I saw an article today about how the various provincial governments in South Africa went about doing their PPE procurement during the lock down period. It doesn't take a genus to work out why the country as delayed from opening up earlier.
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The lock down has made everyone poorer except for those in power. This is why they extended the lock down as they needed more time to rob the bank. This was a huge opportunity to enrich yourself if you were connected.
When controls are thrown aside having the excuse of a pandemic it is like opening up the bank account to abuse. The Government coffers are plundered anyway with the so called controls in place so this was like leaving the keys to the safe with the criminals.
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The ANC government unfortunately never has been questioned by a strong opposition party and have been able to just do what they want. When their is a strong opposition there is less corruption apparently and I have no idea if that is true or not. It makes sense but if every politician is crooked does it really make any difference?
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I think looking at these figures what stands out is that the licensed suppliers who are registered to supply this type of specialized equipment supplied only 2%. If one looked deeper I am sure you will find newly registered businesses or businesses that normally supply something else have been used. This has been a printing money opportunity and serious questions need to be asked who was in control.
Many years ago I was asked to help front a tender supplying company and turned it down. My reasoning was clear as it looked and sounded criminal what was being proposed. If you aren't manufacturing or involved in a certain item then how would you be price competitive. That is not how it works though as price means absolutely nothing and it is all about rewarding those that score the right points regarding your back ground.
If you take price out of something you are trading down a dangerous path as it is open to abuse. That is not business as I know it and it is more like gifting funds because of who you are. The group that asked me to help them source the products was politically connected and the products involved was a shopping list to supply the prisons. The difference is today I would most likely do it knowing what I know now as it is how things work here.
Having the knowledge of how tenders work first hand in South Africa what has transpired during this pandemic has just been one massive heist against the countries financial resources. Just think 98% of all PPE purchased over the 6 month period has come from unregistered suppliers and tells me it will not be many. Johannesburg states 122 unlicensed companies supplied the PPE and if I was doing it I would have multiple shelf companies ready so the 122 is more likely only a handful of people who are very well connected.
Limpopo is even worse than Johannesburg and tells me it is only one or two people who have manipulated the situation. The 2 licensed suppliers would most likely still be supplying by selling to the middlemen or Government officials so they will not be complaining. There is no ways the officials went looking for new sources as they would have to fund the purchases so it has to be inhouse with the current 2 suppliers in on this and they would of had to agree with what was going down.
You can't blame the officials for what they have done as it is what happens here as there are no controls in place. The Government needs to put in a central buying unit and take away local spend from the provinces as otherwise the abuse will just continue no matter who is in power.