Between June and August 2020, the Gauteng Department of Education spent more than R431-million on sanitising schools. This money was paid in sundry payments to hundreds of companies, many of which appear to have no expertise or prior involvement in the cleaning industry. To make matters worse, it was for a form of ‘deep cleaning’ and ‘decontamination’ that was not required or recommended by either the Department of Health or the Department of Basic Education. Maverick Citizen went looking for answers.