- A forensic investigation has declared the awarding of a R150 million Department of Health contract irregular.
- The department has started the process of recovering funds, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said.
- The contact is still under investigation by the SIU.
A forensic investigation into the circumstances around the R150 million Department of Health contract awarded to Digital Vibes found that it was irregular, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said on Wednesday.
The contract saw around R150 million communications agency Digital Vibes for services linked to the National Health Insurance (NHI) programme and the government's response to Covid-19, according to a report by the Daily Maverick.
The company is allegedly controlled by Mkhize's former personal spokesperson, Tahera Mather, and his former personal assistant, Naadhira Mitha, though the two are not listed as directors.
The Special Investigating Unit (SIU) is investigating the contract in a separate probe. The investigation is expected to be concluded in June.
On Wednesday, Mkhize announced that a forensic investigation into the contract, carried out by the Ngubane Tax Assurance Advisory firm, was finalised this week. He added that the final report was handed over to both the SIU and President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday.
The forensic report found the following:
the tender bidding process was in contravention of the Public Finance Management Act;
the appointment of the service provider was irregular; and
there was no disclosure of conflict of interest.
"The investigators… concluded that the appointment of Digital Vibes was irregular, as a result the total of R150 [million] that was paid to Digital Vibes by [the department] during the period of 29 January 2020 to February 2021 was therefore irregular expenditure and should be reported in accordance with the stipulations of the Public Finance Management Act," Mkhize said.
The investigators also found R37 million paid to Digital Vibes constituted fruitless and wasteful expenditure, Mkhize said.
The department has started the process of recovering funds, the minister said.
"My position as minister remains clear… if there is evidence that funds belonging to the state were not used for the intended purpose, these must be recovered without any delay," he said.
Disciplinary processes will be instituted against implicated officials, Mkhize added.
"The details of this process will be disclosed at a later stage in order to protect the integrity of these critical actions."
Mkhize also discussed his relationship with Mather and Mitha. He said Mitha had worked in his office as a personal assistant and had resigned for personal reasons without disclosing that she would be joining a company that had been awarded a contract by the department.
"It was only after a few months of that resignation that I was alerted by my office that Mitha was now working with a communications company," he said.
He said he had worked with Mather while at Luthuli House as ANC treasurer-general.
"I must also clarify that, when we contested ANC leadership positions for our national conference in 2017, I did not appoint a personal spokesperson. Many comrades offered their support. But there was no one, including Mather, who was assigned as my personal spokesperson, as it has been reported.
"I also do not regard any of these individuals whose names have been mentioned publicly as personal friends. They are certainly my comrades, I have worked with them in the ordinary course of my political or official duties and this is not unusual. As a minister, my obligation is to declare any conflict of interest when it arises, and in this instance I had not identified any conflict of interest."
He also said that he had not personally benefitted from the contract.
Mkhize added that the department would be scrutinising documentation to establish if the service provider had charged the department for work done by the department, including the drafting of public addresses.
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