Dismissed minister of communications, Dina Pule, is not willing to comment on whether or not she will take up her seat at Parliament, but stands to face sanctions from the joint ethics committee if she does.
This is according to a report by the Sunday Independent, which notes that, while sacked co-operative governance and traditional affairs minister Richard Baloyi, gave up his position as MP the day after President Jacob Zuma fired him on 9 July - neither Pule, nor the third dismissed minister, human settlements minister Tokyo Sexwale, have tendered their resignations.
"Processes to allocate [Pule and Sexwale] to a committee [are] underway," says the paper - an update it says comes from enquiries to Parliament and the ANC parliamentary caucus this week.
Pule, who faces a probe by Parliament's Joint Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests following accusations of mismanagement and corruption against her, reportedly told the Sunday Independent: "I would not want to comment" when asked whether and when she would take up her role as MP.
Ministers retain their roles as Members of Parliament (MPs) when they are dismissed from cabinet.
Trio of charges
At the time of her dismissal, Pule was facing three investigations, spun off from allegations of cronyism, mismanagement and corruption against her - following the ICT Indaba in Cape Town last year June.
In addition to the probe underway by the joint ethics committee, Pule was also brought under scrutiny by SA's public protector, Thuli Madonsela and the SAPS - which started investigating the now former minister upon the Democratic Alliance's request.
A sub-committee of the joint ethics committee, which has been handling the matter following recent hearings, is set to present its findings in August.
The Sunday Independent notes that, even if Pule resigns as MP, the committee may still decide to pursue the matter within Parliament.
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