Health minister Zweli Mkhize has welcomed the suspension of five officials from the Council for Medical Schemes (CMS).

Last week‚ the CMS announced that as a precaution‚ it had suspended two executives and three senior managers following "anonymous tip-offs" from its hotline. The allegations were of corruption and unethical conduct.

Mkhize also welcomed the CMS's establishment of the investigation into allegations of racial profiling by healthcare providers in the medical scheme sector.

In a statement on Sunday‚ the CMS - which is the country's medical schemes regulator - said: "Following a briefing on the latest developments at CMS offices by the chairperson‚ Dr Clarence Mini‚ and registrar and chief executive‚ Dr Sipho Kabane‚ the minister said the cautionary suspension of the five officials ... will help the regulator to properly ventilate all the issues raised".

Mkhize was quoted as saying: “I am happy with the CMS initiatives. They demonstrate strong leadership and good governance in regulating the medical schemes for the benefit of their members and the industry as a whole. Good leadership means you tackle challenges head on."