When the Gravy Train Is the Gravy

Statement by Janho Engelbrecht MP – DA Spokesperson on Correctional Services:

The Democratic Alliance calls for an urgent, independent forensic investigation into the Department of Correctional Services (DCS) after it emerged that the Department paid as much as R726.57 for a single litre of cooking oil and R3,735.32 for gravy powder, under the watch of Minister Pieter Groenewald of the Freedom Front Plus.

Prices have since been renegotiated down to R29.06 and R920 respectively.

At a meeting of the Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services, the DCS was forced to admit that it had entered into contracts with 115 service providers containing exorbitant and wholly irrational pricing.

According to the DCS’s own presentation, the original price for cooking oil in some regions was R726.57, while the renegotiated price now stands at R29.06, a 2,400% difference.

Similarly, gravy powder that cost the state R3,735.32 will now be procured for just R920 in the Gauteng region.

This is not a mistake or an administrative oversight, it is a looting of the Department of Correctional Services’ budget by corrupt officials colluding with shadowy businesses under Minister Groenewald’s watch.

The only thing that has changed since the re-negotiation is the price; the gravy and cooking oil are exactly the same products. The difference between the old and new prices represents pure profit syphoned from a department that can barely keep its prisons safe or its inmates fed.

The DCS itself identified the prices for gravy powder, pan-release oil, cauliflower, paw-paw, assorted spices, white flour and other items as being “exorbitant” and “far above market norms” in its internal presentation.

The DCS has also conceded that its internal Supply Chain Management (SCM) and contract management teams are now having to manually review approximately 4,600 transactions.

The Portfolio Committee Chairperson rightfully warned the DCS not to frame the renegotiated prices as a success, stating that the real issue is that the original prices were irrational and should never have passed internal procurement controls in the first place.

The Chairperson is absolutely correct, celebrating a reduction from R726.57 to R29.06 for cooking oil is not a sign of prudent financial management; it is a confession of gross incompetence or active corruption at its worst.

How did the procurement office allow a price of R726.57 for a single litre of cooking oil to pass through their systems without a single red flag being raised?

This question must be answered.

The DA is calling for the following immediate actions:

• an independent forensic investigation into the awarding of Contract HO4/2023 and the subsequent approval of the original inflated prices;
• a full explanation from the Minister, and DCS procurement office detailing which officials signed off on the original prices and what internal controls were bypassed or ignored;
• that all officials found to have played any role in accepting or approving the exorbitant pricing must be charged, suspended, and ultimately dismissed from the public service; and
• that criminal charges must be laid against any suppliers or officials found to have colluded in defrauding the state.

The Minister of Correctional Services has confirmed that nearly 2,400 officials have been disciplined for corruption and misconduct in the past year alone, including cases involving the smuggling of contraband such as cellphones and drugs.

If the department is serious about cleaning house, it must extend this crackdown to the boardroom and the procurement office.

The gravy train ends here.

Those who loot taxpayer money must be charged and fired.