DCEC’s acting public relations officer, Tshepie Otladisang told The Monitor that to date they have received 75 COVID-19 graft allegations reports. “Currently there are 22 cases that are still under investigation, one sent to DPP (Directorate of Public Prosecutions) for consideration of evidence and possible prosecution and investigations were concluded in eight cases but did not disclose any criminal conduct,” she said.
Otladisang said the Directorate has since enhanced its turnaround time on investigations in an attempt to deal with their backlog and earn public trust in the process. “We have also adopted a parallel investigation strategy that targets both the proceeds of crime and criminal conduct (predicate offense); continue to receive and investigate any allegation that discloses indicators of corruption; conduct transaction monitoring and corruption risk audits in ministries and public bodies and advise on mitigation; and educate the public on the effects of corruption and how they can participate in the fight against corruption,” she said. In June 2021, DCEC director general, Tymon Katlholo revealed that the graft buster had registered 69 COVID-19 corruption related cases from April 2020 to May 2021. He told the Parliamentary Committee in governance and oversight that the advent of COVID-19, coupled with the fact that the Directorate is lagging behind in digitisation, stretch the already limited resources even further.
