There is limited room for corruption in the acquisition and rollout of the Covid-19 vaccines, deputy president David Mabuza told parliament on Wednesday.
The government’s response to the pandemic has been rocked by corruption allegations in recent months. The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has been probing various suspicious Covid-19 contracts in provinces such as Gauteng, the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal after widespread allegations of nepotism and corruption largely linked to personal protective equipment (PPE).
The graft allegations have prompted the National Treasury to look into the possible centralisation of procurement.
Responding to questions in the National Assembly on Wednesday, Mabuza, the chair of the interministerial committee on vaccines, said the government has put in place mechanisms to make it easier to report acts of corruption related to Covid-19 procurement.
SA started its vaccination drive in February, with front-line health-care workers receiving priority.
“We have activated whistle-blowing mechanisms through the existing hotlines such as the presidential hotline, the anti-corruption hotline hosted by the Public Service Commission … and the whistle-blowing hotline of the SIU for the broader public to play their part in the prevention and combating of corruption,” Mabuza said.
He said the government was confident that the risk of corruption in vaccine procurement and rollout will be much less when compared to the procurement of PPE.
“In the acquisition of the Covid-19 vaccines, there is limited room for corruption as the market is highly regulated with very few manufacturers. Furthermore, the product [vaccines] has to pass the stringent quality assessment by the regulator and the procurement is centralised at a national level,” he said.
“Ultimately, we are confident about the effectiveness of the plans we have made and the measures we have put in place to combat any form of corruption. This includes queue jumping, which has been reported in the media as one of the risks.”
Mabuza also said there will be no need for any additional procurement at provincial government level as provinces have a “limited function in terms of distribution, which is determined by national government”.
His statement could put the national government and the DA-governed Western Cape on a collision course.
On Tuesday, the DA-led provincial government announced it has set aside more than R2bn for the procurement and rollout of Covid-19 vaccines, among other measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus. In February, Western Cape premier Alan Winde said the provincial cabinet had approved a framework for “contingency vaccine procurement”, a potential back-up should the national government fail to obtain enough supplies.
Last week, health minister Zweli Mkhize warned that the government might miss its target of vaccinating 40-million people by the end of the year because there may not be enough shots available.
Mabuza said the government remained confident the country would eventually be able to develop its own vaccines.
“We have the necessary expertise and infrastructure and are confident of our capability to locally produce Covid-19 vaccines … and associated technologies for the development of vaccines for future pandemics.”
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