Matlala’s R360m SAPS tender ‘was awarded after due process’

SAPS divisional commissioner for supply chain management Lt-Gen Molefe Fani told MPs on Thursday that all procedures had been followed in awarding a R360m SAPS health contract to a company owned by Vusimuzi “Cat” Matlala.

Fani appeared before parliament’s ad hoc committee that is investigating allegations of corruption in the criminal justice system, and his testimony focused on the timeline and process of the allegedly irregular tender.

Fani said the tender was initiated in November 2023. The bid was officially published on the SAPS website on January 31 2024, and bidding closed in February 2024. A total of 22 bids were received, including the application from Matlala’s company, Medicare24 Tshwane District.

The tender required applicants to submit mandatory documents and standard bidding documents. The successful bidder was required to provide health risk services, such as screening new and current SAPS employees, and other health-related services for employees.

On April 29 2024, the bid evaluation committee compiled a report recommending the appointment of Matlala’s company, Medicare24 Tshwane District. The contract was formally awarded to the firm on June 18 2024.

“Due diligence was conducted, and all was in order in terms of the criteria for the evaluation,” Fani said.

Fani said the bid adjudication committee did raise a concern about the three-year contract length being shorter than the customary five years, but they accepted that procedures at the SAPS can change.

“Other than that, there was nothing material that would stop the award of this contract,” he said.

As the chairperson of the bid adjudication committee that oversaw the process, Fani outlined the multiple layers of quality assurance involved:

The bid evaluation committee evaluates all bids and submits its report to the procurement policy section for quality assurance.
The section head of procurement checks and validates the report for accuracy.

“Once the section head has looked at that, he signs the report to indicate his satisfaction, then passes it over to the component head,” Fani said.

The component head conducts a second set of quality checks to ensure nothing was missed.
Once satisfied, the component head signs the documents and tables them with the secretariat for deliberation by the bid adjudication committee.

The bid adjudication committee made the final decision, selecting Matlala’s company using a “matrix sheet”, which indicates whether the tender award is approved and whether additional information would be required.

“In this situation, there were no conditions to the awarding of the tender. The members of the committee approved and signed,” Fani said.

He told MPs that before the contract was formally awarded, the chairperson of the evaluation committee had written to national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola.

The letter inquired whether Masemola had been contacted by Investigating Directorate Against Corruption investigator Sunnel Bellochun, who had raised concerns that Matlala’s company allegedly did not have a valid tax clearance certificate, that it had been blacklisted and was linked to an entity involved in the Tembisa Hospital scandal.

Despite these serious allegations being raised before the final decision, Fani said the bid adjudication committee was not aware of those concerns when they approved the contract.

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