Social Dev officials implicated in PPE scandal face criminal charges
Officials implicated in a procurement scandal at the KZN Social Development Department are now facing criminal charges.
Last month - Premier Sihle Zikalala revealed the outcomes of two investigations into the department which was conducted by KZN Treasury.
The probes found that emergency procurement processes were flouted, resulting in irregular expenditure of about R28 million for blankets and PPE.
This came to light after claims the contracts were inflated and were linked to certain "connected individuals."
The department's Mhlabunzima Memela says the Acting Head of Department, Acting Deputy Director-General, Chief Financial Officer, Acting Supply Chain Manager, Cluster Chief Directors were suspended.
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As well as Chain Management officials were suspended yesterday and face misconduct charges internally.
"There are also criminal cases that have been opened obviously it has to be investigated by the law enforcement agencies,"
The department also engaged a multi-disciplinary team comprising of officials from the Social Development, Office of the Premier, the department of Public Service and Administration to speed implementation of recommendations of the report."
