Dina Pule

Dina Deliwe Pule (born 19 July 1960) is a South African politician who has been the Minister of Social Development since July 2026. She represents the African National Congress (ANC) in the National Assembly of South Africa. She has been the Deputy Secretary-General of the ANC Women's League since July 2023. Before that, she was Minister of Communications under President Jacob Zuma from October 2011 to July 2013.

Born in Mpumalanga, Pule first held public office as a member of the Mpumalanga Provincial Legislature for a single term between 2004 and 2009. During that period, she held several portfolios as a Member of the Executive Council under former Premier Thabang Makwetla. After her election to the National Assembly in 2009, she served under Zuma as Deputy Minister of Communications from 2009 to 2010 and Deputy Minister in the Presidency for Performance Monitoring and Evaluation from 2010 to 2011, before being appointed to Zuma's cabinet in 2011.

She was fired from the cabinet in July 2013 during a parliamentary inquiry into allegations that she had contravened the parliamentary code of conduct. The allegations were ultimately substantiated by Parliament's Joint Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests and by the Public Protector, leading Parliament to suspend and reprimand Pule. After this misconduct finding, Pule declined to stand for re-election as an ordinary Member of Parliament in the 2014 general election.

At the ANC's 55th National Conference in December 2022, Pule was elected to a five-year term as a member of the ANC National Executive Committee. She had previously served on the committee between 2007 and 2012. Thereafter, she returned to the National Assembly in the 2024 general election. In a cabinet reshuffle in June 2026, president Cyril Ramaphosa appointed her as the Minister of Social Development.

Early life and career Pule was born on 19 July 1960 in a village on the outskirts of Hazyview in the former the Eastern Transvaal (now Mpumalanga province). She attended Elijah Mango College of Education in Nelspruit from 1987 to 1989, where she trained as a secondary school teacher; while there, she served on the student representative council (first as secretary and then as deputy president) and as a founding member of the anti-apartheid South African National Students Congress. In addition to her teaching diploma, Pule subsequently received a Bachelor of Arts degree in communications from the University of South Africa. – she was moved to the Agriculture and Land Administration portfolio in a reshuffle by Makwetla. In a subsequent reshuffle in May 2008, she succeeded Jabu Mahlangu as MEC for Culture, Sport and Recreation. In that capacity, she chaired the Mpumalanga government's political task team ahead of the 2010 Soccer World Cup. Towards the end of her term as Deputy Provincial Secretary, at the ANC's 52nd National Conference in December 2007, Pule was elected to a five-year term on the ANC National Executive Committee. She was also elected to the party's National Working Committee.

National government: 2009–2013

Deputy Minister: 2009–2011 In the 2009 general election, Pule was elected as a Member of the National Assembly, the lower house of South Africa's national Parliament.

Minister of Communications: 2011–2013 On 24 October 2011, Zuma appointed Pule to succeed Roy Padayachie as Minister of Communications in his cabinet. According to News24, Pule was the first post-apartheid cabinet minister from Mpumalanga. More significantly, Pule was subject to public controversy surrounding allegations that she had abused her public office . On 9 July 2013,

The so-called Gupta Leaks, published in 2017 after Pule had left government, appeared to suggest that Pule, while still a Minister, had met the controversial Gupta family at their home in Saxonwold in October 2012.

Misconduct finding: 2013 The misconduct allegations against Pule stemmed from her romantic relationship with Phosane Mngqibisa, a businessman who was alleged to have received improper benefits as a result of his relationship with Pule. In response, Pule initiated a public spat with the Sunday Times, which had reported the initial allegations against her, according to her as part of a political conspiracy. She denied continuously that she had a relationship with Mngqibisa or that his trips abroad had been subsidised by the government. the parliamentary committee recommended that Pule should be subject to the harshest sanctions permitted by the parliamentary rules: a public reprimand in the National Assembly, a fine equivalent to 30 days' salary, and 15 days' suspension from the assembly. Madonsela's report, released in 2013, found that Pule's conduct had been unlawful; Madonsela added that it was "grossly improper and unethical that she tried to pass the buck to her staff". in the 2014 general election, she was again included on the ANC's party list. However, the party's elective conference was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic; when it was finally held in 2022, Pule did not contest a top position.

In August 2021, Pule was appointed to a four-year term as deputy chairperson of the Mpumalanga Economic Growth Agency, a public entity. The following month, the Mpumalanga ANC appointed her as one of three members of an internal panel that was tasked with resolving disputes about the selection of ANC candidates for the 2021 local government elections. By that time, Pule was also a full-time staff member of the ANC in Mpumalanga. At the ANC's 55th National Conference in December 2022, she was additionally elected to a five-year term on the ANC National Executive Committee. She was ranked 67th of the 80 candidates elected to the committee by the number of votes received.

The ANC Women's League held its 13th National Conference in July 2023, and Pule was nominated from the floor of the conference to stand for election as the league's Deputy Secretary-General. She was elected to the office on 23 July, deputising Nokuthula Nqaba.

Return to Parliament and national government: 2024–present Amid the ANC experiencing a decline in electoral support in the May 2024 general election, Pule was elected to return to an ANC seat in the National Assembly. During a cabinet reshuffle on 30 June 2026, president Cyril Ramaphosa appointed her as the Minister of Social Development. She was sworn in the following day.