After FF Plus insistence, PP investigates exorbitant amount spent on sanitizing Gauteng schools
18 February 2021
The FF Plus welcomes the decision of the Public Protector (PP) to investigate the Gauteng Department of Education for spending R431 million on sanitizing schools in the province.
The FF Plus lodged a complaint with the PP against the Department of Education at the end of January.
The Department of Education spent the staggering amount of money on sanitizing schools in just three short months – June to August 2020.
In November last year, the FF Plus voiced its concern after it came to light that the Department spent R98 million on this in September alone.
The amount of R98 million was paid out to 28 different service providers, many of which seem to have shelf company names and were, thus, probably only recently established.
Many of the names of the companies that were awarded tenders contain the words "Trading" or "Consulting", which is indicative of the standard names often associated with shelf companies. Many of the companies' names also seem strange when compared to the service that they are expected to render.
According to the Minister of Education, Angie Motshekga, it is not necessary to deep-clean schools, only surfaces must be properly cleaned. Bidvest sponsored the cleaning process for many schools and various other schools paid for it out of their own pockets.
The FF Plus demanded in writing that the PP must determine whether deep cleaning really was done at the schools in question, whether it really was necessary and whether any of the sanitizing jobs were irregular.
The PP will also be tasked with determining whether the companies that were awarded the tenders really were able to provide the services, who owns or controls the said companies, when these companies were established and whether it was not just a self-enrichment scheme.
The PP must further determine if the money was fraudulently spent and if so, how the money will be recovered.
Given the ANC in Gauteng's sordid history with Covid-19 tenders, the FF Plus will closely monitor the process to expose any possible irregularities in the investigation.
Issued by Anton Alberts, FF Plus national chairperson and MPL: Gauteng, 18 February 2021
