A senior employee at the National Department of Health (NDoH) , Popo Maja was granted R5 000 at the Specialised Commercial Crimes Court on Wednesday.
The 63-year-old allegedly received two bribes from Digital Vibes to secure a tender worth R141 million.
According to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), in 2019, Maja was allegedly appointed as a member of the Bid Specification and Bid Evaluation Committee tasked with the appointment of a communications services provider in relation to the National Health Insurance (NHI) Bill.
On 1 November 2019 the Committee set down for functional and technical evaluation of the bidders after Digital Vibes was recommended for the more than R141 million tender for a period of 12 months, the NPA said.
“The same day the committee sat, it is alleged that an amount of R10 000 was paid into Maja’s personal bank account, from the Digital Vibes bank account. A month later on 5 December 2019 an amount of R 5 000 was paid again to his personal account by Digital Vibes,” said NPA spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana.
The former Minister of the Health, Zweli Mkhize resigned from his position after he was also implicated in the Digital Vibe saga.
Now the Department of Health said it will first gather information regarding the charges against Maja before making a “pronouncement on the matter”
“The Department of Health has noted the media reports about one of its senior officials (Mr Popo Maja), who appeared in court on Wednesday, 21 June and will first gather more information about the alleged charges before making any pronouncement on the matter,” the Department of Health said in a statement.
“The Department upholds its position of zero tolerance to fraud and corruption, and will allow the legal process to take its course without any interference. The Department believes in the principle of innocence until proven guilty, and the procedural fairness will be adhered to in order to afford Mr Maja space and opportunity to deal with the case. “
