By Mapaballo Borotho
- Social Development Minister Sisisi Tolashe is facing allegations that a departmental employee was made to work at her private home while sharing part of her government salary with the minister’s daughter.
- Tolashe denied knowledge of any payments to her daughter but admitted the employee stayed with her family while remaining on the department’s payroll.
- Opposition parties, including the DA and COPE, are now calling for investigations and demanding accountability.
Minister of Social Development Sisisi Tolashe has been accused of diverting a departmental employee to work at her private home as a nanny and allegedly forcing her to give up 50% of her government-paid salary.
Tolashe, who is also the ANC Women’s League president, has recently come under scrutiny over several allegations, including claims relating to irregular appointments, food aid distribution, governance concerns within the Department of Social Development, and the treatment of a former domestic worker.
The departmental employee was allegedly instructed to work at Tolashe’s private residence and later made to share part of her salary with the minister’s daughter.
Responding to the allegations, Tolashe said the woman was “employed by the department in the official residence in Cape Town.”
However, she admitted that the employee had later been instructed to relocate to the Eastern Cape, where she stayed with her daughter while continuing to receive payment from the department.
Tolashe said she had “no knowledge” of any payments made to her daughter, adding that the pair had “their own arrangement.”
Meanwhile, opposition parties, including the Democratic Alliance (DA) and the Congress of the People (COPE), have called for an investigation into the corruption allegations against the minister, while others have demanded that she step down.
The DA described the allegations as “a disgraceful act of corruption.”
“Appointing people to do household work in the home of a minister at taxpayer expense, and then taking part of their salary, is the very definition of corruption.
“It is also illegal to summarily fire such an employee, without following proper labour law processes, on a whim,” said DA spokesperson on Social Development, Nazley Sharif.
Sharif said allowing Tolashe to remain in office without a full parliamentary inquiry into her conduct was unacceptable.
“There are now multiple allegations against the minister, and this is yet another issue adding to the scandalous behaviour surrounding her leadership.
“It cannot be that a minister acts outside the bounds of ethical leadership and continues to get away with it. This is especially concerning given the dire circumstances facing South Africa’s most vulnerable citizens, whom the Department of Social Development should be prioritising,” she added.
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