By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Special Tribunal has dismissed an application by six companies not to be joined in the Special Investigating Unit’s (SIU’s) court bid to recover and set aside the Department of Health’s R150m irregular tender with Digital Vibes.
The companies are All Out Trading, Tusokuhle Farming, Cedar Falls Properties, Mateta Projects and Sirela Trading. Cedar Falls Properties had Sithokozile Mkhize, the ex-health minister Zweli Mkhize’s wife, listed as its sole director. Tusokuhle Farming was linked to Dedani Mkhize — the couple’s son.
Special Tribunal Judge Lebogang Modiba dismissed the application on Wednesday.
The tribunal had previously ordered that five of the six companies be joined to the SIU’s recovery bid.
The Tribunal’s judgment paved the way for the recovery of varying amounts: R1,090,000 from All Out Trading, R1,255,000 from Tusokuhle, R650,098 from Sithokozile Mkhize, R1,888,727 from Cedar Falls Properties and R586,272 from Sirela Trading.
May Mkhize, the wife of Mkhize, was listed as the sole director of Cedar Falls Properties, while Tusokuhle Farming was linked to their son, Dedani Mkhize.
Reasons for their appeal contained in the heads of arguments were:
°It is respectfully submitted that Judge Modiba committed a series of material misdirections in facts and in law which were compounded by her failure to have any regard to the limited powers of the SIU to claim compensation and the limited powers of this tribunal to award compensation.
°There is no allegation of malfeasance against Cedar Falls.
°A further material misdirection is that the SIU and the honourable judge are using these proceedings to attribute some form of personal accountability or liability to the All Out Trading, Tusokhule Farming, Azwakele Trading and Projects, Sithokozile Mkhize and Cedar Falls Properties 34 for being unjustifiably enriched.
The companies and individuals implicated in the SIU’s investigations into the R150 million contract were awarded to Mkhize’s close associates.
Mkhize stepped down last year after the SIU submitted its damning report to President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The report found that Mkhize and his family personally benefited from the multi-million rand tender, which was for the health department’s National Health Insurance (NHI) communication work and later, Covid-19 media campaigns.