour of companies which were not even registered with the South African Health Product Regulatory Authority, whose mandate is to protect patients.