Special investigation into Covid-19 fraud must be sped up and must include politicians

5 February 2021

The probe of the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) into fraud allegedly committed with the allocation of contracts relating to the Covid-19 pandemic must be sped up and decisive action must be taken against the guilty parties.

The Unit has already made some progress with the investigation as is evident in the Special Investigating Tribunal's ruling that 20 companies must repay R10 million for corrupt tenders.

In other cases, the SIU recommended that officials who are implicated in alleged irregularities must be charged within their departments and that their pensions must be frozen.

Some cases were also referred to The Hawks for further investigation and prosecution.

The money that has been recovered thus far is but a drop in the ocean compared to the rumours and allegations of the fraud that was committed.

The work done by the SIU is probably already costing taxpayers more than the amount of money that has been recovered thus far and, in this regard, the wheels of justice are turning much too slowly.

It is noteworthy that no high-profile politicians have been implicated in the irregularities thus far, only officials have been under investigation.

The SIU must not hesitate to thoroughly investigate politicians and prosecute them accordingly if they are guilty.

The FF Plus will keep a close eye on the progress with the investigation. South Africans expect to see justice prevail and thus far, the SIU has not been meeting these expectations.

Issued by Pieter Groenewald, FF Plus leader, 5 February 2021