From 16 March 2020 to 31 December 2020, the City spent more than R107 million to procure the personal protective equipment (PPE) necessary to ensure that basic services can continue while protecting frontline and essential members of staff in performing their duties. The City has acted in a transparent manner to ensure that funds were spent appropriately and in line with National Treasury guidelines. Throughout the pandemic, the City has published a list of all PPE suppliers as part of this government’s commitment to transparency, accountability and zero-tolerance against corruption.
The City continues to procure PPE for COVID-19 specific requirements to ensure the safety of our staff and residents. PPE procured includes hand sanitiser, protective wear (gowns aprons, goggles, coveralls) and masks (surgical, respirator N95, KN95, FFP2) among others. These must be of required health and safety standards and protect employees in different types of work environments, including in the field.
Emergency procurement processes were followed in terms of the Supply Chain Management Policy, the National Treasury and the Municipal Finance Management Act to ensure the continuation of essential and basic services.
All COVID-19-related procurement tenders and requests for information have been published on the City’s website as part of our commitment to be transparent and accountable to members of the public.
‘As a City which acts in a transparent manner, our supplier list is open for all to scrutinise and the funding earmarked for this protective equipment has been spent as intended. The City does not tolerate corruption. Staff and vendors are required to sign declarations of interest so that we can see who is connected to whom and ensure our processes are ethical and legal.
‘The more than R107 million spent on PPE is a testament to how effective the City has been in performing its duties and doing what is required to address this crisis. We thank our residents for their support during this time.
‘We will keep doing everything we can to ensure COVID-19-related expenditure is done with the utmost respect and transparency that expenditure of public money deserves,’ said the City’s Executive Mayor, Alderman Dan Plato.
Summary of monthly PPE needs:
| Gloves – Nitrile Non-powdered | 465 000 units (232 500 pairs) |
| N95 Respirators | 15 000 units |
| FFP2/KN95 Respirators | 23 000 units |
| Surgical 3 Ply Masks | 139 000 units |
| Hand Sanitiser | 76 000 litres |
| Disposable Coveralls | 1 500 units |
| Disposable Aprons | 15 000 units |
Initially, some prices were higher than normal due to the constraints on national and international supply and demand caused by the COVID-19 crisis. However, as time has gone by, unit prices came down and availability normalised.
Where possible, the City used existing tenders to source requirements and in other instances, a competitive request for quotations (RFQ) process was followed. In instances where there was an immediate need to support frontline and essential staff, emergency procurement was instituted through deviation processes. As far as possible, most deviations were tested for competitive pricing and negotiations with suppliers were undertaken to obtain value for money. Suppliers are performance managed to ensure items of quality and required standards are supplied.
The City follows a transparent procurement process and has strictly complied to the National Treasury Emergency Procurement Guidelines.
For full disclosure on the procurement, please visit www.capetown.gov.za/coronavirus or visit the Supply Chain Management (SCM) Department page for more information.