Ramaphosa kicks out Tolashe after luxury car scandal

Compiled by Dylan Bettencourt

• Ramaphosa fired Tolashe on Thursday and named minister Sindisiwe Chikunga as acting head of social development until a permanent replacement is found.

• Tolashe faced claims she hid two donated cars, made irregular appointments, and deployed a state worker to her private home in East London to look after her grandchildren.

President Cyril Ramaphosa fired social development minister Sisisi Tolashe on Thursday.

Sindisiwe Chikunga, the minister for women, youth and persons with disabilities, will run the department until a permanent replacement is named.

A woman known only as Thandi was hired by the Department of Social Development as a food aide. She expected to work at one of Tolashe’s official residences in Cape Town or Pretoria.

She ended up at Tolashe’s private home in East London, looking after the minister’s grandchildren, paying R7,000 from her R15,000 government salary every month to Tolashe’s daughter Kanyisa towards household expenses.

When Tolashe appeared before Parliament’s social development committee last week, she said she had no knowledge of the payments. The two women had “their own arrangement”, she said.

Thandi’s lawyer said Tolashe lied to Parliament. The Public Service Commission has opened an investigation.

The food aide was not the only problem. Tolashe accepted two luxury Chinese SUVs donated to the ANC Women’s League and registered them in her children’s names. One was sold.

She also appointed a 22-year-old woman, the niece of her special adviser, as acting chief of staff.

The DA and ActionSA opened criminal cases against her. DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis wrote to Ramaphosa at the end of April asking him to remove her.

Tolashe is the president of the ANC Women’s League. She denied all wrongdoing throughout.

Pictured above: Sisisi Tolashe.

Image source: ActionSA