While for the last month a media frenzy has spread about an R800 million rand Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) Oxygen plant tender by the Independent Development Trust (IDT) little of the news out there have been fact. The fact is that no government funds were used on the tender and no proof of corruption was found to be linked to Global Fund’s mission in South Africa.
At this point there is no tender, there are just bidders and an adjudication jinxed by political party interests.
A supposed “media investigation” published on a digital media outlet outlines that the Independent Development Trust was suspected of corruption in the process of the bidding companies as one of the bidders is said to be dubious. The reality is that the IDT does not conduct the preliminary administration for the tenders for companies listed with the Department of Health and if one or all three of the companies were dubious it would lie in the purview of both the department and the IDT. If in fact one of the bidding companies was dubious, an investigation would need to be conducted on the alleged dubious bidder and not the staff of the Department of Health and staff of the IDT.
While it is common cause that three companies bid for a particular tender, no government department can claim to have investigated all the bidders. By law, all bidders must be treated on equal footing unless evidence exists to act otherwise. If there is evidence that one of the bidders does not qualify to bid, that company is struck off and another bidder is sought.
The other overarching concern is that these companies, which are black-owned, are only viewed as suspects now that Minister Dean MacPherson has taken office. The flurry to paint everything black as corrupt overlooks the countenance that the Global Fund is aimed at fighting AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in the developing world, South Africa included.
The minister’s statements volatility to untested allegations will harm the relationship between the Global Fund and the South African government. This means that it will put at risk a donation of 18 billion rand. The minister may not care, but the millions of South Africans citizens who are dependent on public healthcare and who need oxygen at health centres will certainly feel the pain.
The Global Fund engaged in a country dialogue with the South African government, civil society, and other stakeholders to discuss the country's health priorities and funding needs. The South African National Department of Health, in collaboration with other stakeholders, submitted a grant proposal to the Global Fund outlining the country's plans for the use of the funding.
The Global Fund reviewed the proposal, assessed the country's capacity to implement the proposed programs, and approved the grant.
The Global Fund naturally appoints a Principal Recipient (PR) to manage the grant. In South Africa, the PR is typically the National Department of Health. The assessment of the grant and its administration through the tender process would lie with the Department of Health and not with the Department of Public Works, contrary to what we consume in the media.
The success or failure of the project would be defended by the health department and not Public Works because although the IDT falls under Public Works, this is not IDT money and it is not Public Works money.
Again, it is not true the minister’s actions follow several attempts over the past weeks to obtain documentation from the IDT board regarding the PSA Oxygen Plant tender as expressed by his spokesperson James de Villiers.
Since time immemorial, a minister can set up an urgent meeting with a board. Those meetings are recorded and the minutes can be provided to parliamentary portfolio committees and even cabinet. No organ of government can simply ‘not be available’ to a minister. To this end, there has been no attempt by the minister to engage the IDT board. The assumption that the current board is an ANC board is denigrating and insulting to the consummate skilled professionals who occupy the board.
While the minister is pontificating on something that he’s clearly biased against, the oxygen tender,
thousands of Expanded Public Works Programme (EPWP) participants across the country will endure a bitter festive season after not receiving payment for three months. Although small, the R900 EPWP salary is for many families a small way out of poverty
The media frenzy, seemingly sponsored by the ANC’s enemies, has targeted the board and executives of IDT.
The minister seems disinterested in the fact that the IDT grew its portfolio from 2 billion to 8 billion rand before the Government of National Unity. As the Global Fund considers redirecting its 18 billion rand muscle to other countries, the real pain will be felt by hospitals and community health agencies in the poorest of areas.
The Star