The Joint Committee on Ethics and Members Interests met on Wednesday, 7 August 2013 to consider a report of the Panel appointed by the Committee to examine certain allegations made against former Minister Dina Pule, MP.
The Panel consisted of Hon. Prof Ben Turok (Chairperson of the Panel), Hon. T Makunyane, Hon. B Radebe, Hon. M Mangena, Hon. A Mlangeni, Hon. Z Rantho, Hon. D Kohler Barnard, Hon. SH Plaatjie, and Hon. JH.Van der Merwe.
The Panel was assisted by the Registrarand by the Parliamentary Constitutional and Legal Services Office. Hon. Pule was present throughout the hearings with her representative Hon. Adv. M Masutha MP.
The hearings were held over five days. Six witnesses were called by the Panel,one was called by Hon Pule and one of the panel’s witnesses was recalled by Hon. Pule.
The deliberations of the Panel continued after the hearings and it took many more days to produce the report. The reasons for the long duration of the hearings were that the period covered was over several years, the persistent denial of any wrongdoing by Hon. Pule, and the apparent lack of cooperation by certain officials from the Department of Communications (DOC).
The allegations against Hon. Pule related to the non-disclosure of the financial interests of Hon Pule’s companion / spouse Mr P Mngqibisa. Mr Mngqibisa benefited from various privileges during his association with Hon Pule including gaining material financial and business benefits in the context of the ICT Indaba organised by the DOC. Hon. Pule did not declare her association with Mr Mngqibisa as she was obligated to do in terms of paragraph 13 of the Code.
Allegations have also been made that Mr Mngqibisa bought Christian Louboutin shoes as a gift for Hon Pule which she failed to disclose. As a result of lengthy and detailed investigations, the Panel has found that Mr Mngqibisa was the de facto permanent companion/spouse to the Hon. Pule.
Through that relationship he was able to obtain government funding for overseas trips and participate in official meetings despite having no formal departmental role in respect thereof. He was further able to obtain financial benefits for himself and his company Khemano as a result of his relationship with Hon. Pule.
The Panel found that Hon Pule’s disclosure and declarations for the respective years are incomplete. The Panel was unable to corroborate this with evidence relating to the non-disclosure of Christian Louboutin shoes and therefore no finding is made in that regard.
The Panel also found that Hon. Pule wilfully misled the Panel on the above matters and that several officials of the department may have committed perjury in their evidence and colluded with Hon. Pule.
We wish to add that Hon. Pule has failed to observe the requirements of the code of conduct both in the letter and spirit of the code. We wish to emphasise that public representatives are accountable for their conduct and must behave with integrity at all times. The sanctions recommended herein are not meant to be punishment, but meant for behavioural and conduct correction.
The Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interest has accordingly, recommended the maximum penalties allowed by the Joint Rules of Parliament, namely, a reprimand in the National Assembly, a fine equivalent to 30 days salary, and suspension of privileges for 15 days and exclusion from any Parliamentary debates or committees during this period. Hon Pule is required to amend her disclosure retrospectively to ensure that her interests are fully declared.
The Committee adopted the report, the reasons for the findings, and the recommended penalties. The report will be tabled before the National Assembly in terms of Rule 18 of the Code of Conduct.
