THE sudden death of Nkosinathi Ndlovu, the Director of Bulkeng, a company being probed after scoring an R428 million oxygen plant at the National Department of Health (NDoH), has left many questions unanswered.
Last week, shocking revelations of the sudden death of Ndlovu sent shockwaves across the country, including some media houses, which tussled in disbelief when the news of Ndlovu’s death broke.
At the time of his death, Ndlovu and his company were being investigated for allegedly winning a tender to install complex technical pressure swing adsorption (PSA) oxygen plants at state hospitals nationwide without a SAHPRA licence.
A source with intimate knowledge of the details told the Sunday Independent that Ndlovu was found dead in his vehicle on November 3 from a suspected overdose; however, he said that those close to Ndlovu alleged foul play.
“They said it was suicide from the pressures he was facing before his death, but suspect he was murdered,” said the source.
Family contact person Zamantungwa Ndlovu, whose details were also attached to the memorial service programme – hung up when the Sunday Independent sought to establish the details around Ndlovu’s death.
Ekurhuleni ward 15 ANC representative Ayanda Gantsu told the publication that Ndlovu’s ANC ward at Kemptonpark held a memorial service in honour of their member.
“We bused our members in Ekurhuleni to the venue last Sunday because that was his ward, and we paid our respects to him. We had members of the branch and the family in attendance,” said Ganstu.
On details of Ndlovu’s death, he stated that those who had seen Ndlovu were shocked at the news of his death.
“Everyone wants closure; even the family is devastated, and they too want closure because nobody knows what happened.”
Gantsu added that Ndlovu's funeral will be held on Saturday (yesterday) in Cliffdale, KwaZulu-Natal.
The police did not respond to questions from the publication on whether a case was opened and whether the police were investigating Ndlovu’s death.
Following the revelation of the tender saga, Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Dean Macpherson wrote to the Chairperson of the Independent Development Trust (IDT), which is the implementing agent for the oxygen plant roll-out on behalf of the Department of Health - requesting a comprehensive report into how three companies were awarded a multimillion-rand oxygen plant tender following the reports that there were tender irregularities.
Although the response has not been made public, the Sunday Independent reported on a part the paper had seen last.
The Agency said in its response that accreditation by SAPHRA was not a “mandatory requirement” and mentioned that On Site Gas was accredited by SAPHRA
“In respect of Bulkeng (Pty) Ltd, the contractor submitted a working relationship confirmation letter to Atlas who is accredited by SAPHRA, and Atlas confirmed that Brutes trading as BeaconMedaes is an accredited distributor of their products in South Africa and the working confirmation letter from Brutes to Bulkeng was submitted with the bid.
“The bid documents containing terms of reference and evaluation criteria for both panel and request for quotation did not require bidders to be registered with SAHPRA. However, there was a requirement that the bidder/s must submit a letter confirming support from PSA original equipment manufacturer (OEM),” read IDT's response.
IDT spokesperson Phasha Ndlovu stated that the Global Fund also appointed KPMG to audit the procurement process that the IDT followed. They were satisfied with the process, so both the National Department of Health and Global Fund issued the IDT with a “No Objection” letter, allowing it to continue with it.
The Swiss-based Global Fund, a multilateral funder of global health grants in low—and middle-income countries, told the Sunday Independent it was taking the tender allegations seriously.
“NDOH and IDT managed the tender process. The LFA, acting on behalf of the Global Fund, observed the process to ensure conformance with Global Fund policies and procedures and issued a “Letter of No Objection” based on this observance. However, as is usual with GlobalFund grants, responsibility for the tender process lies with the NDOH as Principal Recipient.
“The Global Fund takes all allegations seriously and has zero tolerance for any misconduct relating to Global Fund resources," said Ravini Senanayaks, spokesperson for the Global Fund
Answering questions in Parliament on Wednesday, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said that Minister Macpherson was investigating the matter and that the Global Fund was also independently investigating it because this was their money.
thabo.makwakwa@inl.co.za