‘Slap in the face’ — political parties, civil society slam Dina Pule’s Cabinet appointment

The non-profit organisation Corruption Watch and political parties, including the DA, ActionSA, and uMkhonto Wesizwe (MK), have slammed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s decision to appoint the once-disgraced politician Dina Pule as minister of social development.

Ramaphosa announced Pule’s appointment to the position on Tuesday night, 30 June, as part of other changes to his Cabinet. This comes after DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis requested a set of changes, including the removal of John Steenhuisen from his position as agriculture minister, and the DA’s representation in the national executive.

Pule was appointed to replace Sisisi Tolashe, who was fired in May, after a monthslong Daily Maverick investigation exposed a series of governance failures, irregular conduct, deceit and abuse of resources at the department under her watch.

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But Pule’s return to Cabinet has not inspired hope of reform in this critical department.

It comes more than a decade after she was fired as minister of communications by the then president, Jacob Zuma, in July 2013, after Parliament’s ethics committee found that she had abused her position in concealing her relationship with businessman Phosane Mngqibisa. Mngqibisa had benefited from their relationship to the tune of a R6-million Cape Town ICT Indaba — a conference run by Pule’s department — and several overseas trips.

A subsequent Public Protector report by Thuli Madonsela found that Pule had acted unlawfully and unethically, and had “persistently” lied to Parliament and investigators during the process. Among Madonsela’s recommendations were that Pule apologise and repay public funds spent on Mngqibisa’s travel.

Corruption Watch, in a statement on Wednesday, 1 July, said it was “alarmed” by Ramaphosa’s decision to appoint Pule to the position.

“This decision does not invite confidence, as the appointment places a politician with a well-documented record of ethical misconduct at the helm of a department that administers social grants for some 28 million South Africans and manages one of [the] government’s largest budgets,” it said.

“The social development environment, with its large budgets, high transaction volumes and vulnerable beneficiaries, demands a minister with an unimpeachable record of integrity and transparency. Pule is not that minister.”

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The executive director of Corruption Watch, Lebo Ramafoko, further called the decision a “slap in the face” to those advocating for just and accountable governance.

“It seems as if this department has been identified as the dumping place for all the ANC Women’s League, whose leaders have not advanced gender equity and have all had small skeletons lurking in their closets,” said Ramafoko, referring to comments by former social development minister Bathabile Dlamini.

“Her appointment aptly demonstrates that dealing with corruption is just words for the President. This country has capable women leaders; which agenda is being fulfilled by choosing some of the worst ones to lead important national portfolios?”

In mid-June, the Sunday Times reported that the ANC Women’s League had put forward Pule, its deputy secretary-general, for the position, laying claim to a portfolio that has previously been led by its presidents. The publication reported that Water Minister Pemmy Majodina and Deputy Sports Minister Peace Mabe were also being considered.

On Wednesday, the ANC welcomed Pule’s appointment, saying it was confident that she would perform her duties with “dedication and commitment to improving the lives of the most vulnerable” people.

The DA, too, accused Ramaphosa of choosing the ANC Women’s League interests over the interests of the millions of South Africans who rely on social grants.

“The DA believes that Social Development is [such] a crucial portfolio, with such a significant budget, that it demands a minister of impeccable credentials — not one found to have previously betrayed her oath of office and to have brought Parliament into disrepute,” said DA MP and social development spokesperson Nazley Sharif.

“The DA rejects and condemns President Cyril Ramaphosa’s shock decision last night to appoint Dina Pule back into Cabinet.”

‘Scraping the barrel’

MK party spokesperson Sifiso Mahlangu said replacing Tolashe with Pule was to be expected from Ramaphosa. “It is a recycling of ancient, corrupt and incompetent allies,” he said.

Mahlangu noted that Ramaphosa’s decision comes while suspended Minister of Police Senzo Mchunu remains a member of the national executive.

“It’s strange that there are continuous Cabinet reshuffles, but Senzo Mchunu maintains his position. One can only wonder what [Mchunu] has on the President,” he said.

ActionSA said that Pule’s appointment “demonstrates that the ANC is scraping the bottom of the barrel”, adding that her return to Cabinet sends a “dangerous message” to South Africans.

“Ethical failures are no barrier to high office under President Ramaphosa,” said ActionSA parliamentary leader Athol Trollip.

“It’s clear that the GNU [Government of National Unity] uses the Cabinet as a vehicle for political patronage rather than good governance with no appetite for public performance agreements, mandatory lifestyle audits, or genuine accountability.”

‘The President doesn’t care’

Social grants activist Elizabeth Raiters, who was previously with the Pay the Grants Campaign, told Daily Maverick that she did not believe Ramaphosa, or the ANC, were taking the social development portfolio seriously.

“I cannot believe that a president would actually [take] someone who was linked to corruption and fired from Cabinet, and put them in a portfolio that is so sensitive… We just had the previous minister linked to all these things, and yet the President [has gone] and recycled another minister [who] is linked to the same issues,” she said.

Raiters emphasised that the Department of Social Development is crucial to South Africans, particularly those who are unemployed.

She believed Ramaphosa should rather have appointed someone fresh, young and with on-the-ground experience, who knows “the suffering of our people”.

“It needs someone with passion; someone who cares about the citizens of this country, [including] the elderly, poor and most vulnerable,” she said. “You cannot have someone who doesn’t care about the citizens of this country, like the President doesn’t care, and now he’s also putting his ministers [into positions] who don’t care.”

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) said it was “extremely” worried about the “potential ramifications” of Pule’s appointment.

In a statement, Cosatu said it was equally worrying that it had not been consulted about the changes to the Cabinet on Tuesday, adding that it hoped this was a “mere oversight” due to the nationwide 30 June protest action placing pressure on the government.

“Persons appointed to Cabinet need to be of the highest integrity. Pule was previously found badly wanting by scathing reports from the Public Protector and Parliament’s ethics committee. This appointment provides an unnecessary and unhelpful distraction to the government’s efforts to cleanse itself after the devastating decade of State Capture and corruption and to rebuild society’s trust in it,” said Cosatu.

Corruption Watch’s Ramafoko called on Ramaphosa to explain his rationale behind Pule’s appointment, and for the Social Development Department to “proactively and publicly commit to full transparency” in its operations — including publishing its supply chain and procurement decisions.

“We will not hesitate to act — including calling for Pule’s removal — should any indication of impropriety emerge,” said the organisation.

Daily Maverick contacted the ANC Women’s League and Ramaphosa’s spokesperson for comment but had not received a response by the time of publication. Their response will be added once received. DM