The official opposition, the Democratic Alliance (DA) says the South African Police Service has agreed to investigate a complaint laid against Communications Minister Dina Pule by the opposition's shadow communications minister, Marian Shinn.
The DA asked for an investigation into allegations of corruption involving appointments in the Department of Communications and its entities by the Minister of Communications, Dina Pule, and her alleged boyfriend Phosane Mngqibisa.
In a statement, Shinn says the police investigation is "based on the affidavit I submitted to the SAPS on 10 April 2013 based on a Sunday Times story on 24 March 2013".
The paper alleged:
o "...evidence of an internal audit showing that Mngqibisa engineered getting friends and relatives on the boards of the Post Office, Sentech, the Universal Service and Access Agency (USAASA) and the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) with the full knowledge of [Dina] Pule",
o "Mngqibisa engineered getting friends and family appointed onto the boards of the Post Office, Sentech, USAASA and the SABC",
o "Mngqibisa engineered the appointment of his close relative, Lulama Makhobo, to the post of SABC CEO as well as one of his close friends, Gugu Duda, as chief financial officer",
o The appointment of Gugu Duda was a 'done deal': Nomakhaya Malebane alleged that "by now the discussions are finalised and considered a 'done deal' with DP [Dina Pule] having met GD [Gugu Duda] and confirmed to her that she is her choice and that all that needs to happen is to endorse this through formal board interviews",
o In the report, Dina Pule claimed that she only became involved in the appointments "after the SABC board had completed the search and interviews for suitable candidates".
The official opposition's decision to lay charges was based on Section 34(1) of the Prevention and Combating of Corrupt Activities Act 12 of 2004, which stipulates that any person who holds a position of authority and who knows or ought reasonably to have known or suspected that any other person has committed an offence has a duty to report it.
The core information, that forms the DA's case, comes from the Sunday Times which used five independent sources - one of them a legal company - for its information.
Pule is currently under investigation by different agencies based on a variety of allegations against her, from which Mngqibisa is alleged to have benefited. The public protector is also investigating Pule in connection with the ICT Indaba.
The Department of Communications (DOC) has previously spurned Shinn's request to have criminal charges brought against Pule, calling it an attempt to "score cheap political points".
Pule has said the department, as well as herself, noted the "curious" action by the DA, but respects the right of citizens to approach law enforcement agencies when they suspect wrongdoing of any sort. "This is a right that the DA also enjoys."
However, said Pule, "it is instructive that Ms Marian Shinn and the DA are the ones who approached the Public Protector and Parliament's Joint Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests." Pule noted that Shinn is "well aware" these two legitimate institutions have not completed their work.
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