Former health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize’s supporters say that his ANC presidential ambitions have been bolstered after the office of the State Attorney representing the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) sent his lawyers a letter acknowledging that it did not have the Cabinet documents it had relied on to make adverse findings against him in the Digital Vibes matter.
Mkhize yesterday said the SIU had found that he had violated the Constitution by allowing the department to appoint Digital Vibes when the Cabinet had directed the department to appoint GCIS instead. But when his lawyers asked for this Cabinet resolution to be provided to them, the State Attorney, on behalf of the SIU, said the resolution did not exist, or was not in their possession.
Mkhize said this raised the question of how the SIU found he violated the resolution when they could not provide proof. Regarding the issue of the transfer of money, Mkhize said: “The SIU found that I had lied when I said that I had not benefited from the Digital Vibes contract, simply because some monies – which the SIU argues originated from Digital Vibes – found its way to my son and his companies.”
But Mkhize said that the multi-party Parliamentary Ethics committee had confirmed that he did not benefit from the Digital Vibes contract.
“I know there are those who will say, ‘but what about the monies that were received by your son?’ My answer to this is that my son has explained, under oath, that these monies have nothing to do with the Digital Vibes contract.
“He has gone further and explained, in detail, what they are about. He has also paid all these monies to the SIU pending a court determination of whether they have anything to do with the Digital Vibes contract or not,” Mkhize said.
The SIU said the unit had responded to Mkhize’s letters and would not comment further, as the matter was in court, while Hawks spokesperson Brigadier Nomthandazo Mbambo confirmed that no arrests had been made in the matter.
The ANC in KZN has backed Mkhize for president.
Mkhize resigned as minister of health last August, when he was implicated in the irregular awarding of contracts to Digital Vibes. In the Digital Vibes matter, the SIU found the department irregularly awarded the R141 million media awareness campaign contract for the National Health Insurance (NHI), and another R125m contract for Covid-19 when Mkhize was the health minister. An SIU report tabled before the Standing Committee on Public Accounts said the former minister approved two budget applications for Digital Vibes for the NHI communication.
Political analyst Sipho Seepe said the SIU had been quick to make adverse findings against certain individuals, whereas when it came to others, it was seen as being reluctant.
“This admission simply indicates that it has become reckless, thus
opening itself to accusations of political bias.”
Another analyst, Dr John Molepo, from the University of Mpumalanga, said Mkhize’s campaign was gaining momentum in various parts of the country and, like the others contending for the party presidency, any disruption could cause them to lose focus on winning at the elective conference.