Health ministry: Mkhize does not own PPE manufacturing company
Health Minister Zweli Mkhize
has denied allegations that he owns a company which manufactures personal
protective equipment.
The claims have been circulating on Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp.
The Department of Health slammed the claims as fake news in a statement released on Monday.
“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,” his spokesperson Lwazi Manzi said.
“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.”
She warned that the spreading of fake news could lead to criminal charges.
“Creating or advancing fake news remains an offence under the National State of Disaster. In March, when President Cyril Ramaphosa declared the coronavirus outbreak a national disaster, one of the regulations promulgated was the criminalisation of dissemination of fake news about Covid-19.”
The claims come amid increasing pressure on government and the African National Congress (ANC) to act against public servants involved in the awarding of dodgy Covid-related tenders.