Amigos Case: 'Businessman Savoi allowed to fiddle with tender specs in multimillion rand deal'

PricewaterhouseCoopers forensic auditor, Trevor White continued his “Amigos” case-related testimony on Wednesday, 22 January revealing to the commission that the head of the health department in KwaZulu-Natal, Busisiwer Nyembezi collaborated with businessman Gaston Savoi to unduly influence a tender procedure.

White previously testified that the businessman was introduced into the KwaZulu-Natal government circles by the then head of provincial treasury, Sipho Shabalala, who was his initial accomplice in another colluding scheme. 

In 2009 the department of health in KwaZulu-Natal appointed PwC to investigate some of its procurement contracts. During this period a trail of emails were seized from Savoi’s Cape-Town based company Intaka by the police on behalf of PwC. 

According to White, a tender was put out by the department of health in 2006 for the supply of oxygen generators. 

“Dr Savoi and Dr Nyembezi colluded with the setting of specifications that would be advertised in the tender,” he said.

“Dear Amigo, checking the document with our technical staff. It was detected that a lot of things were added that are not according to our specifications to which we should comply. Therefore enclosed is the draft with modifications/withdrawals highlighted in red,” according to an email sent to Nyembezi from Savoi as read by White. 

White further told the commission that Savoi deleted some items in the tender bid specifications and added specifications that would favour his company Intako. 

“There were a lot of changes made. He’s having input prior to the tender becoming public and doing things where his entity doesn’t comply with the original draft specs, he’s now deleting and when his entity has something extra he’s putting it in as a requirement potentially to the prejudice of any other bidder that doesn’t have that,” White said. 

The forensic auditor testified that Savoi did all this with the knowledge of Nyembezi and almost all the additions he made in the tender specs were included in the final bid that was put out in public. The emails further reveal that Nyembezi responded to the email and openly accepted the changes made by Savoi. 

“Success at last,” Nyembezi is quoted saying in the email. “Attached with this email are the bids specifications in a word document with the revised specifications.” 

Subsequent to this email, White told the commission that Savoi had more changes to make to the revised specifications. 

The commission heard that the tender was for the supply of oxygen generators to 52 hospitals in the province with the total amount coming to R11.6-million.

In a similar case, Savoi was nailed in a Northern Cape investigation by the then Hawks for fraud, corruption, and racketeering for his involvement in an irregular tender process with the health department in the province alongside other politicians and public service officials.

Testimony continues with White detailing further events of the PwC investigation into the KwaZulu-Natal health department. DM