Gaborone leads the pack with 32 cases
Heads are expected to roll at the Government enclave as Corruption busting agency, Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime (DCEC) investigate 47 COVID-19 corruption cases.
Whilst the cases are still at an infancy stage the corruption agency is busy at work gathering information on the leads. This was confirmed by the DCEC spokesperson, Lentswe Motshoganetsi.
In response to a questionnaire sent by The Voice, Motshoganetsi could not be drawn into discussing the details of the cases.
“Kindly note that I am not in a position to discuss specific issues on operational matters as that is prohibited by the corruption and economic crime act) CECA). Therefore I am unable to discuss names and specifics of reports,” said the DCEC mouthpiece.
“However, regarding COVID-19 issues, so far we have received a total of forty-seven (47) reports relating to COVID-19,” Motshoganetsi confirmed.
Further briefly breaking down the stats, DCEC has confirmed that the Gaborone region is leading the pack.
“Thirty-two (32) of the reports are in the Gaborone region. Twelve (12) are in the Francistown region and three (3) from the Maun areas. The reports are from Ministries and councils. We are looking into these for further development.”
Many of the cases, The Voice can reveal involve procurement double-dealing, especially at the council level. Reports suggest that some tenderpreneurs were colluding with Government officers to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to overcharge and cheat the government
Meanwhile, in a draft economic recovery and transformation plan presented recently by the Ministry of Finance, it was estimated that Botswana needs a total of P40 billion to revive its coronavirus-hit economy and to cover expected budget deficits.
