ActionSA has lodged a criminal complaint against Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe, accusing her of corruption and misleading parliament over allegedly undeclared luxury gifts valued at around R1 million.
On Wednesday, the party said it had taken three steps to hold the minister accountable.
The party has opened a criminal case against the minister, lodged a complaint with parliament, and submitted a separate complaint to the Public Protector.
Criminal case complaint and ethics probes
ActionSA alleges Tolashe breached the Executive Members’ Ethics Act and parliament’s Code of Conduct and Disclosure of Members’ Interests.
The party said it had submitted a complaint to the Public Protector for alleged breaches of the Executive Members’ Ethics Act.
It has also lodged a formal complaint with parliament’s ethics committee “for breaches of the Code of Conduct and Disclosure of Members’ Interests”.
The allegations stem from a parliamentary reply in which Tolashe denied receiving two SUVs as personal gifts, claiming the vehicles had been donated to the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL).
Disputed account of events
ActionSA rejected this explanation, saying it was “fatally undermined by the facts”.
“The ANCWL has publicly denied any knowledge of these vehicles. Official records show that the vehicles were registered in the names of the minister’s children, and one of the vehicles has already been sold, indicating private benefit,” the party said.
It argued that South Africans were left with “two equally troubling possibilities”.
“Either the minister received these vehicles as personal gifts and failed to declare them, in breach of the law; or the ANC failed to declare a foreign donation of significant value to the Electoral Commission, in violation of funding laws.”
‘Serious misconduct’ alleged
ActionSA described the matter as “serious misconduct and a blatant disregard for transparency and accountability”.
“The acceptance of high-value ‘gifts’ from a foreign government, particularly where those assets are concealed through family members, raises grave concerns about corruption, undue influence, and abuse of public office,” the party said.
“This is a textbook example of how public power can be abused for private gain.”
Call for minister’s dismissal
The party said the allegations reflected “a deeply entrenched culture of impunity within the GNU[government of national unity] government”.
It reiterated its call for President Cyril Ramaphosa to act.
“We reiterate our call for the president to immediately fire the minister and make an example of her to show that such actions will not be tolerated,” ActionSA said.
The minister had not publicly responded to the latest allegations at the time of publication.
