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The revelations today that the Minister of Public Service and Administration, Faith Muthambi, has allegedly hired 27 support staff to her office, in what seems to be a case of nepotism, must be investigated by Parliament’s Joint Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests.

Reports today claim that Minister Muthambi allegedly appointed mostly uncles and cousins from her home province, Limpopo,  as drivers, deputy directors, and a “food services aide” in her office without following due procedure.

The DA’s members on Parliament's Joint Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests will now take up this matter when the Committee meets on Tuesday, 15 August 2017.

If these allegations are true, Minister Muthambi possibly breached the Ministerial Handbook.

Chapter 8 of the Handbook clearly states that a Minister can appoint up to 10 individuals when establishing Private Offices. Furthermore, Annexure F of the Ministerial Handbook states that Ministers can only appoint two full-time Special Advisors.

Even more disturbing, are the allegations that the Minister allegedly stripped the Director General of the Department of Public Service and Administration, Mashwahle Diphofa, of his powers to appoint staff.

It is now becoming clear that Minister Muthambi is up to her old tricks again and that she bending the rules to give herself excessive power to do as she pleases.

This, despite the fact that she is the Minister of the department which is responsible for administering norms in the public sector and ensuring the ethical behaviour of public servants.

These allegations follow reports of her most recent scandal in which the Minister allegedly paid nearly half a million rand in public money for her family members to travel to Cape Town to watch her budget vote speech.

The South African government is an institution which must provide equal opportunities for every South African citizen – not just Minister Muthambi’s family and loved ones.

Issued by DA