Early warning as a crisis management fundamental: applicability to the managing of the Covid-19 pandemic funds in South Africa

The paper examines the management of Covid-19 pandemic funds in South Africa, asserting that misappropriation occurred due to ineffective controls despite multiple early warnings. It highlights the vulnerability of the health sector to procurement fraud and the failure of governance regimes to prevent corruption during the crisis.

• Despite the existence of early warning signals and the implementation of some control measures, millions of rands intended for social relief and the procurement of goods and services were allegedly misappropriated.
• The health sector is identified as particularly susceptible to procurement fraud because of the specialized nature of the items purchased and the complexity of medical product dispensing, which creates opportunities for corruption.
• Specific early warnings regarding procurement risks were provided by the Eastern and Southern African Anti-Money Laundering Group (ESAAMLG) in 2019, a letter from Transparency International on 13 May 2020, and statements from the Auditor-General of South Africa (AGSA) regarding control weaknesses in the relief package.
• The failure to manage the funds effectively led to significant political fallout, including the granting of special leave to the Presidential spokesperson and the dismissal of the Gauteng Member of the Executive Committee (MEC) for Health, Bandile Masuku.

APA

Cave, L. (2020). Early warning as a crisis management fundamental: applicability to the managing of the Covid-19 pandemic funds in South Africa. Good Governance Africa. https://gga.org/early-warning-as-a-crisis-management-fundamental-applicability-to-the-managing-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-funds-in-south-africa/

Chicago

Cave, Lincoln. Early warning as a crisis management fundamental: applicability to the managing of the Covid-19 pandemic funds in South Africa. Good Governance Africa, 2020. https://gga.org/early-warning-as-a-crisis-management-fundamental-applicability-to-the-managing-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-funds-in-south-africa/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Cave |first1=Lincoln |title=Early warning as a crisis management fundamental: applicability to the managing of the Covid-19 pandemic funds in South Africa |publisher=Good Governance Africa |date=11 November 2020 |url=https://gga.org/early-warning-as-a-crisis-management-fundamental-applicability-to-the-managing-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-funds-in-south-africa/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cave2020early, author = {Cave, Lincoln}, title = {{Early warning as a crisis management fundamental: applicability to the managing of the Covid-19 pandemic funds in South Africa}}, institution = {Good Governance Africa}, year = {2020}, month = nov, url = {https://gga.org/early-warning-as-a-crisis-management-fundamental-applicability-to-the-managing-of-the-covid-19-pandemic-funds-in-south-africa/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }