More skeletons tumble out of Digital Vibes cupboard
The heat is about to be turned up a notch on Health Minister Zweli Mkhize following the latest revelations by Daily Maverick investigative unit Scorpio on the Digital Vibes saga.
In another report by Pieter-Louis Myburgh it is revealed the Department of Health (DoH) communications contractor purchased a second-hand bakkie for Mkhize’s son, Dedani.
This report follows Scorpio’s recent revelations that Digital Vibes had transferred money to Dedani Mkhize’s company and had paid for maintenance work at the Minister’s ‘family property’ in Johannesburg.
Documents reportedly reveal that Digital Vibes in May 2020 transferred R160 000 to a Pietermaritzburg car dealership for a 2003 Toyota Land Cruiser. The car was subsequently registered in Dedani Mkhize’s name.
According to photographs posted on social media, the vehicle has been put to use at a farm near Pietermaritzburg owned by the Minister’s son.
At the time of the transaction, the department had transferred roughly R50m to Digital Vibes for contentious services related to the department’s National Health Insurance and Covid-19 communications efforts.
Besides two relatively minor payments from the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent, an entity of the Department of Co-operative Governance & Traditional Affairs, Digital Vibes’ sole source of income during the period in which it bought the vehicle was the millions it received from the DoH.
Digital Vibes ultimately bagged R150m from the department from January 2020 to early 2021.
Tahera Mather and Naadhira Mitha, two close associates of Minister Mkhize, are the alleged masterminds behind the Digital Vibes scheme.
Scorpio says its latest revelations come on the back of a recent report that detailed how Digital Vibes had transferred R300 000 to one of Dedani Mkhize’s companies and had paid for maintenance work at a ‘family property’ owned by the Minister’s ZLM trust.
The payment for the Toyota Land Cruiser and the R300 000 transfer to Dedani Mkhize’s company, All Out Trading, occurred on the same day in May 2020.
Three days after the payment to the car dealer, the vehicle was registered in Dedani Mkhize’s name.
Soon thereafter, the vehicle started appearing in social media posts about Tusokuhle Farming, Dedani Mkhize’s vegetable and livestock farm outside Pietermaritzburg.
Mkhize Junior seemed to deny that the vehicle now belonged to him, despite the ownership records.
‘That bakkie ur talking about ask Mapholoba about his gift from T (Tahera Mather),’ wrote Mkhize in a WhatsApp message.
Mapholoba is the nickname of Andile Ngcobo, the farm manager at the Tusokuhle farm. Mkhize Junior also reportedly claimed that he had been in the dark about the Digital Vibes affair.
‘I know nothing about this vibes company that you keep telling me about,’ reads his WhatsApp message.
Ngcobo also skirted the fact that vehicle ownership records confirmed Dedani Mkhize as the car’s owner, notes Scorpio.
‘I’m unaware that the car is registered in Dedani’s name,’ said Ngcobo, who insisted that the vehicle belonged to him.
At a recent press briefing, Minister Mkhize denied that he or his family had benefited from the Digital Vibes contract. The SIU has been probing the contract.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has stated that he will base his decision regarding Mkhize’s future on the outcome of the SIU’s investigation.
Article disclaimer: While we have made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this article, it is not intended to provide final legal advice as facts and situations will differ from case to case, and therefore specific legal advice should be sought with a lawyer.
