AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER
SOUTH Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, under pressure to act against Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize, who has been implicated in a R150-million scandal, has asked the public to allow for due process to run its course before he acts.
In remarks delivered during his encounter with the media yesterday, Ramaphosa promised that the matter would not be swept under the carpet. The SA president has been under pressure to act against Mkhize who has allegedly benefitted from a company that won the R150-million. Yesterday, the Democratic Alliance, laid criminal charges against the Health Minister.
Ramaphosa said: “This matter is on my desk. This matter is not going to be swept under the carpet. This matter is going to be dealt with. And as it is now, I am dealing with the matter. And what is good, as I said yesterday, is that the minister is cooperating. He is cooperating fully. A number of things keep surfacing, they’re surfacing about his son and monies that have been paid and I’d like to enable the investigation to proceed.”
This is the second day that Ramaphosa has spoken about the allegations faced by Mkhize.
Yesterday, Ramaphosa described corruption allegations Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize as “serious” and disturbing”.
In an address in the National Assembly during the presentation of the Presidency’s budget vote, Ramaphosa said he was dealing with the matter.
He said the principle that guided his approach to the matter was one of affirming the rule of law in SA and the importance of due process.
“These are serious and disturbing allegations and it is therefore essential that they be thoroughly investigated by the SIU (Special Investigations Unit) and any other appropriate authority, that these investigations be finalised without delay and that the due legal process is followed,” Ramaphosa said.
The President’s remarks came after fresh revelations implicating Mkhize in the R150-million scandal. According to The Daily Maverick and Scorpio, Digital Vibes, the company that won the R150-million COVID-19 communication tender, bought a R150 000 Toyota Land Cruiser for Mkhize’s son, Dedani.
This latest revelation comes soon after it was revealed that Digital Vibes paid for work done at Mkhize’s Johannesburg home and that the company paid Dedani R300 000. Mkhize, who has spearheaded SA’s war against COVID-19, has said he was not directly implicated in the scandal which revealed that Digital Vibes, a communications company at the centre of a R150-million tender, is owned by Mkhize’s long time associates Tahera Mather and Naadira Mitha.
Ramaphosa has come under strong political pressure to act agaisnt Mkhize. Yesterday, the Democratic Alliance, the official opposition, laid criminal charges against the health minister.
