Embattled Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has written to the African National Congress (ANC)’s integrity commission requesting a meeting to state his case.
Calls for Mkhize’s removal are growing in the country over his department’s involvement in the Digital Vibes scandal.
The commission’s chairperson, George Mashamba, said that it received a letter from the Health minister on Saturday in which he asks for an opportunity to explain his role in the allegations.
At the centre of the debacle is a R150 million irregular tender that his department awarded to Digital Vibes, a company linked to some of his close associates.
The minister’s son is also shown to have benefited from the proceeds.
As the president deals with the matter involving Mkhize, some of his own comrades have been at pains dissecting the story behind the recent allegations.
According to some insiders, the timing of the expose speaks to the ANC’s elective conference next year, where Mkhize might have been a strong contender for deputy president of the ANC.
However, some have refused to weigh in on what’s really at play and whether or not the minister will resign.
Instead, they’re calling for the party to be left out of the matter.
They claim that the appointment of ministers was the president’s prerogative and he must deal with the fallout.
Meanwhile, the ANC’s integrity commission chair, Mashamba, said that they met over the weekend to discuss the scandal.
“The secretary gave us a letter from Zweli Mkhize requesting that he wants to come and see us,” Mashamba said.
Mkhize is likely to also come up during the ANC’s national working committee meeting on Monday.
Source: EWN
