‘Government won’t be dragged into dispute over contract award’
ACTING Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni says the government will not be dragged into Health Minister Zweli Mkhize’s alleged involvement in a multimillion-rand contract awarded by his department.
Earlier this week, Mkhize denied benefiting from a communications contract given to Digital Vibes, linked to Tahera Mather and Naadhira Mitha, who were the minister’s ex-spokesperson and assistant respectively.
The contract was to the value of R150 million.
The Special Investigating Unit has been roped in to probe the contract.
Ntshavheni said they would not get involved in the matter as law enforcement agencies were investigating the contract.
“The investigations that are under way are being done by law enforcement agencies and therefore there is no possibility of interference in the investigations. The minister yesterday (Wednesday) clarified his own position in terms of whether he is implicated or not in the matter, and the investigation report will give a picture not only to South Africans but to the department and the president on the matter. It’s not the position of the Cabinet to express views on ongoing investigations,” said Ntshavheni.
“But furthermore, it’s this government’s commitment to fight corruption at whatever level it happens, where it takes places and whenever it takes place.”
THE latest saga involving Health Minister Zweli Mkhize and the Digital Vibes tender scandal is proof enough that President Cyril Ramaphosa’s leadership is somewhat lacklustre, and that as the leader of the government he needs a new strategy to combat any rogue elements that exist within his administration.
In his State of the Nation Address last year, Ramaphosa indicated that he had established a performance-based system for all Cabinet ministers to strengthen the state’s accountability.
“We see these performance agreements as the cornerstone of a new culture of transparency and accountability, where those who are given the responsibility to serve – whether as elected office-bearers or public servants – do what is expected of them.
“It is a culture where corruption, nepotism and patronage are not tolerated, and action is taken against those who abuse their power or steal public money,” Ramaphosa said at the time.
In fact, the president has also indicated that these performance agreements, which were finalised in November, would be made available to the public to ensure that South Africans can hold those who they have elected into office accountable.
While these performance agreements are limited to specific targets for each minister, the culture of patronage and maladministration in their ministries continues unabated.
It is highly unacceptable that we still find ministers implicated in malpractice when they are meant to serve the interests of communities who continue to languish in abject poverty.
When simply asked early this week if he would step aside, Mkhize emphatically stated that he had not meddled with any processes in the tender and was co-operating with the Special Investigating Unit and therefore did “not see the need to step aside”.
Granted, the presumption of innocence lies in the legal principle that every person accused of a crime is considered innocent until proven guilty. But at times, taking an ethical stand on a matter is honourable.
Many had hoped that the ANC’s policies drafted in Nasrec on cadres mired in corruption and those implicated criminal matters would combat and counter the rigid culture of malfeasance.
We look forward to the president giving us an update on the performance agreements of these ministers as we need to see the work they have done so far for all South Africans, and not how they have wasted muchneeded resources for ordinary citizens.