JOHANNESBURG, Aug. 13 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's Gauteng Province had returned to the open tender system and would publish the list of firms that have received tenders monthly to root out corruption related to procurement of personal protective equipment, a local official said on Thursday.
"For accountability and transparency, every month we will publish every new tender that has been adjudicated and awarded by any department in Gauteng. This is public information that must be known," Gauteng Province Premier David Makhura said at a media briefing.
Gauteng Province is the smallest but the most populated province in South Africa, and also the economic hub of the country. It introduced the open tender system in 2014.
"The open tender system has pushed back the scale of corruption because everybody was able to see transparently when the adjudication of tenders was happening, who got the tender, why they got the tender, and whether they are able to deliver," Makhura explained.
Some senior officials in Gauteng health department have taken special leave after being accused of corruption relating to the awarding of anti-coronavirus tenders since April.
The authorities are investigating all the allegations and a report on the findings would be released soon. Enditem
