Among the most pressing tasks on President Cyril Ramaphosa’s to-do list is finding a suitable health minister. Zweli Mkhize, who is now on special leave, will be axed following the Special Investigating Unit’s finding that he directly influenced officials over the awarding of a R150m communications contract to a company, Digital Vibes, belonging to his close associates.The Sunday Times reports that it has seen documentary evidence of the pressure Mkhize allegedly exerted on officials to appoint the company.He is also understood to be on the brink of facing censure over a R3.4m loan from KwaZulu-Natal’s Ithala Bank, facilitated by him to pay ex-president Jacob Zuma’s legal fees. The scandal, according to reports in the Sunday World, dates back to Mkhize’s tenure as finance MEC in 2005 and was debated by MPLs in the KwaZulu-Natal legislature earlier last month.Historically, SA has had medical doctors as health ministers, with varying degrees of success, limited to improving access to ...
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