Parliament's ethics committee has found a member of President Cyril Ramaphosa's executive Dipuo Peters guilty of breaches related to State capture at the troubled Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa).

Despite the Zondo Commission's findings against her, Ramaphosa appointed Peters as the Deputy Minister of Small Business Development.

She previously served as transport minister in former president Jacob Zuma's Cabinet, when state capture was at its height. Actions committed while she was in that position led to the committee finding against her.

The committee recommended that Peters be suspended from her seat in all parliamentary debates and sittings and from committee meetings and committee-related functions and operations for one term of the parliamentary programme. The committee's report must still be adopted by the National Assembly for the sanctions to take effect.

The complaints against her were laid by activist Zackie Achmat, who intends to run as an independent candidate in next year's elections, Zukiswa Fokazi, and NPO #Unite Behind in September 2022, following the release of the Zondo Commission's report.

Their complaints were as follows:

• Peters was neglectful in her previous portfolio as minister of transport by failing to appoint a Group CEO of Prasa.
• Peters dismissed the Prasa board chaired by Popo Molefe seemingly because it had uncovered R14 billion of irregular expenditure and instituted investigations into corruption at Prasa. The High Court found that the conduct by the Peters was irrational, unreasonable and unlawful.
• Peters also attempted to stop the investigations into corruption at Prasa that were initiated by the Molefe board.
• "That the member (Peters) failed to investigate the allegation of the R79 million of Prasa money paid by Swifambo to other people for alleged distribution to the African National Congress. The member was under a duty to ensure that corruption as rooted out from public entities."
• Peters used Prasa buses for ANC events in 2014 and 2015 without ensuring payment from the ANC.
• Peters is alleged to have influenced procurement proceedings by pressurising the Prasa CEO and Board of Control (BOC) because of the nationality of tender applicants. "The member allegedly demanded a change of the procurement prescript despite a legal opinion that indicated that changes to the procurement prescripts would be in breach of the procurement laws of the country."

Peters, through Majavu Incorporated Attorneys, told the committee the complaints "regurgitate the findings and recommendations [in] the state capture report and in the result demands 'accountability'".

The committee's report, as tabled, read: "The member is taking legal advice on the possible remedies that are open to her. The member intends taking the state capture report on judicial review to the extent that it relates to her. The member is awaiting the president of the RSA to put in place an implementation plan on how these matters are to be dealt with by Parliament. She will deal with the matter in a holistic manner and not in a piecemeal fashion and therefore will await the action plan by the president of the RSA."

"The member requested that any further process by the committee be held in abeyance until the president of the RSA's implementation plan is put in place. The member elects not to engage with the conclusions in the state capture report at this stage."

In their deliberations, the committee took note of the Zondo Commission's report.

Regarding her failure to appoint a CEO, the committee's report stated: "She is on record stating that the reason she did not appoint a Group CEO is because she thought that Prasa was not ready for a new CEO. Later, her testimony changed for the reason for not appointing a Group CEO.

The report indicated that the Prasa board gave the member names to be recommended as Group CEO, but she did nothing.

"Mr Molefe denied that he agreed with the member that Prasa was not ready for a Group CEO."

The committee also noted that the Zondo report pointed out Peters conceded that her reason for not appointing a CEO was not sound and that she could have been wrong at the time.

"In essence the member conceded that she was wrong in not appointing a Group CEO. Her failure to appoint a Group CEO amounted in a loss of R1 767 000.00 for Prasa."

On dismissing the Molefe board, the committee noted that the Zondo report clearly stated that Peters dismissed the board on the same day Molefe wrote a letter to the Portfolio Committee on Transport.

The committee's report stated:

The testimony of the member before the commission also indicates that she was irrational in that decision. Her testimony before the commission indicates the following: 'It was my decision to dismiss the board, I was irrational. The board stretched my patience for a long time, the timing was wrong.

On the misuse of Prasa assets, the committee noted "that the commission found that the minister was under a duty to secure payment for the buses that were provided in 2015 by Prasa for the ANC celebrations."

The committee found her in breach of the ethics code in that she had failed to:

• "act ... in accordance with the public trust placed in her
• "discharge her obligations, in terms of the Constitution, to Parliament and the public at large, by placing the public interest above her own interests"; and
• "maintain public confidence and trust in the integrity of Parliament and thereby engender the respect and confidence that society needs to have in Parliament as a representative institution."

The committee then afforded Peters the opportunity to make representations on the sanction that should be recommended to the House.

A long list of representations included that she asked for leniency and that her political journey be taken into account.  

"She rejects, with contempt, the finding that she abused her authority as Minister of Transport in relation to the issue of the use of buses," read the committee's report.

"She has never abused her authority and this finding brings her immense pain."

For each of three breaches, the committee recommended the following sanction: "That the member be suspended from her seat in all parliamentary debates and sittings, and from committee meetings and committee related functions and operations for one term of the parliamentary programme."

The sanctions are to run concurrently.

Peters resigned as MP in 2017, after Zuma fired her as transport minister. She returned to Parliament after the 2019 elections.

Then, when Ramaphosa announced his new Cabinet in March this year, Peters re-emerged. Ramaphosa appointed Peters despite the Zondo Commission's findings against her.

She is not the only member of Ramaphosa's executive who has a Zondo Commission finding against them. Ministers and deputy ministers featuring in the pages of the Zondo Report include Sport, Arts and Culture Minister Zizi Kodwa, Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe, Deputy Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Thabang Makwetla.

Earlier this year, the National Assembly adopted a recommendation from the ethics committee that found ANC MP Mosebenzi Zwane guilty of a number of state capture-related charges.

Zwane was appointed the mineral resources minister by Zuma when state capture was at its peak, and the Zondo Commission described him as a "Gupta minister".

Zwane was fined five days' salary, had to apologise to the House, and was told he could not participate in parliamentary debates for a full term.