PPE purchases: City Power rejects rumours of spending R3 000 per sanitiser bottle

• City Power says reports that it procured PPEs at inflated prices are untrue.
• The electricity distributor says it has submitted a report to the City of Johannesburg. 
• The report includes prices of each unit procured. 

City Power has denied any wrongdoing in its procurement processes of Covid-19 personal protective equipment (PPE). 

In a statement on Tuesday, the Johannesburg electricity distributor said reports that it purchased sanitisers and masks at prices above the market value were untrue and misleading.

It added that the claims also sought to create a false and misleading impression that its officials were corrupt and benefiting from PPE procurement. 

"While this matter is still under investigation across the City of Johannesburg, in the province and nationally, we were of the view that we should allow the investigation process to be completed before we entertain these false rumours, but have since realised that if we delay our response any further, the lies that we, among others, spent over R3 000 for a single bottle of sanitiser, may be regarded as truthful in the eyes of some people," City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said.

The distributor published prices per unit for all its procured PPE. The units procured totalled R2 975 528.35.

Screenshot of published prices per unit for PPEs procured by City Power.

It said a report on its procurement, which included the table with prices, had been submitted to the City of Johannesburg's Investigating Unit, as well as the office of Mayor Geoff Makhubo to assist with the probes underway. 

City Power said it had zero tolerance for corruption and that its management would continue supporting any investigation that seeks to hold all those were in the wrong, accountable.