Here’s Matty!

We are sick of ill behaviour [View this email in your browser]( October 13, 2021 [Mail & Guardian]( [Mail & Guardian]( [Twitter]( [Facebook]( [Instagram]( [YouTube]( Hi there, It has always been known that we are almost universally led by tools and fools, but it was quite something to watch how President Cyril Ramaphosa tried to protect former health minister Zweli Mkhize until the noise from media and civil society became too loud to ignore. In late March last year, at the beginning of the lockdown, when fear and confusion reigned, Ramaphosa promised that his government would “marshal our every resource and our every energy to fight this pandemic”. With too many variables at play and a burgeoning health crisis, large amounts of state resources needed to be made available — quickly — to shore up the country’s response. Knowing his government’s almost pathological struggles with graft, the president told South Africans that he was prepared to “act very strongly against any attempts at corruption and profiteering from the crisis”. That was, of course, not true. A year and some change later, and the tune has changed. On 29 September Ramaphosa [implored journalists and citizens to be “considerate” towards Mkhize]( arguing that, “much as we want to be gung-ho and send people to the gallows, we do need to recognise some of the things they have done. Minister Mkhize has served the nation well. We were able to navigate our way around the pandemic because of his experience.” The president said this right after the release of the damning Special Investigating Unit report on the Digital Vibes scandal, which found that Mkhize had displayed “[distinct lack of oversight](. Mkhize had been under fire over the contract awarded to Digital Vibes, the communications company associated with Tahera Mather, his political associate who ran the media component of his failed 2017 campaign to become ANC president. Investigative news unit Scorpio exposed a number of payments to or on behalf of Mkhize’s son, Dedani, by Digital Vibes, as well as repairs to a Johannesburg house owned by the ZM Trust. Mkhize has denied any wrongdoing and said that he has not personally benefited from the contract. This, of course, was a lie. Over in that tiny island nation so enamoured with a cheeky pint and shooting itself in the foot, another health minister was circling the drain. Matt Hancock, a candidate for the award for exemplary nominative determinism, was caught on camera breaking social distancing protocols by kissing a married aide. Hancock had been under increasing pressure to quit, after the Sun newspaper [published pictures and then a video of Hancock and Gina Coladangelo]( snogging in a corner inside the department of health on 6 May. The offending camera has since been removed from the naughty corner. The minister had been at the heart of the government’s fight against the pandemic, routinely touting adherence to strict Covid rules and even welcoming the resignation last year of a senior scientist who broke restrictions in a similar manner. On Tuesday it was announced that Hancock has been appointed a special representative to the UN. The former health secretary will focus on helping African countries recover from Covid-19. Hancock said he was “honoured” to have been given the role, adding on Twitter: “I’ll be working with the UN, the UN Economic Commission for Africa to help African economic recovery from the pandemic and promote sustainable development.” Fine, the making out with a subordinate issue is one thing, but it turns out, through most of the pandemic, Hancock had also allegedly been implicated in giving out tenders to his buddies and family members. Sound familiar? In May, it emerged that Hancock broke the ministerial code by failing to declare a stake in a family company that won a National Health Service contract. A “technical” oversight by the health secretary was uncovered by Christopher Geidt, the government’s new adviser on ministerial standards, who also said Boris Johnson acted “unwisely” over the funding of renovations to his Downing Street flat. The UK’s Sunday Times also reported that Coladangelo — the aide whom Hancock was pictured romancing — conducted government business on her private email address at Oliver Bonas, the retailer set up by her husband. Questions have also been raised about Hancock’s register of interests, given that his sister and brother-in-law run a company called Topwood in which the health secretary has a 20% stake. The firm won a contract with NHS Shared Business Services in 2019, but he did not immediately declare his interest. And now he’s on his way to the “former” colonies. As this week’s issue of The Continent pointed out, [more is lost through tax evasion and underhanded dealings than is gained through aid](. It’s unlikely that Hancock has the antidote for that particular poison. Hancock’s political career has often been about public, almost clownish performances, concealing rank incompetence behind the scenes and papering over reality. Perhaps he will fit right in with our lot. Yours in solidarity, Kiri Rupiah & Luke Feltham [Subscribe now]( Enjoy The Ampersand? Share it with your friends [Share]( [Share]( [Tweet]( [Tweet]( [Forward]( [Forward]( [Share]( [Share]( Copyright © 2021 Mail & Guardian Media LTD, All rights reserved. You are receiving this email because you opted in to receive communications from the Mail & Guardian either at our website or by taking out a print subscription. Our mailing address is: Mail & Guardian Media LTD 25 Owl St BraamfonteinJohannesburg, Gauteng 2001 South Africa [Add us to your address book]( Want to change which mails you receive from Mail & Guardian? [Update your preferences]( to tell us what you do and don't want to receive, or [unsubscribe](. *If you are a paying subscriber, we recommend updating your preferences rather than unsubscribing, as you may miss important information relating to your subscription.