Kesitegile Gobotswang, the Member of Parliament for Sefhare/Ramokgonami says the corruption cases that have been reported on different media platforms are just a tip of the iceberg. Debating a Motion put before Parliament Leepetswe Lesedi, Gobotswang says it is very crucial to look closer and investigate issues of corruption relating to tenders awarded during State of Public Emergency.
However, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, also the Member of Parliament for Lobatse- Dr. Thapelo Matsheka rejected the motion saying the Auditor General can do that job. In response, Gobotswang indicated that the Auditor General only does literature review and make sure if procedures were followed. According to Gobotswang a commission of enquiry as proposed by MP Lesedi will carry out an in-depth research and reveal things that the Auditor General’s report would not look into.
“The issue of COVID and procuring all the equipment related to COVID, countrywide has become a big problem, some people even say it is a second pandemic after COVID-19. This means there is a big problem regarding how procurement of equipment relating to COVID was conducted. Just look at how we as parliament approved a sum of money amounting to P12.4 billion [twelve point four billion pula] to be released to buy all the necessities in the fight against COVID-19, but today there is a shortage of PPEs [Personal Protective Equipment], test kits, ventilators, and isolation facilities are not well equipped. The question is, ‘What was the money spent on?’ because there is a shortage of staff, and contact tracing is a mess. These are some of the questions we should ask ourselves, not mentioning that there are issues of a toilet built for P1 million [one million pula], among other issues” Gobotswang charged.
There has been reports of alleged corruption cases and unfair award of tenders during the State of Public Emergency. According to reports there were multimillion tenders that were awarded to some companies through direct appointment. It is also reported that some companies got incorporated today only to ‘win’ tenders worth millions the next day.
It is in this light that the Member of Parliament for Serowe South, Honourable Leepetswe Lesedi has tabled a motion that “requests Government to establish a commission of enquiry on COVID-19 procurement and tendering with specific emphasis on all tenders awarded during the State of Emergency”
