Deputy Minister of Small Business Development Dipuo Peters will be banned from parliamentary sittings, debates and meetings for one term.
The ethics committee has meted out the punishment to Peters – following a complaint more than a year ago by civil society group – Unite Behind – related to her tenure as the minister of transport.
The committee has found in their favour that Peters had been neglectful in her duty in several instances.
In its complaint to Parliament’s ethics committee, Unite Behind reiterated the findings of the Zondo commission of inquiry against Peters.
The committee has assessed the complaint in terms of whether Peters breached the Code of Ethical Conduct by not acting in the public’s best interest, nor discharging her constitutional obligations on at least three occasions.
These include not appointing a group CEO for the Passenger Rail Agency of South Affrica (Prasa) after a recruitment exercise that cost the company R1.7 million.
Peter also irrationally dismissed the Prasa board and allowed the agency’s assets to be used free of charge for African National Congress birthday celebrations.
Last month, she appeared before the committee saying she had never benefited personally from any of the acts she’s accused of – and that she’s never been found guilty of corruption.
She added that she never abused her authority as a minister and had no knowledge of Prasa buses being used for party events in 2015.
But the ethics committee has sanctioned her on three breaches of the ethics code – recommending in each instance, that she be suspended from Parliament for a term.
The sentences will run concurrently effectively banning her from the house for only a single term.
-EWN
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