The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) has refuted reports that it has issued an apology to former Health Minister, Dr Zweli Mkhize, for implicating him in the Digital Vibes scandal.
The Digital Vibes report contains allegations which implicate Dr Mkhize in the awarding of an irregular R150-million Health Department contract to his associates.
SIU Spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago says: “There was a review application that was done by the former minister to review our report and its findings. We needed to – and the minister’s lawyers – to exchange the documentation. In the process of doing that, we ended up missing some of the documentation that we were supposed to give to them. We missed some of the transcriptions and that is what we were apologising for. But the way the article came out, it gave the impression that we are apologising for the report on the Digital Vibes. We are not. That it in the report, which has been made public to the people of SA.”
Mkhize wants findings to be set aside
In October last year, Dr Mkhize served the SIU with court papers, demanding that its findings on his involvement in the Digital Vibes contract be set aside as well as declared unlawful and unconstitutional.
The SIU also found that Mkhize deliberately ignored a Cabinet decision when he allowed Digital Vibes to be appointed to conduct communications work on the National Health Insurance (NHI).
As a result of the findings, Mkhize resigned from his position.
In the video below, Chair in the field of Social Security Systems Administration and Management Studies at the Wits School of Governance, Professor Alex van den Heever, unpacks contents of the Digital Vibes report:
