https://www.polity.org.za
Deepening Democracy through Access to Information
Home / Statements RSS ← Back
Fire
Fire
fire
Close

Email this article

separate emails by commas, maximum limit of 4 addresses

Sponsored by

Close

Article Enquiry

Minister Zulu hides behind childish accusations to avoid answering critical questions

Close

Embed Video

1

Minister Zulu hides behind childish accusations to avoid answering critical questions

Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu
Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu

20th January 2021

ARTICLE ENQUIRY      SAVE THIS ARTICLE      EMAIL THIS ARTICLE

Font size: -+

/ MEDIA STATEMENT / The content on this page is not written by Polity.org.za, but is supplied by third parties. This content does not constitute news reporting by Polity.org.za.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) is shocked that the Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu, avoided answering our questions in a Social Development Portfolio Committee meeting by hiding behind a baseless allegation.

The Minister – who was meant to answer critical questions such as SASSA’s lack of capacity, the lack of doctors to assess disability grants applicants and why she did not issue a ministerial direction to extend the Temporary Disability Grants (TDGs) after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the return to level 3 given the fact that the beneficiaries of this grant are in the high risk category – resorted to obfuscation to distract from her department’s bungling of the disability grants crisis.

Advertisement

The Minister refused to answer questions by claiming that I had called her a prima-donna in a previous statement. The DA has never resorted to calling the Minister a prima-donna in any statement, but we do agree that the Minister’s description, that she pulled from her own imagination, is an apt one.

She certainly fits the definition of “a very temperamental person with an inflated view of their own talent or importance” to a tee. If only she would use her talent or importance to better the lives of those desperate and unfortunate beneficiaries in her care, instead of hiding behind lies to avoid accountability for the atrocities perpetrated by her Department against them.

Advertisement

If the Minister does wish to attribute such an insult to a member of an opposition party, Honourable Bantu Holomisa from the UDM called the Ministers collectively prima-donnas in a 2020 interview with 702. It’s clear that Minister Zulu feels this shoe fits.

Minister Zulu must stop playing childish games and focus on finding an urgent solution to the humanitarian crisis playing out on her doorstep. The Minister today dithered and dodged any and every opportunity she had to face accountability and wasted Parliament and the people’s time.

Unless she sorts out the disability grants-catastrophe, the blood of the people that have died from hunger (and the death of the man shot at a SASSA queue this week) will be on her hands.

She should hang her head in shame, or better yet, President Ramaphosa should fire her.

 

Issued by The DA

EMAIL THIS ARTICLE      SAVE THIS ARTICLE ARTICLE ENQUIRY

To subscribe email subscriptions@creamermedia.co.za or click here
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here

Comment Guidelines

 

About

Polity.org.za is a product of Creamer Media.
www.creamermedia.co.za

Other Creamer Media Products include:
Engineering News
Mining Weekly
Research Channel Africa

Read more

Subscriptions

We offer a variety of subscriptions to our Magazine, Website, PDF Reports and our photo library.

Subscriptions are available via the Creamer Media Store.

View store

Advertise

Advertising on Polity.org.za is an effective way to build and consolidate a company's profile among clients and prospective clients. Email advertising@creamermedia.co.za

View options
Free daily email newsletter Register Now