ANC Presidential Hopeful Zweli Mkhize Says No One Pressured Him to Resign Amid Digital Vibes Scandal

• African National Congress president hopeful Zweli Mkhize discussed the Digital Vibes scandal during an interview
• The former minister said when he was met with legal troubles, he was not asked to resign but did so willingly
• Mkhize said President Cyril Ramaphosa will have to make a personal decision on whether he should step aside

JOHANNESBURG - African National Congress president hopeful Zweli Mkhize spoke on the Digital Vibes scandal he faced ahead of the ruling party’s 55th national elective conference.

The former health minister resigned after being implicated in the unlawful awarding of a R150 million contract to his former allies. Some of the money also was believed to have benefited Mkhize’s family.

During an interview with Sunday Times, the ANC presidential hopeful touched on the Phala Phala saga and the Digital Vibes scandal. He said when he was met with legal troubles, he was not asked to resign but did so willingly when discussing the calls for President Cyril Ramaphosa to step aside. Mkhize said the decision to vacate the office is a personal choice.

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“In my case, there was no one who put pressure on me now it is impossible to stay in positions of authority without allegations being thrown at you.

As a leader what is important is that if there are allegations you must take responsibility and investigate if it's within your purview but also if it involves yourself, you must also be willing to take yourself to go through the investigation,” said Mkhize.

The former minister said that he is not guilty of any crime and that the Digital Vibes scandal was a learning lesson. He added that he understood why people were unhappy about the allegations and that the investigations need to be allowed to take their course.

According to IOL, earlier this year, the Special Investigation Unit made amendments to the Digital Vibes report. The changes followed the unit’s admission that it did not have the Cabinet documents it had relied on to make the unfavourable findings against Mkhize.

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Citizens react to Zweli Mkhize’s comments:

@GenduToit said:

“How did we get here where the only options for president is either one corruption accused or another corruption accused?”

@Dvan63581717 commented:

“Mkhize is a sellout. He can't even show up for a vote. Who wants to support him??? Haibo wena.”

@MrDanzel posted:

“These guys don't care anymore about the movement.”

@Mrkev40 wrote:

“ANC is finished.”

@Mac_Miles_85 added:

“Another indecisive dead-weight.”

Zweli Mkhize speaks on step-aside rule says it undermines authority of ANC branches

Briefly News also reported that the African National Congress (ANC) president hopeful Zweli Mkhize called for members to contest the step-aside rule at the party’s upcoming national elective conference.

He was addressing ANC branches at the Dlamini Multipurpose Centre in Soweto on Monday, 12 November when he made the remarks. Mkhize described the rule as an attempt to “undermined ANC branches where the authority resides”.

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The former minister said the step-aside rule was created to deal with factions within the party. He called for members to fight the rule and said that any rule used to purge some and protect others is not good.

Source: Briefly News