Durban - FORMER minister Zweli Mkhize’s lobbyists believe that delays by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) in transcribing key interviews that informed its findings against him in the Digital Vibes contract, could prevent him from standing for election at the ANC conference in December.
Mkhize resigned as minister of health last August, when he was implicated in the irregular awarding of contracts to Digital Vibes. The SIU found the department irregularly awarded the R141 million media awareness campaign contract for the National Health Insurance (NHI) and another R125m contract for Covid-19 when Mkhize was the health minister. An SIU report tabled before Scopa (the Standing Committee on Public Accounts) said the former minister approved two budget applications for Digital Vibes for the NHI communication.
Mkhize has gone to court to have the SIU report reviewed and set aside and last October had requested evidence, documents and arguments before the court so he could clear his name.
The letter from the SIU, sent to Mkhize’s lawyers, TL Mbili Attorneys, last week, apologises for the “oversight and any inconvenience caused” as the unit has failed to transcribe 12 key interviews. The letter by the SIU’s Robert Walser, a senior manager for civil litigation, acknowledged that requests had been made for the information: “… dated 13 May 2022, your two reminder emails dated 23 and 24 May 2022, respectively, and your letter dated 7 June 2022.”
Mkhize’s lawyers had requested the transcripts of interviews with former Health Department director-general Precious
Matsotso, an affidavit by Radha Hariram of Digital Vibes and the recordings of other witnesses’ interiews.
Mkhize supporters in KwaZulu-Natal said the transcripts and other information, including those related to how the SIU presented a report to President Cyril Ramaphosa without considering 10 files worth of submissions by Mkhize, were essential as he challenged the matter in court.
Walser wrote it had come to the SIU’s attention that certain interviews had not been transcribed and did not form part of the Rule 53 Record and Index.
“Urgent instructions have been issued that the above mentioned twelve (12) recordings be transcribed as a matter of urgency, where after a Supplementary Rule 53 Record and Index in respect of the affidavit by Ms Hariram dated 20 May 2021, as well as the twelve (12) transcriptions, which will include the transcription of the recorded interview with Ms Matsoso, will be served and filed. We anticipate that the supplementary Rule 53 material will be filed by no later than the end of June 2022.”
The SIU said it had realised that Mkhize would need to have an opportunity to consider the further affidavit and the transcripts of the recordings and he may then wish to file a further Supplementary Founding Affidavit.
Mkhize’s spokesperson Vuyo Mkhize said his legal team was preparing a response to the SIU letter. “It is concerning that eight months later, and after being given a 15-day deadline to provide the record of evidence, the SIU has still not provided this information.”
He said they could not exclude the possibility that there was mischievousness involved. “If this had been dealt with promptly it would have been possible for Dr Mkhize to have cleared his name by December and before the ANC’s elective conference. Suddenly there is tardiness and delay,” Mkhize’s spokesperson said.
The SIU on Twitter yesterday said the review process of the Digital Vibes report was ongoing “and parties are responding to each other’s requests in the process”.