Senior Cogta employee arrested in connection with Digital Vibes contract

A senior government official has been arrested in connection with the irregular multimillion-rand contract that was awarded to Digital Vibes in 2018.

The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) confirmed on Tuesday morning that the woman would appear before the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court.

The official works for the Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent (MISA), an entity of the Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (Cogta).

“A senior Municipal Infrastructure Support Agent official will appear at the Pretoria Commercial Crimes Court in relation to the Digital Vibes tender that was awarded in 2018,” said NPA regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana.

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Last year, the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) found that Digital Vibes, a little-known communications company owned by former health minister Zweli Mkhize’s close associates, was irregularly awarded a R150 million tender for the national health department’s National Health Insurance (NHI) communication work and, later, Covid-19 media campaigns.

The contract goes back to when Mkhize was the minister of Cogta in 2018 when MISA signed an agreement with Digital Vibes on 14 August 2018 for an amount of R3,947,000.

The SIU found that Mkhize, his family and close associates – Tahera Mather and Naadhira Mitha – personally benefited from the contract.

Mkhize has taken the report on legal review.

This is a developing story. More to follow.

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