The ICT Indaba of June 2012 in Cape Town was meant to showcase South Africa's telecommunications sector. It became the case study for the Executive Ethics Code. Public Protector Thuli Madonsela's Report 22 of 2013/14, released on 6 December 2013, found that Minister Dina Pule's romantic partner Phosane Mngqibisa had been inserted into the event's organisation; that R6 million of sponsorship reached his company Khemano through an intermediary account; that R15 million in MTN sponsorship was diverted; that the department made an unlawful R10 million donation; and that Pule had misrepresented Mngqibisa as an official companion on state trips costing R89,326. Her conduct was "grossly at odds" with section 96(2) of the Constitution and the Ethics Code, and she had "persistently lied", including to Parliament, about the relationship. Parliament's ethics committee imposed its maximum sanction. President Zuma dropped her from Cabinet in July 2013.
On 30 June 2026 President Ramaphosa appointed Pule Minister of Social Development — the department that runs SASSA and the grants system. Corruption Watch said the appointment "does not invite confidence"; opposition parties called it a "slap in the face". The record is live: the minister found to have lied to Parliament now runs the grants department.