Democratic Alliance (DA) leader John Steenhuisen has criticised president Cyril Ramaphosa for not firing Health Minister, Zweli Mkhize, who is currently on special leave.
President Ramaphosa last night announced that government has decided to put South Africa on level three lockdown, easing a number of restrictions.
He didn’t say anything about the health minister who has been on special leave for more than a month now.
A move that disappointed some South Africans, including the DA.
Steenhuisen says taxpayers are footing the bill for Mkhize’s special leave.
The DA leader says this is not good for the country as it battles the coronavirus pandemic.
“The president should have announced yesterday that he has released Minister Zweli Mkhize for his part of the digital vibe scandal. And replaced him with a competent individual, with skills to take big decisions. It simply beggies belief that the Health Minister is still on fully paid leave over six weeks after in suspension. If minister Mkhize is innocent, surely the president should have released the digital vibe report by now. We call on him to do this. The public has the right to know” says John Steenhuisen.
Mkhize was released so that he could attend to allegations and investigations over the health department’s contract with Digital Vibes. Digital Vibes members, Tahera Mather and Naadhira Mitha, worked with the minister when he was still the ANC treasurer-general and it is believed the company.
Health Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize appears before Parliament’s Portfolio Committee on Health:
