Ramaphosa’s new Minister of Social Development, Dina Pule, under fire

Calls for a lifestyle audit of South Africa’s Minister of Social Development, Dina Pule, have started less than a week after her appointment.

The DA’s Nazley Sharif said the lifestyle audit is necessary given Pule’s past actions during her tenure as Minister of Communications.

During this time, Pule was involved in several high-profile scandals, including allegations of corruption and nepotism.

As Communications Minister, Pule was accused of abusing her position to award her romantic partner’s company, Khemano, a contract to work on the ICT Indaba event.

The company was then used to siphon funds intended for the event to pay for overseas travels for Pule and her partner, Phosane Mngqibisa.

The controversy sparked outrage across South Africa after Pule attended the ICT Indaba opening wearing designer shoes purchased on a trip abroad.

The controversy led to an inquiry into Pule’s actions as Minister of Communications, which found that she had breached multiple ethical boundaries.

This included using her position to employ relatives in positions within the department of communications.

It was also found that she had attempted to intimidate witnesses in the inquiry to change their statements.

The parliamentary ethics committee’s findings against her led to her removal as Minister of Communications in 2013.

After this, Pule disappeared from the political landscape before taking a position in the ANC Women’s League.

She then rejoined parliament after the 2024 elections, before being appointed as the Minister of Social Development on 30 June 2026.

The appointment sparked major backlash, with opposition parties immediately saying her past actions make her unfit to serve in the president’s cabinet.

“Dina Pule is utterly unfit to be a Minister in Cabinet, based on her track record of unethical conduct, betraying her oath of office as Minister and bringing Parliament into disrepute,” Sharif said.

Lifestyle Audits

The DA’s calls for a lifestyle audit of Pule would provide a baseline for future investigations if suspicions arise about her conduct.

A lifestyle audit is a common procedure in South African politics used to assess whether a person has received undeclared money or valuables.

The investigation compares a person’s known earnings with their current lifestyle to determine whether they can afford their current way of living.

This can help determine whether a person benefited from large, undeclared payments or received valuable gifts.

Undisclosed payments or gifts can both put a government official’s actions into question, with irregular lifestyle audits often leading to bribery or fraud investigations.

In 2021, Ramaphosa announced that all high-level politicians and Ministers, along with other public servants, would be subject to compulsory lifestyle audits.

While these audits have taken place for many public officials, few have been conducted on high-profile politicians to date.

Lifestyle audits have also failed to result in any major arrests since their introduction, although some politicians have been placed on leave following findings from these investigations.

This includes the former Head of Department of Health and Wellness in Gauteng, Lesiba Malotana.

Malotana was suspended in October 2025, following a lifestyle audit conducted by the Special Investigating Unit (SIU), which labelled him as “high-risk”.

The audit uncovered large transactions from his personal bank accounts, which did not add up to his salary as a public official.

For Dina Pule, an immediate lifestyle audit would not be used to determine irregular activity as a Minister, given that she was only recently appointed to the position.

Instead, Sharif argues it would be useful for future investigations, which could use the previous audit as a baseline for the assets she holds.

“The DA demands that upon her coming into office, a lifestyle audit must immediately be conducted. This will provide a baseline upon which her Ministerial tenure may be measured,” she said.

“To fiercely protect taxpayer money from Pule’s grasp, there must be a baseline audit that shows her current lifestyle, assets and finances.”