Sisi Tolashe Given the Sack
Social Development Minister Sisi Tolashe has been sack photo supplied
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office announced on Thursday that Ramaphosa has given embattled Social Development Minister Sisi Tolashe the sack.
This amidst persistent hue and cry from opposition parties for the 66-year-old former United Democratic Front activist to be shown the door.
Tolashe is alleged to have been involved in numerous acts of corruption, misconduct and serious governance failures.
In terms of the South African Constitution, the President is not obliged to state reasons for appointing or dismissing a cabinet Minister, but it is widely-believed that the aforesaid allegations against Tolashe led to her political demise.
The following are some of the many accusations levelled at Tolashe:
1.Cars for Cadres scandal whereby she allegedly failed to disclose and lied to Parliament about two luxury SUVs donated by Chinese government officials to the ANC Women’s League which she instead registered in her children’s names.
2.Improper hiring practices in that she appointed an inexperienced 22-year-old lady as her acting Chief of Staff and the said lady happens to be the nephew of her special advisor.
3.Misuse of public funds because she stationed a person employed as a “food aide” at her private home instead of at the official residences and forced the said food aide to pay half of her salary to her own ( Tolashe’s) daughter.
4.Governance failures because she refused to cooperate with an investigation into the improper appointment of her department’s Director General.
The Presidency’s statement regarding Nokuzola Gladys Sisi Tolashe’s firing reads as follows:
“President Cyril Ramaphosa’ has in terms of section 91(2) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996, removed Minister Sisi Tolashe from the position of Minister of Social Development.”
The statement indicated that ” in the interim, President Ramaphosa has appointed Minister in the Presidency for Women, Youth and Persons with Disabilities Sindisiwe Chikunga as the acting Minister in the portfolio pending a full-time appointment in due course.”