Under fire Communications minister, Dina Pule is set to be ousted from cabinet \u201csoon\u201d, following a scandal involving her boyfriend Phosane Mngqibisa, in which he received R6 million in management fees for the ICT Indaba held in 2012.<\/p>\n
According to the lead article in the Sunday Independent, Pule met with President Jacob Zuma, and has reportedly asked to be redeployed as an ambassador.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is understood that Lindiwe Zulu, Zuma\u2019s adviser on International relations, will possibly take over from Pule,\u201d the paper said.<\/p>\n
In January, Zulu was elected by the ANC\u2019s national executive committee to head up its communications sub-committee, having served on the NEC’s communications subcommittee since 2007.<\/p>\n
Zulu worked as ANC national spokesperson in 1993 and 1994, and previously headed the ANC Women’s League communications.<\/p>\n
The DoC has seen the appointment of three ministers in as many years.<\/p>\n
The Sunday Times reported last week that Mngqibisa was not really involved in the organisation of the event, despite being paid the R6 million management fee.<\/p>\n
Rivals speak out<\/strong><\/p>\n The Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) said that the minister\u2019s alleged dubious involvement in the ICT Indaba, \u201cis just the latest in a string of alleged failures, indiscretions, extravagances, questionable actions and lack of leadership, indulgently glossed over or even exonerated and executed by Minister Pule”.<\/p>\n It called on the Public Protector, Thuli\u00a0Madonsela\u00a0to take note of the latest revelations in the ICT Indaba saga and finalize her investigation into this matter urgently.<\/p>\n The Indaba is currently subject to investigations by the Public Protector, the Auditor General and Parliament\u2019s ethics and members\u2019 interests committee.<\/p>\n \u201cIf Minister Pule is guilty, she needs to be shown the door. Ministers, after all, are supposed to be guardians of the public purse and their various portfolios and thus have an obligation to raise the bar in respect of good conduct and ethical behaviour,\u201d The IFP said.<\/p>\n The DA\u2019s shadow minister of communications Marian Shinn, said: \u201cIt is becoming increasingly evident that the Minister may have abused her position of authority over companies in the ICT industry to enrich a close personal friend. If investigations confirm that this was indeed the case, Minister Pule must be made to face the consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n The DA also 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.<\/p>\n \u201cAs Cabinet\u2019s blunt instrument, she has managed government\u2019s shareholding in Telkom like an amateur and torpedoed a financially and strategically beneficial deal with the South Korean telecommunications giant, KT Corporation.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe also disrupted Telkom\u2019s 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,\u201d the DA said.<\/p>\n Rosey Sekese<\/strong><\/p>\n In January, the Department of Communications\u00a0announced\u00a0that its\u00a0director general,\u00a0Rosey Sekese<\/a>, had been\u00a0placed\u00a0on\u00a0special leave.<\/p>\n In November, the National Assembly\u2019s communications committee asked communications minister\u00a0Dina Pule<\/a>\u00a0to look into her director general\u2019s performance agreement.<\/p>\n The committee reached a consensus that Sekese\u00a0\u201cmisled\u201d it regarding the signing of her performance agreement for 2012\/13.<\/p>\n Dina Pule\u2019s boyfriend paid R6 million for 4 days: report<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n How not to blow R102 million<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Overlooking Pule\u2019s shenanigans immoral: IFP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Communications minister Dina Pule accused of nepotism<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\nMore Department of Communications articles<\/h3>\n