Dina Pule’s appointment as the new Social Development minister has been criticised by Cosatu. (None)
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Cosatu has joined the growing chorus of outrage over the appointment of Dina Pule as social development minister.
Pule was sworn in yesterday along with other new ministers and deputy ministers after a cabinet reshuffle by President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday night.
The changes saw the appointment of Willem Aucamp as minister of agriculture and David Maynier as minister of forestry, fisheries and the environment. Ramaphosa also appointed John Steenhuisen as deputy minister of trade, industry & competition, Alexandra Abrahams as deputy minister of electricity and energy, Jack Bloom as deputy minister of water and sanitation, and Yusuf Cassim as deputy minister of higher education.
Pule was fired as minister of communications in July 2013 for maladministration and improper conduct.
On Wednesday, Cosatu spokesperson Matthew Parks said the trade union federation was extremely worried about Pule’s appointment given the dark cloud under which she was previously removed as a minister.
“People appointed to cabinet need to be of the highest integrity. Ms Pule was previously found badly wanting in scathing reports by the public protector and parliament’s ethics committee. This appointment provides an unnecessary and unhelpful distraction to the government’s efforts to clean itself after the devastating decade of state capture and corruption, and to rebuild society’s trust,” Parks said.
Cosatu added that it was concerning that the critical department of forestry, fisheries and the environment was having its third minister in two years.
“We dare not return to a former president’s (Jacob Zuma’s) tenure, where ministers’ average lifespans of less than 12 months barely enabled a budget to be drafted, let alone enabled an impact to be made on service delivery,” Parks said.
The Ahmed Kathrada Foundation expressed alarm over Pule’s appointment, saying it “threatens to undermine SA’s fragile democratic institutions, public ethics and the rule of law”.
“SA cannot build a capable, ethical and developmental state by recycling individuals whose public records are severely tarnished by corruption, nepotism and dishonesty,” said the foundation’s spokesperson, Anele Gcwabe.
During Pule’s tenure, a parliamentary ethics committee found that she had deliberately concealed her relationship with businessman Phosane Mngqibisa.
According to the findings, Mngqibisa improperly benefited by about R6m from a 2012 ICT Indaba contract through Pule’s influence. The department of communications also funded his overseas trips to destinations including Mexico City, Prague and Paris, with travel documents reportedly listing him as Pule’s spouse.
Former public protector Thuli Madonsela concluded that Pule had acted unlawfully and unethically. After an inquiry in which witnesses were allegedly bullied and officials were found to have colluded in forging documents, Pule was publicly reprimanded by then National Assembly speaker Max Sisulu.
Pule received parliament’s maximum penalty at the time, including a fine equivalent to 30 days’ salary and a 15-day suspension from the National Assembly. She later offered a qualified apology, saying: “If I made a mistake I am sorry, I apologise.”
Additional reporting Modiegi Mashamaite