Mkhize on the agenda at ANC Integrity Commission meeting

The African National Congress (ANC) Integrity Commission is expected to meet on Saturday, June 5, 2021, during which it will discuss Health Minister Zweli Mkhize’s alleged role in the Digital Vibes tender.

It isn’t clear whether Mkhize, who’s a member of the National Executive Committee (NEC), the party’s highest decision-making body, will be present at the sitting.

He has already managed to avoid explaining himself before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Health – having snubbed the proceedings, apparently citing legal advice on the matter. If this is anything to go by, Mkhize could once again opt to not speak.

However, the ANC does indeed expect the health minister to appear before the commission, to answer to the allegations that he unduly benefitted from the Digital Vibes R150 million contract.

“The expectation is always that when there are serious allegations being made against cadres of the movement, they will themselves take the steps to present themselves before the ANC Integrity Commission so that they can clarify whatever issues there are in the public domain”

ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe

Will Mkhize face the music over Digital Vibes saga?

Should Zweli Mkhize in fact appear before the ANC Integrity Commission, this will no doubt anger opposition parties, who took exception to him being a no-show on Friday. He was set to answer questions on the Digital Vibes scandal.

“Last year already, we called for the minister to resign. Part of the reasons he did not want to resign was because there were no links between him and the corruption regarding Digital Vibes. We cannot now be held at ransom and not be able to do our job just because of one minister. Minister Mkhize is in a whole dungeon of corruption,” said the EFF’s Naledi Chirwa.

The committee instead heard from the Department of Health’s Director-General Dr Sandile Buthelezi – but even he wasn’t very forthcoming on the matter, as he told MPs they first needed to wait for the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) as it concludes its probe into the contract. Added onto that was the fact that the Democratic Alliance (DA) has opened criminal charges against both Mkhize and the DG, over the tender.

Here’s a reminder: Two associates of Mkhize had been appointed as consultants by Digital Vibes, a KwaZulu-Natal-based company, which irregularly received contracts from the Department of Health for COVID-19-related projects. It was further learnt that the same company had also received tenders from the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) in 2018, during which Mkhize was minister.