City of Cape Town releases Covid-19 expenditure details
The City of Cape Town has released details of its total Covid-19 emergency procurement expenditure for the sake of transparency.
CAPE TOWN, September 3 (ANA) – The City of Cape Town has released details of its total Covid-19 emergency procurement expenditure for the sake of transparency.
In a statement released on Thursday, deputy mayor Alderman Ian Neilson, a member of the mayoral committee for finance, said from March 16 until July 31, the City of Cape Town spent more than R61.8 million (US$3.6 million) on general emergency Covid-19 procurement to protect the most vulnerable of society.
He said this money was spent on food, shelter, mattresses, water provision and burial requirements, which was in addition to the R72.8 million (US$4.3 million) procured for personal protective equipment (PPE) for front-line and essential members of staff.
Neilson said the emergency procurement processes were followed in terms of the supply chain management policy, the National Treasury and the Municipal Finance Management Act, to ensure essential and basic services and avoid human suffering.
He said all Covid-19-related tenders and requests for information have been published on the city council’s website.
“It has been well documented that the emergency basic services and health interventions in Cape Town by the City and the Western Cape government have stood out head and shoulders above comparative cities in South Africa.
“We have not only as a city and province managed to avert a devastating infection peak, we implemented interventions in a transparent and accountable manner. The consolidated R133.8 million (US$8 million) procured Covid-19-related services and goods has been done responsibly and by the book,” Neilson said.
He said it was worth noting that the City had provided the most assistance to homeless people when the national government instructed municipalities to immediately shelter the homeless amid safety risks.
Neilson said prices were benchmarked against National Treasury guidelines and that procurement was done on an emergency basis. Initially, some prices were higher due to demand, but over time the unit prices dropped.
Neilson said that the City used existing tenders where possible.
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher