- The DA has called for an investigation into the Health Minister Zweli Mkhize's role in an allegedly improperly awarded multimillion-rand contract.
- Of the R150 million paid for the contract, only around R40 million was reportedly accounted for on company receipts.
- The DA has urged the Special Investigating Unit to probe the allegations.
The DA has called on President Cyril Ramaphosa to take action against Health Minister Zweli Mkhize after Mkhize was linked to reports about an allegedly irregularly awarded multimillion-rand contract.
DA spokesperson Siviwe Gwarube called for a Special Investigating Unit (SIU) probe into reports that Mkhize was implicated in allegations that the Department of Health improperly awarded a contract to Digital Vibes.
According to a Daily Maverick report, the department paid Digital Vibes more than R150 million for services linked to the National Health Insurance (NHI) programme and the government's response to Covid-19. The company is reportedly controlled by Mkhize's former personal spokesperson, Tahera Mather, and former personal assistant, Naadhira Mitha.
Of the funds Digital Vibes received, a reported R90 million was allegedly channelled to entities Mather and Mitha set up, as well as businesses and personal accounts of Mather's immediate family. Only around R40 million was reportedly recorded on company receipts for legitimate service providers and other costs related to the contract.
News24 was unable to reach Mitha at the time of publication.
Mather declined to comment.
Gwarube said: "Minister Mkhize cannot continue to insulate himself from this massive corruption scandal that implicates him and those closest to him, particularly when Digital Vibes was doing work that is meant to be done by the department."
The DA is calling on Ramaphosa "to make good on any commitments he has made about fighting corruption", Gwarube said.
"Ultimately, if Mkhize is found to have improperly benefited and his friends benefited from these funds, he must go," Gwarube added.
Department of Health spokesperson Popo Maja declined to comment, saying the department was investigating the matter.