Ramaphosa insists Zweli Mkhize ‘served the nation well’
African National Congress (ANC) President Cyril Ramaphosa has praised the work done by former health minister Zweli Mkhize.
Ramaphosa made the remarks during a Q&A session with journalists on Wednesday.
It comes in spite of a Special Investigation Unit (SIU) investigation into communications company Digital Vibes, directly implicating Mkhize in the R125 million corruption tender.
Ramaphosa told journalists that Mkhize served the nation well.
ASLO READ: Ramaphosa vows to discuss ‘red list’ with UK’s Boris Johnson
“As much as he’s implicated in the report, he has served the nation well. I think much as we want to send people to the gallows, we do need to recognize the things that they have done. Minister Mkhize served the nation. I think many people remember how he served the nation at the beginning of the pandemic. He was the sole voice and face of the pandemic and we were able to navigate our way around the pandemic because of his experience.”
The Digital Vibes report, which was signed off by Ramaphosa and released on Thursday, found that Mkhize signed off on funds for the communications tender.
The report further revealed that Mkhize approved budgets worth approximately R132 million.
He also signed off on R46 million, 52 days after the contract between the Health Department and Digital Vibes had already been signed.
