Scooters ordered after R100m bid for mobile bus clinics failed — because of a R313m unpaid debt

The Eastern Cape Department of Transport has confirmed that it never received a request by the provincial department of health to procure scooters for them – even though it is the only body mandated to order the vehicles – and added that as the health department owed government fleet services more than R300-million in outstanding payments, it would have been unlikely it would have agreed to a request to handle the refuelling and maintenance of the vehicles.

In a letter signed by Eastern Cape MEC for Transport, Safety and Liaison Weziwe Tikana-Grootboom and addressed to the portfolio committee on health, she stated that her department had been in charge of procuring vehicles for the government fleet since 2011. She said her department received only “informal gestures” from the health department relating to the purchase of the scooter clinics and no written requests. She said her department had declined an invitation to visit the factory where the scooters were being manufactured.

Her spokesperson, Unathi Binqose, said the Department of Transport had the responsibility of procuring vehicles if it received a formal request from government departments.

“Whenever a department submits a formal request, we will, as per our mandate — through Government Fleet Management Services — procure accordingly. The same goes for the department of health and the scooters. But as things stand, no such request has been submitted as yet.”

In her letter, Tikana-Grootboom said that it was “unlikely” Government Fleet Management Services would have agreed to handle the maintenance and refuelling of the scooters as it was owed more than R300-million by the Eastern Cape Department of Health.

Further correspondence about the scooters revealed that the health department’s original plan was to order 100 23-seater mobile bus clinics in January 2020 at a cost of R100-million. This letter was signed by the deputy director-general of the department of health, Dr Litha Matiwane, who was the acting head of the department at the time. The letter said that at the time, Government Fleet Services had already procured 15 4x4 mobile clinics on behalf of the department.

Matiwane suggested that the 100 bus clinics be delivered in two tranches over two quarters, according to Matiwane, for “cash-flow” purposes. Matiwane indicated in his letter that the health department would reimburse Government Fleet Management Services in full for the clinics.

In a terse answer from Government Fleet Management Services dated 23 March, the health department is described as having a history of “not making good on their financial commitments” and the request to procure the mobile clinics was refused unless the provincial treasury was willing to provide guarantees.

Shortly afterwards, on 6 April, Tender SCMU3-20/21-0022-HO, was advertised for motorcycles with a sidecar for use in community health outreach services.

Concerns were raised over the suitability of scooters to be used as ambulances, and Health Minister Zweli Mkhize confirmed in a written answer to a parliamentary question that the vehicles did not conform to South African standards for the transportation of patients.