Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson on Tuesday released a forensic report into an irregular R836m oxygen plant tender put out by the Independent Development Trust (IDT).
At a press conference on Tuesday, 29 July, Public Works Minister Dean Macpherson confirmed the scale and brazenness of procurement fraud in a multimillion-rand project to install oxygen generation plants at 55 state hospitals across South Africa.
The forensic investigation, conducted by PwC, followed Daily Maverick's revelations in October 2024 that an apparent "ghost company" had clinched the largest portion of the R836-million project, for which the Independent Development Trust (IDT) put out a tender.
Follow-up reports by Daily Maverick and amaBhungane revealed more red flags regarding the contracts awarded to Bulkeng and a joint venture made up of Maziya General Trading and On Site Gas Systems International.
Our investigation revealed that Bulkeng did not possess the necessary certification to deal in medical equipment, among other red flags.
"The first time I was made aware of this matter was through the media," said Macpherson, referring to Daily Maverick's first exposé.
What comes next?
The final forensic report by PwC has been handed over to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), the Hawks, the SA Police...
