LETTER: How the NPA can get cracking on PPE theft
All the prosecutors have to do is to ask the auditor-general which contract prices were inflated and by how much
The auditor-general has said some corrupt suppliers of personal protective equipment (PPE) charged up to five times the market price for masks and other protective equipment (“Health and education paid up to five times more for PPE, says auditor-general” (https://www.businesslive.co.za/bd/national/2020-09-02-health-and-education-paid-up-to-five-times-more-for-ppe-says-auditor-general/), September 2). There have even been reports of eight times. This is not BEE — it is pure theft. The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) talks bravely but appears paralysed by the fear of charging powerful, well-connected cadres. Who do they go for first?
There is a way out of this dilemma: use price multiples as the arbiter. It should be easy in the case of PPE, in which market prices are available and the Treasury has specified price guidelines for the procurement of supplies...
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