Parliament’s ethics committee has cleared former health minister Dr Zweli Mkhize from allegations that he personally benefitted from the digital vibes tender. The joint committee on ethics and members interests finalised the Digital Vibes case and concluded that Mkhize cannot be held liable for his son benefitting from the Digital Vibes tender.
On Tuesday, the acting registrar of members’ interests wrote to Mkhize informing him about the decision taken and that they found he had not breached the ethics code by not disclosing the benefits he received from Digital Vibes.
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“The committee considered the complaint in two parts, namely: 1. Your son received benefits from Digital Vibes to the alleged amounts of R300 000 and R160 000, and 2. You received benefits from Digital Vibes totalling the amount of R6720 for electrical work done by 4Way Maintenance at your Cranbrook property in Bryanston.”
Siviwe Gwarube, the DA MP, said a complaint against Mkhize was laid for the role that he played in the awarding of a multimillion-rand contract to Digital Vibes in June 2021. Gwarube responded to Parliament’s findings which cleared Mkhize. “It is deeply disappointing that the ethics committee would arrive at the conclusion that the alleged funnelling of money to the former health minister’s son isn’t a violation of the ethics code,” Gwarube said.
“The application of sections of the code were applied so narrowly that it excludes the minister’s son as an unduly beneficiary on the basis that he’s an adult and not dependent on Dr. Mkhize financially. This finding is seemingly at odds with the spirit of the code and provisions of it by this narrow application,” she added.
Source: Times Live, News24, image from Times Live
