The DA has asked Minister of Communications, Dina Pule for an explanation of the source of funding for blankets and food parcels she intends handing out at a Department of Communications function in her home province of Mpumalanga on Saturday, 13 July 2013.
In a half-page full colour advertisement in the Mail and Guardian this weekend the Minister, whose portrait anchors the advert, advised that she would hand over a computer laboratory at the Pine Ridge Combined School, Pine Ridge, Emalahleni and that she would hand over blankets and food parcels to the elderly in the area.
This smacks of ANC 2014 electioneering at taxpayers’ expense, as it is unrelated to her portfolio or mandate. I also question why it is necessary to pay for an advertisement of this size in a national newspaper to focus on what is a local event.
This week’s advert follows a full-page full colour advertorial in last week’s Mail and Guardian, with three photographs of the minister, to regurgitate press releases about South Africa’s readiness for digital television.
The DA is still awaiting a reply to a parliamentary question to the Minister regarding advertising expenditure and how much money has been spent on advertising to date over the last three years.
It is suspected that these adverts are part of the minister’s campaign to counter the negative publicity she has received around the investigations into the ICT Indaba hosted by her department and the investigation by the South African Police Services into allegations that her boyfriend and other cronies played a crucial role in the appointment of board members and executives serving on entities reporting to her department.
Tags: democratic alliance
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