Health Minister Zweli Mkhize disputed claims suggesting that he owned a company that manufactures personal protective equipment.
The Minister’s statement came after several ANC politicians and government Ministers, as well as MEC’s, were linked to corruption relating to the procurement of PPE by government.
Mkhize, according to his statement, was linked to a company that manufactures PPE on social media platforms such as Whatsapp, Twitter and Facebook.
In a statement released on Monday morning, Mkhize said there was no truth to the allegations and he labelled the claims as fake news.
“We would like to categorically state that Minister Mkhize does not own a PPE manufacturing company nor is he involved in any way in the manufacturing of PPE. In anticipation of any further emergence of fake news, we also categorically state that nobody in Minister Mkhize’s family is in the business of manufacturing, selling or distribution of PPE.
We hope that this clarifies the matter and that all individuals that are either the originators of this content or those who have advanced the content by sharing or commenting will take the opportunity to immediately remove the content from their platforms and issue an apology to the Minister and to the public for advancing fake news,” reads the statement.
In the statement, the Minister said the claims were damaging to the reputation of honest members of the executive and that it deflects attention away from and undermines the fight against the coronavirus.
“We implore members of the public to be circumspect in their engagement with social media content and not find themselves becoming agents of fake news and misinformation. We are still in the midst of a pandemic and the best way to fight it is by arming ourselves with facts and sound knowledge that empowers us to defeat the coronavirus,” concludes the statement.
