The Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU) report into the Digital Vibes scandal has revealed a cast of more than two dozen characters who enabled and benefited from the awarding of the irregular contract.
Former health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize, who resigned last month, is arguably the lead character in the scandal even though the SIU found he had only benefited to tune of R6,720, which was used to pay for repairs at his home.
Digital Vibes was run by Mkhize’s associate ,Tahera Mather, and his former personal assistant, Naadhira Mitha, who, according to SIU, used it as a front to score the contract from his department.
The report revealed that Mkhize approved budgets amounting to about R132m in respect of the National Health Insurance (NHI) and Covid-19 media campaigns which Digital Vibes benefited from.
It noted that a R46m budget for the NHI media campaign was approved by Mkhize 52 days after the Service Level Agreement between the health department and Digital Vibes had already been signed.
It further stated that another budget of R85m for the NHI media campaign was approved by Mkhize more than six months after the Service Level Agreement between the department and Digital Vibes had already been signed.
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Mkhize, according to the report, had been trying to appoint Mather several times before the Digital Vibes contract was signed.
Mather and her relative, Mitha, are also the main characters in the report.
According to the report, they converted more than R3.4m of Digital Vibes funds into cash, which they carried in plastic bags and boxes.
The report indicates that some of the money was handed over to Mkhize’s son, Dedani, who collected it from a filling station in Stanger, where Radha Harriam, owner of Digital Vibes, worked.
Dedani, another key figure in the scandal, also scored a second-hand Land Cruiser that cost Digital Vibes R160,000, which was immediately deployed to his Pietermaritzburg farm.
The SIU has zeroed in on former acting director-general of the department Dr Anban Pillay, placing him at the centre of the wrongdoing by recommending that he be criminally prosecuted over the matter.
Pillay was found by the report to have made a number of intentional material misrepresentations to the National Treasury when he requested approval to deviate from normal procurement procedures. The SIU said it had obtained evidence indicating that Pillay committed fraud.
Pillay is also accused of contravening the Public Funds Management Act by not fairly evaluating the contract ahead of irregularly awarding it to Digital Vibes. Pillay is also accused of gross misconduct, dereliction of duty and gross negligence due to the role he played.
Another cast member is Dr Sandile Buthelezi, the current director-general who was appointed in May and is on precautionary suspension.
Buthelezi, according to the SIU, allowed payments to Digital Vibes amounting to R60m after he had instructed the department that all NHI and Covid-19 media campaign-related matters must be centralised in his office.
Popo Maja, the department’s spokesperson, is also cited in the report for approving payments to Digital Vibes despite the expenditure of “excessive amounts” which were not in line with National Treasury-approved amounts that appeared in the National Treasury Report dated June 24 2020.
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