jes
MyBroadband Alumnus
- Joined
- Nov 11, 2009
- Messages
- 11,992
- Reaction score
- 123
I thought you guys might appreciate The Times' coverage of the axed comms minister.
10 Jul 2013 - The Times (South Africa)
SCHALK MOUTON
Pule: drawn, not yet quartered
Axed minister faces probes on her own
Pule to face investigations by police and ethics committee
PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma hung former communications minister Dina Pule out to dry when he announced his reshuffle of the executive yesterday.
In firing Pule — who is being investigated by both parliament’s ethics committee and the public protector — Zuma stripped her of the support of her office, forcing her to face the investigations as an ordinary MP.
Political analyst Somadoda Fikeni said the move might ruin her chances of making it onto the ANC’s election list for next year.
The public protector is investigating Pule for the alleged abuse of funds intended for the ICT Indaba in Cape Town last year.
She is also being investigated by the police for alleged corruption involving appointments.
Pule faced heavy criticism after a series of exposés by the Sunday Times, which alleged that her boyfriend, Phosane Mnqibisa, ran her department and enjoyed the right to appoint people to the boards of the SABC, the Post Office and other state-owned entities such as Sentech and Usasa.
The parliamentary ethics committee is expected to announce its findings on August 20.
“If the ethics committee finds her guilty and recommends sanctions, and she is taken to a court of law, it might make it difficult for her as the ANC’s own policy prevents [being nominated for the election list with a criminal record],” Fikeni said.
“Though she would be presumed innocent until found guilty, if the ethics committee comes out strongly against her, it might prevent her from getting onto the list,” he said.
Pule’s spokesman, Siya Qoza, refused to comment, saying: “All communication on today’s announcement are made by The Presidency.”
Zuma announced Pule’s axing, along with that of the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Richard Baloyi, and Minister of Human Settlements Tokyo Sexwale, at the Union Buildings yesterday. “Twenty years of democracy have changed the face of our country, and the last five years have pushed that change forward,” he said.
“The achievements are due to the hard work of many of our ministers, premiers, deputy ministers, MECs, mayors and many others who have worked hard in leading the process of transformation and improving the quality of life of our people.
“To take that change forward, I have decided to make some changes to the national executive.”
Zuma did not allow time for any difficult questions on either the reshuffle or the health of former president Nelson Mandela, leaving the podium immediately after reading a short prepared statement.
“Thank you very much. Goodbye,” he said, and left the stage, prompting some journalists to laugh in disbelief.
Pule has been replaced by Yunus Carrim, Sexwale by Connie September and Baloyi by the former deputy minister of rural development and land reform, Lechesa Tsenoli. Carrim is the former deputy minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs. September was an MP.
Fikeni said he was not surprised by the axing of Sexwale because he had spoken out against the ANC leadership in the months leading up to the party’s elective conference in Mangaung last year.
Baloyi is said to have underperformed as minister of cooperative governance. A report by Municipal IQ, which monitors servicedelivery issues, showed that service-delivery protests had spiked since 2009, when Zuma came into power. He appointed Baloyi as minister in 2011.
Zuma’s announcement yesterday received a mixed reaction, with opposition parties saying he had failed to cleanse his cabinet of incompetent ministers.
The DA said Zuma should have used the opportunity to “stamp out poor governance, which has been the mainstay of his administration, and replace all poor-performing ministers with competent and dedicated individuals”.
The ANC and its alliance partners welcomed the reshuffle, but teachers’ union Sadtu expressed disappointment that Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga remained in the cabinet despite her ‘‘underperformance’’.
TimesLive link: http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2013/07/10/pule-drawn-not-yet-quartered
10 Jul 2013 - The Times (South Africa)
SCHALK MOUTON
Pule: drawn, not yet quartered
Axed minister faces probes on her own
Pule to face investigations by police and ethics committee
PRESIDENT Jacob Zuma hung former communications minister Dina Pule out to dry when he announced his reshuffle of the executive yesterday.
In firing Pule — who is being investigated by both parliament’s ethics committee and the public protector — Zuma stripped her of the support of her office, forcing her to face the investigations as an ordinary MP.
Political analyst Somadoda Fikeni said the move might ruin her chances of making it onto the ANC’s election list for next year.
The public protector is investigating Pule for the alleged abuse of funds intended for the ICT Indaba in Cape Town last year.
She is also being investigated by the police for alleged corruption involving appointments.
Pule faced heavy criticism after a series of exposés by the Sunday Times, which alleged that her boyfriend, Phosane Mnqibisa, ran her department and enjoyed the right to appoint people to the boards of the SABC, the Post Office and other state-owned entities such as Sentech and Usasa.
The parliamentary ethics committee is expected to announce its findings on August 20.
“If the ethics committee finds her guilty and recommends sanctions, and she is taken to a court of law, it might make it difficult for her as the ANC’s own policy prevents [being nominated for the election list with a criminal record],” Fikeni said.
“Though she would be presumed innocent until found guilty, if the ethics committee comes out strongly against her, it might prevent her from getting onto the list,” he said.
Pule’s spokesman, Siya Qoza, refused to comment, saying: “All communication on today’s announcement are made by The Presidency.”
Zuma announced Pule’s axing, along with that of the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Richard Baloyi, and Minister of Human Settlements Tokyo Sexwale, at the Union Buildings yesterday. “Twenty years of democracy have changed the face of our country, and the last five years have pushed that change forward,” he said.
“The achievements are due to the hard work of many of our ministers, premiers, deputy ministers, MECs, mayors and many others who have worked hard in leading the process of transformation and improving the quality of life of our people.
“To take that change forward, I have decided to make some changes to the national executive.”
Zuma did not allow time for any difficult questions on either the reshuffle or the health of former president Nelson Mandela, leaving the podium immediately after reading a short prepared statement.
“Thank you very much. Goodbye,” he said, and left the stage, prompting some journalists to laugh in disbelief.
Pule has been replaced by Yunus Carrim, Sexwale by Connie September and Baloyi by the former deputy minister of rural development and land reform, Lechesa Tsenoli. Carrim is the former deputy minister of cooperative governance and traditional affairs. September was an MP.
Fikeni said he was not surprised by the axing of Sexwale because he had spoken out against the ANC leadership in the months leading up to the party’s elective conference in Mangaung last year.
Baloyi is said to have underperformed as minister of cooperative governance. A report by Municipal IQ, which monitors servicedelivery issues, showed that service-delivery protests had spiked since 2009, when Zuma came into power. He appointed Baloyi as minister in 2011.
Zuma’s announcement yesterday received a mixed reaction, with opposition parties saying he had failed to cleanse his cabinet of incompetent ministers.
The DA said Zuma should have used the opportunity to “stamp out poor governance, which has been the mainstay of his administration, and replace all poor-performing ministers with competent and dedicated individuals”.
The ANC and its alliance partners welcomed the reshuffle, but teachers’ union Sadtu expressed disappointment that Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga remained in the cabinet despite her ‘‘underperformance’’.
TimesLive link: http://www.timeslive.co.za/thetimes/2013/07/10/pule-drawn-not-yet-quartered
Last edited by a moderator:
