The Department of Communications (DOC) has spurned Democratic Alliance (DA) shadow minister of communications Marian Shinn's request to have criminal charges brought against minister Dina Pule, calling it an attempt to "score cheap political points".
This comes after Shinn last week brought criminal charges against Pule, based largely on reports by the Sunday Times.
Last month, the weekly publication reported that Pule is not in control of the department, but has ceded control to her alleged boyfriend. Citing an internal audit, the paper reported on its front page that Pule's alleged romantic partner, Phosane Mngqibisa, has "got his friends and relatives onto the boards of the Post Office, Sentech, the Universal Services and Access Agency, and the SABC with the full knowledge of Pule".
The official opposition says its decision 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.
"We did include articles from other publications as well. Also, various actions by the minister seem to have been ill-advised, which leads one to suspect that people with external agendas may be influencing her decisions."
Shinn says the DA believes the media articles present sufficient indication - "the facts of which have not been disputed by the minister" - for the police to use their investigative powers to gather relevant information that could lead to criminal charges.
"Gugu Duda is currently subject of an internal SABC enquiry for donations of money and air time to the ICT Indaba, as well as other serious financial irregularities. As her appointment was apparently due to irregular interference by the minister, she is included in this request for a thorough investigation," adds Shinn.
"It is up to the police now to decide whether they will investigate under the Corruption Act, which obliges citizens to report suspected corrupt activities to them for investigation."
DOC responds
Pule says the department, as well as herself, has noted what she calls a "curious" action by the DA and 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, says 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 notes that Shinn is "well aware" these two legitimate institutions have not completed their work.
"Perhaps, Honourable Ms Shinn, as a member of Parliament, can enlighten South Africans about what she knows about Parliament and the Public Protector that makes her impatient about their work. She clearly doesn't want to wait for the outcomes of due processes undertaken by the two institutions."
Pule says Shinn's actions suggest either that she is using government resources to "score cheap political points or prove that, indeed, the devil has ship loads of work for idle minds".
Share