It is unacceptable that Ramaphosa dragged his heels for so long before releasing the Digital Vibes report
29 September 2021
The FF Plus welcomes the release of the report by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU) on Digital Vibes, but it is unacceptable that President Cyril Ramaphosa took so long to release it and the party wants to know what exactly has been achieved by withholding it since early June.
Over the past few months, the FF Plus made various attempts in both the National Assembly and the Portfolio Committee on Health to pressure the President into releasing the report.
It was clear right from the start that more people were involved in the Digital Vibes fraud scandal than what was initially thought, and those people have been allowed to continue serving in their offices for months while receiving their full salary.
One of these people is the person who awarded the contract, Dr Anban Pillay, the Deputy Director-General of the Department of Health. When the contract was awarded, he was serving as the acting Director-General of the Department.
The SIU report recommends that he must be criminality charged for financial mismanagement. According to the report, the entire procurement process was unlawful and between R72 million and R80 million was misappropriated.
The only logical explanation for dragging heels in releasing such damning information is to afford those implicated an opportunity to cover their tracks.
Since President Ramaphosa received the SIU report, there have apparently been no new developments in the case and that fact makes it even harder to understand why he kept it so close to his chest for nearly four months.
The scandal has now finally been exposed and action must be taken against those implicated at once. Decisive action leading to prosecution must be taken. The guilty ones must go to jail. Including the former Minister of Health, Zweli Mkhize.
The public is sick and tired of corruption and fraud and that it can, apparently, be committed with impunity.
The FF Plus will keep a very close eye on the investigation and will not allow people to get off scot-free by being transferred or re-deployed in some other department or public service division, as per the ANC's usual modus operandi.
Issued by Philip van Staden, FF Plus MP and chief spokesperson: Health, 29 September 2021
