ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said that if Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe (pictured) has broken the code of ethics governing Cabinet members, she will be dropped as a minister.

• ANC’s Fikile Mbalula stated that Minister Sisisi Tolashe could be removed if found to have breached Cabinet ethics over undisclosed car gifts.
• Tolashe claims the cars were for the ANC Women’s League, but they are registered under her children’s names.
• Corruption charges have been filed, and President Cyril Ramaphosa awaits a report on the matter for further action.

ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula said that if Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe has broken the code of ethics governing Cabinet members, she will be dropped as a minister.

Tolashe, who is also the ANC Women’s League president, is under a cloud after the Daily Maverick revealed two weeks ago that she did not disclose a gift of two cars to Parliament, which were donated by Chinese officials.

According to the Daily Maverick, in a Parliamentary response to ActionSA MP Dereleen James about the vehicles, Tolashe said the cars were donated to the Women’s League, and that is why she didn’t declare them to Parliament. However, an investigation by the publication revealed that the cars are, in fact, registered under the names of her son and daughter.

At a press briefing on the ANC’s local government action plan at Luthuli House on Monday, Mbalula was asked about the vehicle saga.

He said he still awaited a report from Tolashe. But added: “Ministers are guided by the executive code. So if a minister breaks the executive code and an oath of office on matters like this, there is no negotiation; you will be dropped.”

READ | ‘The minister has a lot to answer’ – ActionSA on corruption charges against Sisisi Tolashe

Mbalula, however, said he still does not have a report on the matter from Tolashe.

He had earlier said that Tolashe is capable of answering for herself regarding the car scandal, and that the matter “belongs” to the Women’s League and that the league is the “appropriate” structure to respond.

Mbalula later said:

“Not only me, but also the government, including the president [Cyril Ramaphosa], so that we are able to respond to this issue of Minister Sisisi before we even arrive at the issue of step-down investigations and so on

“There might not be a need for investigations based on the report that we get from the Women’s League, together with the minister, comrade Sisisi,” Mbalula said.

On Sunday, the Sunday Times reported that Tolashe had told the ANC’s integrity committee that she had registered the cars under her children’s names to safeguard them.

However, Mbalula said he doesn’t have a report from the integrity committee because this had not yet been tabled before the party’s national executive committee.

James opened corruption charges against Tolashe for her failure to disclose in Parliament.

Speaking to the media on the day she opened the corruption charges in Cape Town, James said Tolashe needs to come clean on why she was gifted the cars.

“In exchange for what?” she asked at the time.

Meanwhile, the DA has also written to Ramaphosa to ask whether he had given his permission for Tolashe to accept and retain the vehicles.