The Western Cape has to date committed R1.59-billion towards Covid-19 related expenditure this year, a report published by the provincial government showed on Friday.

Of this, R664.45-million or 41.77 percent was spent on support for small, micro and medium enterprises (SMMEs), Western Cape member of the executive council for finance and economic opportunities David Maynier said in a statement.

The province exceeded the national target that requires 30 percent of spending to go towards SMMEs via sub-contracting mechanisms.

“With significant cuts to provincial budgets it is critical that we continue to ensure that public funds are spent correctly, and we mitigate the risks in supply chain management in both provincial departments and entities,” Maynier said.

“And so, I welcome our fourth edition of the Procurement Disclosure Report which reaffirms our commitment to transparency and clean government in the Western Cape.”

President Cyril Ramaphosa has asked the Special Investigating Unit to probe allegations of corruption around Covid-19 procurement.

His spokesperson Khusela Diko was forced to go on leave after it emerged that her husband’s company had been awarded a multi-million rand tender.

Earlier this week, Ramaphosa said the government was looking at establishing additional Special Commercial Crimes Courts in several cities, given the rise in commercial crimes and Covid-19 related graft.

On Friday, the Western Cape said in order to promote transparency, it had established a central procurement advisory committee to support and advise the main procuring departments.