SA Entrepreneur In A 6 Billion Rand Mask Supply Disaster Deal

SA entrepreneur in a 6 billion rand mask supply disaster deal. 38 Year old Nathan Engelbrecht is co-founder of Ayanda Capital, which in April won a contract with the UK government to supply masks to the British National Health Service. Unfortunately, the entire business de all has has gone to waste as the unexpected has happened putting Nathan and the company in a fix.

Nathan is now caught up in a disastrous £252 million (R6 billion) epic fail to supply 43 million masks to United Kingdom government hospitals. The UK government has said the masks couldn’t be used because they didn’t fit properly. It would seem there has been a huge error with the design of the masks meant rob combat the spread of the Covid-19 virus.

Instead of head loops, they have ear-loop fastenings, which according to UK standards means they may not fit tightly enough to create a “seal” between the mask and the face. In an interview with the the BBC, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was “very disappointed” about the masks, which have now been recalled.

Apparently, an advisor to the UK government, Andrew Mills, initially received the contract to provide the masks however he requested that the contract be assigned to Ayanda, which didn’t have any background in medical supplies, on the grounds that it could arrange overseas payments quicker. Mills is reported to be an adviser to Ayanda, which is owned by a Mauritius-based company.

In a statement published by the BBC, Ayanda Capital said: “The masks supplied went through a rigorous technical assurance programme and meet all the requirements of the technical specifications which were made available online through the government’s portal”. Ayanda when onto to state, “There are provisions in our contract for product to be rejected if it did not meet the required specification as per the contract. These provisions have not been activated”.

Following the discovery of the faulty masks, the UK government is now being sued by two different groups for its decision to award the mask contract to Ayanda. Further reports confirm that the opposition Labour party is also demanding an inquiry into why Ayanda got the deal.

Nathan reportedly told the UK publication Wealth Manager that due process was followed throughout the procurement, including “full technical assurance of the products involved and thorough due diligence of our ability to perform the contract”.