The national anti-corruption hotline (NACH), operated by the Public Service Commission (PSC), has been tipped off about allegations of corruption under the Covid-19 lockdown, a significant number of these being about social grants.
The issue of corruption regarding the government’s relief package has been topical in the past few months, forcing President Cyril Ramaphosa to establish an inter-ministerial committee to gather and investigate all the personal protective equipment (PPE) transactions. The president has also authorised the Special Investigating Unit to investigate allegations of corruption.
There have been allegations of overpricing, appointment of companies that were formed just a weeks before being awarded tenders, and tenders awarded to family members of public servants and politicians.
“In the past few weeks, there have been numerous claims of corruption regarding the procurement of PPE. Ever since the Covid-19 state of the national disaster was declared, various government departments procured PPE and it was alleged that in some of the provinces the National Treasury emergency procurement regulations were not properly followed,” the PSC's quarterly bulletin Pulse of the Public Service said.
PSC commissioner Mike Seloane briefed the media on Tuesday about the performance of the hotline and other commission activities.
“The emergence of these allegations has negatively affected confidence and trust levels of the populace towards the government’s commitment to fight corruption. These allegations have also called into question the adherence by the public service to the prescripts of the law,” the bulletin said.
During the lockdown, the NACH received tip-offs related to the abuse of disaster management funds directed to the relevant law enforcement agencies. It provided tip-offs to the SA Social Security Agency (Sassa) about complaints regarding food parcels, fraudulent use of Sassa cards and the R350 social relief payment; and to the police about irregular procurement of PPE.
A total of 104 cases of alleged corruption were reported via the NACH in the first quarter of 2020/2021.
Since its inception in 2004 until end-June 2020, the corruption hotline has received 22,921 reports of alleged corruption by callers and whistle-blowers, which were referred to national and provincial departments and public entities for investigation.
Outstanding invoices
Between the 2017/2018 and 2020/2021 financial years, the five most common forms of alleged corruption reported to the NACH were social grant fraud, unethical behaviour, appointment irregularities, and service delivery and procurement irregularities.
Seloane said that though there have been improvements in most of the departments in terms of paying invoices within the stipulated 30-day period, certain departments continue to default on this matter.
The number of invoices paid after 30 days during the 2019/2020 financial year declined when compared to the 2017/2018 one. For example, in quarter four of 2019/2020, the number of invoices paid after 30 days was 37,749, compared to quarter four of 2017/2018, when the number was 55,334.
The departments of public works, co-operative governance and traditional affairs, and water and sanitation experienced challenges in paying invoices within the 30-day period. At provincial level, the Eastern Cape was the worst performer with 13,878 invoices older than 30 days worth R2bn not paid at the end of June.
In terms of the disclosure of financial interests by senior managers to the PSC, Seloane reported that 98% (9,792 out of 10,032) had done so and that those failing to do so include five director-generals of national departments and four provincial heads of department.
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