By Ismail Joosub
President Cyril Ramaphosa had the constitutional power to appoint Dina Pule as Minister of Social Development. The question is whether lawful appointment power should end the inquiry when the person selected carries serious findings of past misconduct.
In a constitutional democracy founded on accountability, responsiveness and openness, legality should be the starting point of confidence, not a substitute for it.
Pule was removed from Cabinet in 2013 amid investigations into the ICT Indaba and her relationship with businessman Phosane Mngqibisa.
Parliament’s multiparty ethics process later found that she had failed to disclose relevant interests, provided misleading information and wilfully misled the panel. She was reprimanded, fined the equivalent of 30 days’ salary and suspended from parliamentary activity for 15 days.
The Public Protector subsequently found that she had failed to manage a conflict of interest, allowed officials to facilitate improper benefits for Mngqibisa and
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