Cleaning up: Zweli Mkhize (left) was the face of a largely good response to the pandemic, which could help explain President Cyril Ramaphosa’s (right) reluctance to act against him. (Lulama Zenzile/Gallo Images/Die Burger)
Factions of the ANC’s top echelon are united in the view that ousting health minister Zweli Mkhize may prove disastrous for president Cyril Ramaphosa.
National executive committee members who have spoken to the Mail & Guardian from both the Ramaphosa and suspended secretary Ace Magashule faction each agree that it would be politically “unwise” for the president to remove Mkhize before the special tribunal makes its decision on the application by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU).
This comes as the ANC is scheduled to discuss a report by its integrity committee, which recommended that Mkhize step aside.
Sources with intimate knowledge of the report said that the committee’s report will be tabled at the next NEC meeting. ANC national spokesperson Pule Mabe confirmed that the report is with the party and will go directly to the NEC.
One source in the national working committee said the report was with ANC deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte’s office.
Mkhize first indicated that he would appear before the committee in June. This came after a series of articles in the Daily Maverick revealed his alleged involvement with a company linked to his associates that benefited from tenders.
In the same month, President Cyril Ramaphosa placed the health minister on special leave.
Ramaphosa also instructed the SIU to probe the company, Digital Vibes.
Papers submitted to the court by the SIU last week detailed how Mkhize and his son Dedani directly and indirectly received gratifications from Digital Vibes.
The SIU filed court papers before the Special Tribunal, which has a statutory mandate to recover public funds siphoned from the fiscus through corruption, fraud and illicit money flows.
The papers state that the evidence against Mkhize, his son and others who directly and indirectly benefited from the Digital Vibes contracts of up to R150-million has been handed to the National Prosecuting Authority to pursue.
However, one NEC member, a close ally to Ramaphosa, believes that Mkhize’s experience in government and in the party was invaluable. Mkhize who is neither in the Ramaphosa nor the Magashule faction is believed to be a man that could help each faction win support in KwaZulu-Natal.
“KZN is a very prominent province in the politics of the ANC. These are people who are not in anybody’s faction, but in their own right, they are strong characters and strong leaders,” they said.
The NEC member added that while the integrity committee has put more pressure on Ramaphosa to pull the trigger and fire Mkhize from his cabinet, a discussion with Mkhize must occur before this happens.
The M&G understands that Ramaphosa had consulted with Mkhize, who initially indicated that he would voluntarily step down from his position, but after convincing, he retracted from that position, sources had previously said.
Another senior NEC member said while the country is bracing itself for a dramatic reshuffle when Ramaphosa eventually reshuffles his cabinet, he is likely only to fill vacant posts. Sources within the ANC’s NEC have warned commentators not to expect any dramatic changes when Ramaphosa eventually reshuffles.
“Zweli has been a Jacob Zuma person. He is the one who negotiated on behalf of the former president with Khwezi’s family. That relationship did not end. He knows where the bodies are buried,” the NEC member said, referring to the alias of the woman who accused former president Jacob Zuma of rape in 2005.
(John McCann/M&G)
“Equally, Zweli, prior to Digital Vibes, was seen as the man who cleaned up the health department and he became the face of the government’s response to Covid-19. While the general public may dismiss this in light of the Digital Vibes matter, we in the party don’t. It then becomes difficult to make loud calls for him to step down. He is a powerful figure in the ANC and his ideas and experience in the party cannot be dismissed,” the NEC member said.
The M&G recently reported how money from the contract was allegedly used to buy a vehicle for Mkhize’s son and carry out repairs on a house in Johannesburg owned by the Mkhize family. The health minister has denied any wrongdoing.
He told the SIU that the money and vehicles from the owners of Digital Vibes, Tahera Mather and Naadhira Mitha were gifts.
There is also evidence that Mkhize and the department’s deputy director general, Anban Pillay, directed other department officials to ensure that Digital Vibes got the contract. This includes WhatsApp messages and emails from personal accounts and from Mkhize and witness statements.
The ANC insiders say it was expected that members of the national working committee would discuss the SIU report on Mkhize, but the committee, which oversees the day to day workings of the party and carries out decisions and instructions of the NEC, did not do so.
A close associate of Mkhize, who asked not to be named, said that he was not likely to resign as this would be an admission of wrongdoing.
“There is a lot of pressure, but for now there won’t be a resignation. If he does resign, it would be an admission of wrongdoing or culpability on Zweli’s part. He has maintained that he has done nothing wrong and is still standing his ground on this.”
Deputy secretary general Jessie Duarte dismissed talks of a possible cabinet reshuffle that many anticipated would happen later in the week, saying the top six had not been called for consultation.
“At this point in time, there is nothing to share with you except to say that we hear from you that there is a buzz around the reshuffle. If it happens, let us know… Yes, the president does consult, no, he hasn’t called us as the top six for such a consultation as yet. When he does call us and he indicates we will go and hear what his plans are,” she said.
She said the top officials and the NWC had not discussed calls for a reshuffle or a shakeup in the security cluster.
In June during an NWC meeting, Ramaphosa’s allies — Justice Minister Ronald Lamola, Public Service and Administration Minister Senzo Mchunu and the president of the ANC Veterans’ League, Snuki Zikalala — called for Mkhize to take special leave while the matter was still under investigation.
This was the first time members of the Ramaphosa cabinet and his strongest allies spoke out against Mkhize.
This was shot down by other NWC members, who argued that Mkhize was a senior leader in the ANC and the matter should be dealt with by the president and the top six.
While some saw this as a move by Ramaphosa to test the waters, some of his allies said that the three party leaders had not acted on behalf of the president.
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