RECORDED | Zweli Mkhize fails to appear before parliament's Portfolio Committee on Health
Health minister Zweli Mkhize was expected to appear before parliament's Portfolio Committee on Health but excused himself following legal advice.
President Cyril Ramaphosa said this week he is convinced that the manner in which he's handling allegations of corruption against the health minister “will give credence” to his commitment towards clean governance.
Ramaphosa was responding to questions on the R150m Digital Vibes contract saga in Cape Town on Thursday during an engagement with the Parliamentary Press Gallery Association (PGA) after a National Assembly debate on his budget vote.
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He told members of the PGA and other senior journalists that he did not agree with suggestions that he had “outsourced political morality” to law-enforcement agencies by waiting for an SIU investigative report on Mkhize before taking action against him.
Mkhize has distanced himself from individuals implicated in the Digital Vibes tender. It's been alleged that he is connected to the company awarded the communications tender for the rollout of National Health Insurance, and later extended to the health department's communications on the Covid-19 pandemic.
Briefing the media on the investigation into the contract on Wednesday, he said he did not declare a conflict of interest because he believed there was none. The minister further denied benefiting personally from the contract.