Pule sidesteps critical question

·11 Feb 2013

Communications minister, Dina Pule, says she is committed to fulfilling her ministerial role, “until the President tells me otherwise” following media speculation that she is close to getting the axe.

According to several weekend national newspaper articles, Pule met with President Jacob Zuma, and has reportedly asked to be redeployed as an ambassador.

The independent said that Pule is set to be ousted from cabinet “soon” following a scandal involving her boyfriend Phosane Mngqibisa, in which he received R6 million in management fees for the ICT Indaba held in 2012.

The Sunday Times recently reported that Mngqibisa was not really involved in the organisation of the event, despite being paid the R6 million management fee.

The Indaba is currently subject to investigations by the Public Protector, the Auditor General and Parliament’s ethics and members’ interests committee.

A statement from the minster on Monday (11 February) largely sidestepped the question of whether she had asked to be deployed as an ambassador, away from her current position.

“President Jacob Zuma has given me a task to ensure that all South Africans have access to world class ICT Infrastructure, policies, broadcasting signal and post offices. We moving apace to connect schools and open post offices in rural areas.

“This is a task I take very seriously and I’ll continue to execute it until the President tells me otherwise,” Pule said.

The Presidency sent out a statement of its own:

“The Presidency has noted the carefully orchestrated rumour published by most Sunday newspapers today that President Jacob Zuma is to relieve the Minister of Communications, Ms Dina Pule, of her duties and reshuffle his cabinet.

“The rumour and speculation are mischievous and will not distract government from the main activity this coming week, the State of the Nation Address by the President.”

In December, Pule was left off the ANC’s executive committee at Mangaung, having been comfortably voted on in 2007.

“It is understood that Lindiwe Zulu, Zuma’s adviser on International relations, will possibly take over from Pule,” the Sunday Independent said.

Telkom debacle

The DA scored Pule with an E in its 2012 Cabinet Report Card, citing her involvement in the ICT Indaba scandal, and her hand in the year of missed opportunities at Telkom.

“As Cabinet’s blunt instrument, she has managed government’s shareholding in Telkom like an amateur and torpedoed a financially and strategically beneficial deal with the South Korean telecommunications giant, KT Corporation.”

“She also disrupted Telkom’s Annual General Meeting by demanding to change her votes for the Telkom board, previously submitted by proxy. As a result, competent members of the board were voted out and the parastatal was temporarily left without the requisite number of board members and no audit and risk committee in place,” the DA said.