Just call them 'lucky'

[Business Leadership]( [Mail & Guardian Newsletter logo](#) [mg.co.za]( [The Ampersand Daily Newsletter from the M&G team](#) [Divider Strip] August 21 2020 | [View in browser]( [Divider Strip] [Facebook icon]( [Twitter icon]( [Instagram icon]( [LinkedIn icon]( Hi there, Fortune favours the brave. Especially those brave enough to do just about anything for a quick buck. You might think there's a fair amount of fortune in being plucked from a crowd of bidders to earn a lucrative government tender. Well, it turns out some of the recipients feel exactly the same way. In this week's headline story we speak to some of the companies that scored a slice of the R10-billion personal protective equipment (PPE) bonanza. Sarah Smit, Paddy Harper and the M&G Data Desk attempt to [untangle the web of unqualified, barely qualified and under-capacitated companies]( that have dug into the PPE tender pie. Some of them are allegedly government employees. Others say it was just a "coincidence" that a contract landed in their laps. Here are some highlights from the rest of this week's offering, as always available in print and online. As that debate over PPE skullduggery continues, [the Special Investigating Unit is probing hundreds of contracts]( to the value of more than R5-billion. Lester Kiewit reports that in an online briefing of Parliament's standing committee on public accounts, the unit told MPs that 658 contracts are currently under the microscope. Meanwhile, a year after their report into the so-called arms deal was set aside, retired judges Willie Seriti and Thekiso Hendrick Musi now face a [complaint of gross incompetence]( for their roles in the tainted investigation. Earlier this month, public interest organisations Shadow World Investigations and Open Secrets submitted a joint complaint to the judicial conduct committee accusing the pair of failing to discharge their duties as commissioners when they investigated the multibillion-rand arms procurement scandal. Over to our colleagues in broadcasting: after losing 10% of its audience, 702, one of South Africa's biggest talk radio stations, says it is shifting its lineup. Old presenters, such as Eusebius McKaiser and Joanne Joseph, have left and new ones are being announced. But there appears to be more to the movement of personnel than has been announced, reports Thanduxolo Jika. Instead, people both [inside and outside the Gauteng-based station are talking of a purge](. Unfortunately we can't rely on the whims of chance to keep giving you quality journalism. As the saying goes: diligence is the mother of good luck. We rely on your support and, in turn, we continue to offer hard-hitting journalism. If you haven't already, [please consider taking out a subscription](. Have a restful, Zoom-free weekend. Until Tuesday, Kiri Rupiah and Luke Feltham [Divider Strip] [NSA]( [Divider Strip] [Facebook icon]( [Twitter icon]( [Instagram icon]( [LinkedIn icon]( You are receiving this email on {EMAIL} because 1.) You're a member of "Mail & Guardian" or 2.) previously subscribed [M&G logo] 25 Owl St, Braamfontein Werf, Johannesburg, 2092 Want to be removed? No problem! [UNSUBSCRIBE]( Email support: help@media-connect.co.za - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -