Minister of Social Development, Sisisi Tolashe, and her deputy, Ganief Hendricks, appeared before the Portfolio Committee on Social Development on Wednesday.
Image: Phando Jikelo/Parliament RSA/Supplied
The presidency may have come to the defence of some of his Cabinet ministers and made it clear that they are doing what they were chosen to do, but the same could not be said with respect to Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe.
The ministers in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Cabinet have been under recent media scrutiny for their actions with regard to procurement processes, and also the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in drafting policy, which was put out for public comment.
Minister Sisisi Tolashe is appeared in Parliament on Wednesday before the Portfolio Committee on Social Development after a media storm erupted over donated SUVs in her possession and allegations of misusing public resources for personal gain.
Tolashe also came under fire for a controversial senior appointment flagged by the Public Service Commission, and a food aid project linked to her home.
Tolashe denied misleading Parliament and said that she filed an affidavit with the Parliamentary Ethics Committee after complaints from two political parties - the Democratic Alliance and ActionSA.
While hosting a media briefing to update the public on the president’s programme, presidential spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said that the president is attending to the matter.
“The minister has delivered her report to the president, articulating her side of the story with respect to the vehicles and other issues.
“As you know, the president prefers to take his time when he is dealing with such matters. He will not be under any form of pressure to arrive at whatever decision he may arrive at,” Magwenya said.
“It is a matter that he is on top of, and he is aware of all the issues. Without speculating, I'm sure, in the next couple of weeks or so, he will be meeting with the minister.”
Presidential spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, hosted a media briefing to update the public on the president’s programme.
Image: GCIS
Magwenya also addressed the matter of Minister Solly Malatsi, who was forced to withdraw the draft AI policy after it emerged that the integrity of the policy was compromised as it contained various fictitious sources in its reference list.
The draft policy proposed the formation of a new AI governance ecosystem, including a National AI Commission, an AI Ethics Board, an AI Regulatory Authority, an AI Ombudsperson, a National AI Safety Institute, and an AI Insurance Superfund designed to compensate individuals harmed by AI systems in cases where liability is unclear.
Magwenya said: “The minister came forward, came out and issued a statement, and from what we understand, is that the minister is addressing the matter and the matter is being looked at internally in terms of internal controls, but also further investigations to ascertain what happened and what went wrong,” Magwenya said.
“There is a learning opportunity there. I don't think the public scrutiny is such is on the minister personally, but it's scrutiny that's been subjected to the entire department with respect to its own internal controls, as well as how it chooses to deploy AI tools.”
Minister Solly Malatsi was forced to withdraw the draft AI policy after it emerged that the integrity of the policy was compromised, as it contained various fictitious sources in its reference list.
Image: Solly Malatsi/Supplied
Basic Education Minister Siviwe Gwarube has urged the National Treasury to investigate serious allegations of procurement irregularities in the R285 million textbook contracts
Image: GCIS
Gwarube also found herself under public scrutiny after media reports detailed potential malfeasance within the department's procurement processes.
Magwenya said that, as he understands, the matter has been referred to the National Treasury for further investigation, to see if any procurement regulations were violated.
“I’m sure that once the investigation has been concluded, the necessary steps will then be followed.
“We've been plagued by troubles and problems, all sorts of problems, with respect to procurement, but fairly soon, the president will be announcing an intervention of some sort, with respect to procurement,” Magwenya said.
“If you look at what's coming out at the Madlanga Commission, issues of procurement are there. If you look at what came out of the Zondo Commission… we've been played by all sorts of challenges with respect to procurement issues.
“I won't characterise that issue as an issue that affects the minister… It's an issue that she's responded to very quickly, that's impacting her department, and it's an issue that she must attend to, and she is attending to it,” he said.
“There's no concern on the side of the president in that respect.
“The concern is, despite everything else we've tried to do, despite the existence of the PFMA, we are still being plagued by these challenges with respect to procurement. As I said, sooner or later, the president will be announcing an intervention that will certainly assist us to get out of these issues.”
theolin.tembo@inl.co.za