Zweli Mkhize should do the honorable thing and resign, instead of forcing the president's hand to fire him, say analysts. (Photo by Gallo Images/Phill Makagoe)
In the South African context, one of the definitions of disappointment can be summed up in two words: Zweli Mkhize. Our health minister’s fall from grace has been spectacularly shocking.
From the man who soothed the nation’s anxious brow as the Covid tsunami hit us, he is now accused of using his position to rig government tenders and appointments and enrich his family and friends.
The probes into the company at the centre of the burgeoning scandal, Durban-based Digital Vibes, have still to be concluded – and the minister and others have yet to be charged – but the smell of impropriety hangs heavy over the whole mess.
What is shocking is that much of the money allegedly siphoned out of state coffers was money which was intended for a good cause – informing ordinary people about coronavirus and the global pandemic.
This was a man, remember, who looked so solid and straightforward when compared to the rest of the looters in the ANC government.
This was a man many South Africans would have happily welcomed as a future president, ready to lead the country to the promised land of honesty.
We have a bad feeling about how this will turn out.
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