Former health minister Zweli Mkhize’s political ambitions could be negatively impacted by the Digital Vibes scandal, which culminated in his resignation from his job.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) report released to the public on Wednesday is mum on Mkhize’s criminal liability in the wrongdoing that cost taxpayers more than R150m in irregular expenditure on an unlawful contract.
Despite the scandal that benefited his associates and his family, Mkhize’s supporters are expected to argue for his comeback on grounds that he has not been found criminally liable.
Political analyst Lawrence Hamilton said while the absence of criminal liability against Mkhize in the report could trigger his political comeback, including his deployment back into cabinet, this would be bad for political consequence management.
“The very nature of representative government and the function of ministerial responsibility is that the buck stops with him. This all happened under his watch and he signed it off. Political accountability is not a criminal matter. He had a duty of oversight and if this amount of money is squandered under his watch, then he should take the responsibility,” Hamilton said.
The SIU report has, however, recommended executive action by President Cyril Ramaphosa against Mkhize for failure to exercise oversight. It found his conduct in allegedly pressuring former director-general Precious Matsoso to appoint his close associate and de facto owner of Digital Vibes, Tahera Mather, as a communication expert as “at best improper” and “at worst unlawful” as it constituted interference with administrative authority.
Hamilton said the direct involvement of Mkhize’s family and associates in the saga compounded the matter.
Mkhize, who has been seen as harbouring presidential ambitions ahead of the next ANC national conference, indicated when he resigned so that he would remain the party’s MP and “continue to seek to be active in public and political service wherever I am required to”.
Hamilton said it would depend on whether his return would be in the interest of the ANC and his backers.
“In fact it seems to me that it does not look very good on the party that he remains a member of parliament,” he said.
Denosa Gauteng chairperson Simphiwe Gada said Mkhize had jumped ship and resigned because he had known his role in the saga, which he said had left health workers feeling betrayed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“In our view he is not cleared. Ethically he is not a person that can be paraded in front of South Africans to say he is our minister until he is cleared,” Gada said.
The DA slammed Ramaphosa for sitting on the report for three months and for thanking Mkhize when he stepped down despite being in possession of the report and knowing how it implicated Mkhize in the fraudulent tender.
DA spokesperson on health Siviwe Gwarube called on law enforcement agencies to include Mkhize, director-general Sandile Buthelezi, deputy director-general Anban Pillay and the CFO, Ian Van Der Merwe, in the ongoing criminal investigations into the saga led by the Hawks.
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