EDITORIAL | The president should heed the outcry over Pule’s appointment

The uproar by political parties and civil society organisations following the reappointment of ANC MP Dina Pule to cabinet should not come as a surprise.

In the recent cabinet reshuffle, President Cyril Ramaphosa surprised many when Pule emerged as social development minister, to replace the disgraced ANC Women’s League president Sisisi Tolashe, whom the president recently fired.

Pule’s re-emergence to the highest level of the executive branch comes just over 10 years after she was unceremoniously removed as minister after a 2012 Sunday Times investigation exposed shady dealings at the ICT Indaba.

The report alleged that Pule, who was communications minister at the time, leaned on telecommunications companies to sponsor the event from which a businessman, with whom she had a supposed romantic link, earned R6m for four days of work.

The investigation also revealed that sponsorship funds amounting to R25.7m disappeared and were mismanaged.

The newspaper also claimed that Pule spent R2.6m on a recruitment deal that led to the appointment of individuals, all of whom had a private relationship with the businessman, to key government parastatals.

An ethics committee hearing into Pule’s conduct began in Parliament in May 2013 and subsequently found Pule guilty of failing to declare her relationship with the businessman. It recommended that she be fined 30 days’ salary and given a 15 days’ suspension from all committees in Parliament.

Then-president Jacob Zuma removed her from her position in July 2013.

This was not the end of her troubles. A public protector report, published in December 2013, found that Pule had acted unlawfully, unethically and had “persistently lied” to Parliament and investigators to cover up a conflict of interest involving her romantic partner.

There could be a reason within the ANC why Pule was appointed to cabinet, but this decision shows the public that wrongdoing is rewarded, depending on which side of the ANC political fence one is on.

Though Pule remained an MP following her dismissal, her elevation to cabinet this week has raised questions over whether the ANC is serious about having people with clean ethics and good governance records in cabinet.

There could be a reason within the ANC why Pule was appointed to cabinet, but this decision shows the public that wrongdoing is rewarded, depending on which side of the ANC political fence one is on.

There are other capable ANC MPs without any black marks on their credentials who could have been appointed to this ministry. The failure by Ramaphosa to choose one shows that party-political considerations trump the national interest of clean governance.

During his State of the Nation Address in February 2018, newly elected President Ramaphosa said government would dedicate 2018 to first democratic president Nelson Mandela’s memory and would devote every action, effort and utterance to the realisation of his vision of a democratic, just and equitable society.

“Guided by his example, we will use this year to reinforce our commitment to ethical behaviour and ethical leadership,” Ramaphosa said at the time.

Appointing someone with a dubious ethical record seems to deviate from this commitment.

Though it is the prerogative of the president to appoint or dismiss members of his cabinet, the president should take heed of this outcry and reverse his decision.