Cape town: The Department of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI) has pledged its support to the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) as the corruption busting unit investigates allegations of serious maladministration and improper or unlawful conduct in the affairs of the department.

According to South African Government News Agency, this development follows President Cyril Ramaphosa’s signing of a proclamation authorizing the SIU to conduct an investigation into procurement related to four specific project funding agreements for vaccine research and development. The contracts in question were entered into by or on behalf of the department’s entities, namely, the Technology Innovation Agency (TIA), the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.

The DSTI has expressed its commitment to supporting the SIU in its investigative work, emphasizing its dedication to maintaining clean and ethical governance within the department and its entities. The department also reiterated its commitment to developing a sustainable and sovereign vaccine manufacturing capacity in the country.

The department acknowledged its awareness of the issues outlined in the SIU’s proclamation, stating that under the leadership of the Director-General, it has been proactively involved in an internal process over the past several months. This process aims to establish the veracity of the alleged irregularities related to the specific contractual agreements mentioned in the SIU Proclamation.