National Treasury is convinced that SA’s Covid-19 vaccine acquisition strategy won’t feature corruption elements and middlemen unlawfully profiteering from this process – as was seen in the emergency procurement of personal protective equipment (PPE) that has become a cadres’ feast.
The process of securing Covid-19 vaccines for frontline health workers and the wider public is being done on an urgent and expedited basis by the government, with normal bidding and procurement processes falling away.
The relaxation of procurement rules during the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic to allow national departments, provinces and municipalities to procure PPE and other goods on an emergency basis opened the floodgates for corruption involving politically connected individuals.