Didiza claims R500m vaccine matter was handled during her tenure

Didiza

Cape Town — Former Minister of Agriculture Thoko Didiza has criticised her successor, John Steenhuisen, for his recent claims of “exposing” misconduct within the department.

Didiza informed Steenhuisen that the R500 million issue involving animal vaccines had been addressed during her tenure.

Steenhuisen, who now leads the Agriculture Department, has vowed to investigate the missing R500 million linked to Onderstepoort Biological Products (OBP), a company responsible for manufacturing animal vaccines.

In a late July meeting with the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture, Steenhuisen said that OBP initially assured the committee that all funds were accounted for. However, the Auditor General later raised concerns about a significant portion of a 2013 grant received by OBP that remains unaccounted for.

In a statement, Didiza responded to Steenhuisen’s comments and investigation, saying that the misconduct he claimed to have uncovered was already addressed during her tenure.

She noted that the issue had been referred to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) for further investigation, and the details were documented in the audit report.

Didiza criticised Steenhuisen for making definitive statements while investigations by law enforcement agencies were still ongoing.

She argued that his remarks created the misleading impression that the previous administration did nothing to address the issues.

Didiza urged Steenhuisen to be cautious about what he communicated to the media, as it could have serious unintended consequences. She also offered her assistance to him on the matter.

“It is clear that despite former minister Didiza’s efforts to help minister Steenhuisen with understanding the intricacies of the department and its entities during the handover process, this remains inadequate,” spokesperson, Reggie Ngcobo, said.

“To this end, former minister Didiza remains available to assist minister Steenhuisen with this and other matters,” said Ngcobo.

According to TimesLIVE, Steenhuisen said the alleged corruption had been reported to the director-general of the department, and a process was underway to address it.

“The auditor-general has flagged some issues around management, value for money and record-keeping. I’ll be reviewing the auditor general’s report and using it as a basis to ensure controls are put in place to address issues around fruitless and wasteful expenditure, as well as poor record-keeping,” the report quoted the minister as saying.

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Compiled by Matthew Petersen

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