MyZA

News, Directory, Events and Other Stuff

You are here: Home / News / Minister Zulu’s Dodgy Deal

Minister Zulu’s Dodgy Deal

Dear Editor

The DA will write to the Public Protector’s office to request a second investigation into the Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, and the acting director-general (DG) of the Department of Social Development (DSD), Linton Mchunu, after the newest revelations in the media that they breached internal and governmental protocols when entering into an agreement with the US African Development Foundation (USADF).

According to City Press, the Minister and Mchunu signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the USADF for a 5-year deal to fund small to medium-sized businesses by contributing $1 million each annually to a bank account from which only the USADF may make withdrawals. This, even though DSD has no small business development mandate. The DA will also submit a Promotion of Access to Information Act (PAIA) application to obtain the MOU.

A senior official said that the Minister and Mchunu have “committed the country to a deal that wasn’t vetted by the legal service, National Treasury or the South African Revenue Service (SARS)”.

The newest scandal comes mere weeks after it was revealed that Minister Zulu tried pulling strings to secure Mchunu the job as DG – a ploy that was ultimately derailed when objections from Deputy Minister of Social Development, Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu, and others forced the Department of Public Service and Administration to withdraw the recommendation from Cabinet.

While Minister Zulu has never been particularly interested in fulfilling her mandate to serve South Africa’s poorest and most vulnerable people, her newest schemes with Mchunu are particularly brazen. The DA will do everything in our power to ensure that they’re stopped in their tracks and held accountable.

Regards

Bridget Masango MP
DA Shadow Minister of Social Development

Category: Tag:

If you feel strongly about this article then feel free to send MyZA a ‘Letter to the Editor’ using the submission form below:

Letter to the Editor

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
If this is in response to an article please include that article title here or as the lead in for the first paragraph of your Letter below.

Separate tags with commas

Localise your letter by naming the city your words are about. Add relevant words describing your subject. Single comma separated words of no more than 5
Your Name(Required)
Your Name will be linked to the website below.
Your personal, business or social media web site
Choose NO to not set up a user account on MyZA. User Accounts will allow you to submit letters under your own Author Name

3 Latest Letters to the Editor:

  • NSFAS 2027 applications close on 31 October — SASSA households, apply now

    Dear Editor, I run SAGrant (sagrant.co.za), a free resource helping South Africans navigate SASSA grants. NSFAS applications for the 2027 academic year close on Friday 31 October 2026, and no extension is expected. If your household receives a SASSA grant, your child already passes the NSFAS financial eligibility test — but they still have to…

  • Publish the Call, Then Publish the Grade

    Dear Editor, South African football fans argue about everything — lineups, referees, who should start up front. But there’s one argument we never have, because nobody gives us the numbers: were the predictions we read all week actually any good? I help run XG Mind AI, a small independent football data lab. Our rule is…

  • Don’t Ignore a SASSA Review Notice — It Is Not a Cancellation

    Dear Editor, I run SAGrant (sagrant.co.za), a free resource helping South Africans navigate SASSA grants. SASSA has reminded beneficiaries that a grant review is not a cancellation. A review simply checks whether a beneficiary still meets the qualifying requirements — it can be triggered by a change in income, employment, marital status, address, contact details…

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Do not argue with a fool because he will drag you down to his level and then beat you with experience.