Pule’s ‘apology’ highlights issue of party before country
DISTURBING scenes in parliament this week underscore the fact that when it comes to South Africa’s politicians, many see themselves as serving their party first and our country and constitution second. Dina Pule might be a disgraced former minister who lied to the public and broke her oath to serve the country, but you would not know it from the bear hugs and words of comfort lavished on her by a number of ANC members of parliament.
Perhaps most notably, her sympathisers included Public Works Minister Thulas Nxesi, who endured a public flaying for so ineptly handling the Nkandla report, and Basic Education Minister Angie Motshekga, whose continued service despite the textbook debacle suggests some form of divine protection from above.
Nxesi, in particular, must feel that Pule was treated unfairly by an ethics committee that, after all, included loyal ANC cadres. Nxesi is no stranger to placing party loyalty above constitutional duty. It was he who apparently classified the report into the R206-million Nkandla upgrade as “top secret” and then refused to release it because of the ‘‘sensitive security information” it contained.
Other MPs who rushed to console Pule after she received a roasting from National Assembly speaker Max Sisulu included Lindiwe Sisulu, Ben Martins, Sbu Ndebele and Bathabile Dlamini.
As she was ordered to do, Pule apologised for making a “mistake”. Although it is only human to console someone clearly overwrought with emotion, parliamentarians ought to have considered the message they sent to a public that remembers vividly how Tony Yengeni was cheered all the way to prison. It cheapens the findings of a bipartisan organ of parliament — the ethics committee — and it sends out a message that, as long as you remain a loyal cadre of the ANC, any sin against the public can be overlooked.
But what makes it especially disturbing is that Pule seemed to simply be going through the motions in parliament, saying “sorry” only to keep her MP salary rather than because of any conviction that she had anything to atone for. But then, after a year of lying, deceiving and refusing to confront the reality of her situation, this would be entirely in keeping with her actions.
In apologising, Pule said: “I gave the best I could.” But if that was Pule’s best effort at fulfilling her public oath, why does the party believe she should be entrusted with being a member of parliament’s transport committee? Surely she has proven herself unworthy?
Instead, reports this week suggested that the ANC members on the ethics committee were the ones who felt the heat, rather than Pule. Not only did the ethics committee members face bullying, intimidation, death threats and “collusion” by senior officials seeking to help her cover up the truth, but also an attack from their own party.
The Mail & Guardian newspaper reported how ethics committee chairmen Ben Turok and Lemias Mashile were grilled by ANC MPs about why the committee aired Pule’s personal affairs in the report.
This, of course, is to miss the point entirely. Pule hid her relationship with businessman Phosane Mngqibisa, but at the same time she was lobbying for sponsorship cash for the ICT Indaba, from which he ultimately benefited to the tune of R6-million.
Worse, Pule’s own department donated taxpayer money to the ICT Indaba account on which Mngqibisa, unbeknown to anyone until it was exposed in this newspaper, had drawing rights.
When a politician hides corruption and the misuse of public money behind a convenient veil of privacy, any constitutional loyalist would understand the justification for peeking behind that veil.