President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Dina Pule as minister of social development on 30 June 2026. The move has drawn sharp criticism from opposition parties and civil society groups over her past ethical record.
Ramaphosa announced the appointment as part of Cabinet changes. Pule replaces Sisisi Tolashe, who was dismissed in May following a Daily Maverick investigation into governance failures at the department.
Pule previously served as minister of communications under Jacob Zuma and was removed from that post in July 2013. Parliament’s ethics committee and a Public Protector report by Thuli Madonsela found she had acted unlawfully, concealed a relationship with a businessman and lied to investigators.
Corruption Watch described the appointment as alarming and said it placed a politician with a documented record of misconduct in charge of a department serving 28 million grant recipients. The DA, ActionSA, uMkhonto weSizwe and COSATU also condemned the decision. The ANC stated it was confident Pule would perform her duties with dedication.
