Zikalala dodges question on COVID-19 tenders
KwaZulu-Natal premier, Sihle Zikalala says they have already got the ball rolling on lifestyle audits for all public office bearers in the province.
It's part of local government's efforts to clamp down on fraud and irregular expenditure.
Zikalala and the provincial executive briefed the media in Durban on Thursday.
They detailed the names and amounts spent with companies awarded COVID-19 tenders.
He disclosed that provincial departments and public entities spent a combined R2 billion on procuring resources to help manage the coronavirus crisis.
Black-owned businesses received the lion's share of the contracts at 38%, followed by Indian-owned companies at 29%.
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Zikalala says in order to maintain transparency and accountability, they've asked for assistance for lifestyle audits.
"We have approached the state security agency with the view of getting these institutions to assist us in this task. We have been advised about the processes in motion to finalise all the relevant details that will guide the process."
Zikalala shied away from explaining why companies implicated in wrongdoing have continued to benefit from COVID-19 related tenders.
Zikalala was asked about the company RGZ Projects - which has previously been named in investigations into government's irregular expenditure.
But the Premier avoided the question - and Finance MEC Ravi Pillay stepped in.
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