A royal Mkhize mess: A second-hand Land Cruiser bakkie isn't worth a political career

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President Cyril Ramaphosa must be pulling his hair out.

The last thing he needed just as we enter a third wave of the COVID pandemic is a big drama around his health minister.

We still don’t know the full story – for that, we have to wait for the SIU report. However, newspaper reports suggest that Min. Zweli Mkhize was involved in signing off on a R150 million tender to a company called Digital Vibes which is run by former associates.

The reports further suggest that the company paid for a second-hand vehicle for Mkhize’s son, Dedani, and also paid for some maintenance at the Minister’s family home.

I have to say, if the allegations around the personal benefits are proven to be true, I will (not for the first time) throw my hands in the air out of sheer exasperation. Why on earth would someone risk their political career for a second-hand Land Cruiser bakkie and (from what I understand) a DSTV decoder and installation?  No offense to all the bakkie fans out there, but seriously? A R160 000 bakkie? If the Mkhize family had financed the acquisition of the bakkie it would have required a payment of around R3300 per month. Surely the Minister could have afforded that on his R2.4 million per annum salary?

Equally, why not just pay the reported R7 000 electrician’s bill?

The mind boggles.

We will also have to wait and see if Mkhize himself was involved in the signing off on the Digital Vibes R150 million tender and what exactly happened during the procurement process. Irrespective of whether the correct procedures were followed or not, I believe Digital Vibes also has a few things to explain.

It has been reported that the company was paid R150 million over the period of just over a year. Now let’s assume they worked even on Sundays (it was, after all, a huge contract), then they would have received more than R400 000 per day if the reports are true. What on earth did they do that would have required almost half a million rand per day?!

Let’s also not forget the millions that were reportedly paid to arrange press briefings. Apart from the fact that there are dedicated press people in every department, GCIS is also tasked with handling government communication. If all of those avenues were not available, a simple WhatsApp group message could have taken care of arrangements. So, what could have cost that much? 

On Tuesday afternoon the Presidency announced that Mkhize would take special leave.

With all the attention these allegations were getting in the media, President Ramaphosa had no choice but to take action. For now, that means Mkhize is on leave until the SIU report has been finalized around the end of the month. If the SIU finds that there is a prima facie case to be answered by the Health Minister, Ramaphosa would have to act swiftly and more decisively.

If he doesn’t, it would not only make a mockery of his anti-corruption drive, but he would also play into the hands of his detractors in the ANC.

The RET faction has already accused him of targeting them for not voting for him at the NASREC conference, so he can’t be seen to treat someone like Mkhize differently.  

However, Ramaphosa would also not want to push Mkhize into the arms of the RET faction by treating him overly harshly or unfairly.

It is generally accepted that Mkhize has presidential aspirations. Many have argued that the corruption allegations are part of an orchestrated attempt by Ramaphosa to destabilize Mkhize’s possible challenge before the next ANC elective conference. Mkhize himself has dispelled these rumours, and to be honest they do not make sense.   

Unless Mkhize is expelled from the ANC or receives a jail sentence, he would still be able to stand at the next elective conference – even if he is removed from cabinet by Ramaphosa.

For Ramaphosa to be re-elected it would be vital that there aren’t many - or any - opposing candidates who could split his vote. Thus, he would like to be in a position to negotiate deals with any future challengers and not unnecessarily create enemies in the lead up to the party conference. 

It therefore makes sense for Ramaphosa to wait for the SIU report before making any decision about the Minister’s future in cabinet.

Irrespective of what happens next, this remains a royal mess, not only for the President, but also for the country.

 Minister Kubayi-Ngubane, who will act in Mkhize’s place, could fill his shoes temporarily, but this and any future replacement will inevitably result in disruptions as officials adjust to a new minister. It would also take any successor – even the deputy minister – time to find his/her feet in the new position and with COVID numbers climbing again and the urgency for vaccines growing every minute, time is the one thing we don’t have.