Minister of Public Works and Infrastructure, Dean MacPherson, has launched an independent investigation into the Independent Development Trust (IDT) following corruption allegations regarding an 800 million tender for the installation of oxygen plants at healthcare facilities across South Africa.
It was reported that two companies involved were not approved by the South African Health Products Regulatory Authority (SAHPRA).
Concerns raised include fraudulent documentation by companies lacking necessary accreditation and governance issues within IDT, exacerbated by an inquorate board.
McPhearson elaborates on the issue, stating, “Initially, the board claimed it would investigate the matter. I pointed out that they cannot investigate themselves, as that is against procedure. Therefore, we believe that departments should not carry out the investigation. For this reason, we will be launching an independent investigation to uncover the facts. We need to find out how this situation arose, why costs escalated to R800 million, and how companies without the necessary licenses and without verifiable physical addresses were awarded these tenders in the first place.”
