President Cyril Ramaphosa has dismissed embattled social development minister Sisisi Tolashe.
Ramaphosa has appointed Sindi Chikunga, the minister in the presidency for women, youth and persons with disabilities, to act in the portfolio pending a full-time appointment.
Tolashe is facing mounting allegations of corruption, misconduct and misuse of public funds.
This follows her failure to declare two luxury SUVs donated to the ANC Women’s League, which she leads. She is also accused of being involved in improper hiring practices in her ministry and exploiting departmental staff for personal purposes.
Ramaphosa removed Tolashe hours after the DA published a letter its leader Geordin Hill-Lewis wrote to the president calling for Tolashe’s immediate dismissal.
In the letter dated April 30, Geordin Hill-Lewis urged Ramaphosa to act decisively, saying the allegations against Tolashe had severely undermined public confidence in the government.
“I therefore urge you to immediately remove minister Tolashe from the national executive,” Hill-Lewis said.
Hill-Lewis said he was writing “in a collegial but firm spirit”, adding that the matter spoke directly to the GNU’s commitment to accountability and clean governance.
“I write to you regarding the increasingly serious allegations against the Minister of Social Development, Ms Sisisi Tolashe. I do so in a collegial but firm spirit, conscious of the constitutional responsibilities we share in this Government of National Unity and of the obligation on all of us to rebuild public confidence in the institutions of the state,” he said.
The DA and ActionSA laid criminal charges against Tolashe last month, accusing the minister of misleading parliament.
Tolashe told the ANC’s ethics body, the integrity commission, that she did not declare the donated vehicles because they were not for her personal use, but a donation to the ANCWL. She, however, admitted to having registered the cars in her children’s names, saying had she handed them over to the league, they risked being attached by the ANC’s creditors. She kept them in her family for safekeeping, she said.
As pressure mounted, she returned the cars to the ANC, but it was too little too late as questions about misleading parliament remained, with critics saying hiding assets from creditors could get her into more trouble.
Hill-Lewis reminded Ramaphosa that the GNU was formed at a critical moment when South Africans were demanding stronger accountability from government leaders.
“The GNU was formed at a moment when South Africans demanded a new seriousness in government. It was and remains an opportunity to turn the page on years of weak accountability, institutional decay and the misuse of public office. Central to this project must be a clear and consistent commitment to clean government,” he said.
He said Ramaphosa’s repeated commitments to fighting corruption and restoring integrity to state institutions needed to be backed by decisive action.
“You have repeatedly spoken of the need to fight corruption, restore integrity to public institutions, and build a capable state. These commitments cannot remain abstract. They must be demonstrated in the difficult moments especially when allegations of misconduct arise at the highest levels of government,” said Hill-Lewis.
According to Hill-Lewis, the allegations against Tolashe could no longer be dismissed as a political issue internal to the ANC.
“What began with serious questions about vehicles allegedly donated for the benefit of the ANC Women’s League, and reportedly registered in the names of the Minister’s children, has now expanded into a broader set of allegations involving possible abuse of public office, possible misleading of Parliament and alleged misuse of state-funded personnel for private household purposes,” he said.
Hill-Lewis argued that the allegations were particularly concerning given Tolashe’s role as minister of social development.
“These allegations strike directly at the standards expected of a member of the national executive. They are especially serious because Minister Tolashe is responsible for the Department of Social Development. It is the department entrusted with protecting the most vulnerable South Africans, pensioners, children, people with disabilities, grant beneficiaries and families who depend on the state’s support in moments of deep hardship,” he said.
Hill-Lewis pointed to Ramaphosa’s earlier decision to place Senzo Mchunu on special leave amid allegations linked to his portfolio.
“You placed Minister Senzo Mchunu on special leave while serious allegations affecting his portfolio were ventilated. Members of the executive do not have an automatic entitlement to remain in office while serious questions about their conduct damage public confidence in government. That principle cannot now be applied selectively,” he said.
Hill-Lewis stressed that his request was not intended to prejudge any legal or parliamentary process but rather to uphold the standard expected of cabinet ministers.
He said the standard for continued service in the cabinet was not the same as the standard for criminal conviction.
“Members of the executive must enjoy public confidence and must be able to lead their departments without serious and growing questions over their integrity. In this case, that confidence has been severely compromised as the Minister is clearly unable to lead her department,” he said.
He said Ramaphosa’s response would be a test of the GNU’s commitment to reform and accountability.
“We cannot ask South Africans to believe in reform while tolerating conduct that appears to undermine it. I ask that you act decisively and remove Minister Tolashe from office.”
TimesLIVE
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