Pule Fails to Make Full Disclosure to Parliament – Again!

Statement by Nazley Sharif MP – DA Spokesperson on Social Development:

The DA can today disclose that Minister Dina Pule has not learnt her lesson, as the ANC claims, and continues to evade full disclosure of her personal interests.

The DA will be lodging an ethics complaint against the Minister after the DA’s own investigation found that the Minister failed to declare her interest in five companies to Parliament.

This is from the same playbook that led to her removal in 2013 when the Parliamentary Ethics Committee found Minister Dina Pule guilty of failing to declare financial interests.

Not only did the Ethics Committee find wrongdoing, but the Hawks confirmed a criminal investigation into the Minister. Further damming findings were made by the Public Protector on unlawful payments to the Minister’s boyfriend and further R10 million in unlawful payments.

The DA will not rest on this matter, as Minister Pule is wholly unfit to be Minister of Social Development, a Department that must be protected at all costs.

The DA will further:

• Write to the Hawks to request an update on their criminal investigation.
• Write to the Speaker of the National Assembly to determine whether the recommendations by the Public Protector were implemented, namely, to seek confirmation of whether the full quantified amount owed to the State was successfully recovered and whether the National Assembly referred the Ethics Committee Report to SAPS and the NPA.
• Submit Parliamentary Questions to all Ministers to determine whether they have done business with Minister Pule’s companies.

Minister Pule has not learnt her lesson, and the DA rejects her appointment as Minister of Social Development.