'I'm handling this matter and I will handle it to finality. It is concerning, it is disturbing and I raised it frontally because of its importance - and also demonstrating that this will not be swept under the carpet,' Ramaphosa said on Zweli Mkhize.
I would like the investigation to proceed, says Ramaphosa over probe into R150m contract linked to Mkhize President Cyril Ramaphosa. File photo. Image: Elmond Jiyane/GCIS
President Cyril Ramaphosa says he’s not outsourcing political morality to law enforcement agencies by not taking swift action against health minister Zweli Mkhize.
This as the minister is being investigated by the SIU over tender corruption allegations.
Ramaphosa was responding to questions in Cape Town from members of the Parliamentary Press Gallery Association.
The president has been harshly criticised for not suspending Mkhize after revelations that Digital Vibes, a company owned by his close associates, scored a R150m communications tender from his department which he signed off on.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has defended the salaries and other benefits of MPs, saying the argument that legislators are highly paid fat cats "living it-up" with generous benefits from the taxpayer does not hold up.
Since 1994 it’s been pretty much the same procedure for the Parliamentary Press Gallery Association, some of South Africa’s senior journalists who produce the overwhelming majority of media coverage on Budget Day in February and for October’s Medium-Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS).
The system held firm as media changed from the immediacy of radio, news wire services and afternoon newspapers to online media. The system held true because it allowed conducive working conditions for PGA journalists representing different media houses to discuss and organise the best possible, accurate and informative coverage for their respective readers/listeners – whether that’s Mr Taxi Driver or Ms Investment Banker.