In a shocking exposé, Parliament uncovers incredible inflation in food pricing within the correctional services department
Image: Brendan Magaar/Independent Newspapers (Archives)
Parliament has uncovered staggering food price inflation within the Department of Correctional Services, revealing that the state was paying more than R3,700 for gravy powder that ordinarily costs under R1,000, while a litre of cooking oil was billed at more than R700 despite a market price of just R29.
The shocking figures emerged during a meeting of Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Correctional Services on Tuesday, where department officials were called to account over a controversial five-year food supply contract.
According to the committee, the department paid R3,735.32 for gravy powder that costs approximately R920 in bulk, while cooking oil was procured at R726.57 per litre despite a retail value of about R29.06.
Portfolio committee chairperson Kgomotso Ramolobeng said the revelations pointed to deep systemic weaknesses within the department’s procurement systems and warned that accountability must follow.
“There must be some consequence management,” said Ramolobeng.
The committee heard that several officials are already facing disciplinary action, while others suspected of colluding with suppliers remain under investigation.
“It is a system failure within the supply chain management, and it exposes weaknesses that are there,” said Ramolobeng.
She further criticised the department for failing to implement adequate safeguards to detect excessive pricing before contracts were approved.
“There are not enough cost controls that they have put in the system,” she added.
The now-cancelled contract had been intended to run for five years before concerns over inflated pricing and procurement irregularities triggered parliamentary scrutiny.
Committee members questioned how such extreme costs could have passed through internal financial controls without being flagged, particularly given the scale of the discrepancies between supplier pricing and prevailing market rates.
Correctional Services officials told Parliament that pricing on several food items has since been revised downward following intervention by the department. They also confirmed that the controversial contract has been terminated and that new pricing structures will come into effect from July.
The Star