Northern Cape Premier Zamani Saul. Picture: @Zsaul1/Twitter

NC Premier Zamani Saul denies influencing awarding of COVID-19 tender

It's been reported that individuals close to Saul scored multi-million rand personal protective gear contracts.

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CAPE TOWN - Northern Cape Premier Zamani Saul has hit back at claims that he unduly influenced the awarding of COVID-19-related tenders.

It's been reported that individuals close to Saul scored multi-million rand personal protective gear contracts.

Saul has made a name for himself in his efforts to cut excessive provincial government spending and tackle corruption.

Now, he himself is accused of wrongdoing.

But he has denied the claims against him, saying that he doesn’t "engage in piggish plunder of public resources".

It’s been reported that the wife of Saul’s special advisor, Mandisa Shushu, was awarded a tender to supply one million masks to the Northern Cape police to the tune of R13 million.

He admitted that Norman Shushu was his personal advisor but questioned how the matter related to him.

He said that at no point did he try to influence procurement processes.

It’s also reported that tenders totaling more than R27 million were awarded to a branding agency Macronym 37, allegedly owned by a friend of the premier, Somandla Sibisi.

This too Saul denies.

The province has awarded COVID-19-related tenders to 175 companies.

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