Ex-Health Minister Zweli Mkhize Says He learnt Lessons From the Digital Vibes Saga, Still Denies Involvement

• Former Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize says that he learnt lessons from the Digital Vibes tender scandal
• Mkhize also denied having any involvement in the procurement of the tender and says he cannot be held accountable for his family's actions
• South Africans are not convinced that Mhkize will be a better leader than President Cyril Ramaphosa because of his past scandals

DURBAN - Zweli Mkhize, the African National Congress (ANC) presidential hopeful, says he learned many lessons from being embroiled in the Digital Vibes tender scandal.

The former Minister of Health resigned from his post in 2021 after it was revealed that the R150 million contract was granted unlawfully, and his family members also unduly benefited from it.

During an interview on Newzroom Afrika, Mkhize stated that he did not personally benefit from the looted funds, adding that he cannot be held accountable for the actions of his extended family members and the Digital Vibes owners. The family members linked in the scandal were his wife, son and daughter-in-law.

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Mkhize explained that the whole ordeal taught him to be more vigilant in the future. The former minister added that although he was not involved in the procurement process, he learnt that he still needed to apologise for what happened in his department.

Mkhize is one of the few ANC leaders vying for the ANC presidency and has stiff competition ahead of him. He added that he is ready to lead the party and would address various issues such as factionalism and poor leadership, reports TimesLIVE.

The ex-minister once took a swipe at President Cyril Ramaphosa's tenure and called it "5 years of directionless leadership."

Here's what South Africans have to say about Zweli Mkhize's ambitions to lead the ANC:

Tshepo Tshepza said:

" Zweli should not even attempt this, he's embarrassed himself enough."

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Austin Muserenga said:

"Zweli must tell us about the tender his wife got when he was premier of KZN."

Mo said:

"RET forces never recovered since DD Mabuza did them dirty in Nasrec... They're all over the place, with no clear preferred leader, and their biggest hope in KZN, is seemingly pushing for real unity and not playing politics. It doesn't look good, bruv‍♂️."

Sikhumbuzo Lukashe said:

"But Dr Mkhize, many in the ANC NEC are crying the very same thing you raised, the arrogance of numbers within the NEC. Robust discussions are restricted to voting instead of logic and saving the party. So the Former Presidents will raise issues outside of the party simply because they are not afforded the space to ventilate their concerns within the party."

MoneySucessThomo said:

"Cadre deployment is a recorded policy and practice of South Africa's ruling African National Congress (ANC), they are all the same. Cyril helped him escape."

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ANC branch in KZN says nominating ex-health minister Zweli Mkhize for the ANC presidency was an easy decision

Briefly News previously reported that former Heath Minister Dr Zweli Mkhize's African National Congress (branch) says nominating him for the presidency was a no-brainer. The branch also stated that there was no in-fighting to nominate Mkhize ahead of the ANC elective conference in December.

Mkhize's branch in ward 11 in Willowfountain, Pietermaritzburg, was the first to approach him for the presidential nomination.

Branch chairperson S'bu Mkhize told TimesLIVE that their meeting to nominate candidates for the December conference was a success because they were also approached by other branches to nominate the former health minister.

Source: Briefly News