The dodgy R150m Digital Vibes communications tender, which led to the resignation of former Health Minister Zweli Mkhize and more recently, the demotion of two senior staff also implicated in the scandal, has had further repercussions, with a third official resigning last week.
Shireen Pardesi, who was suspended last year, was found guilty of one of the two charges against her and asked to be allowed to resign, reports News24.
Pardesi, Dr Anban Pillay and Popo Maja were all suspended last year: their disciplinary hearings, concluded on 21 July, found Pillay guilty of one of the four charges he faced. He was given a final written warning valid for 15 months and suspended without pay for three months. The suspension will be followed by a salary level demotion for 12 months.
Maja was found guilty of two of the four charges and also received a final written warning valid for 12 months, and a salary level demotion for 12 months.
The parties agreed to allow Pardesi to resign at her request, after she was found guilty of one of the two charges against her.
The presiding officer said "all those charged were first-time offenders, and there was no evidence… that they benefitted from the transactions".
Digital Vibes was contracted for communications relating to the National Health Insurance (NHI) campaign in 2019, and the work was later expanded to include communications on COVID-19, News24 previously reported. The communications contract was allegedly irregularly awarded to associates of Mkhize.
In April, Parliament's Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interests cleared Mkhize of allegations that he benefitted from the awarding of the tender.
See more from MedicalBrief archives:
Demotions ‘a slap on the wrist’ for top officials implicated in Digital Vibes scandal
Mkhize continues to claim innocence on Digital Vibes allegations
SIU apologises for long delay in transcribing Digital Vibes recordings