Newly appointed Minister of Social Development Dina Pule says she will not “take lightly” the responsibility entrusted to her by President Cyril Ramaphosa.
In an exclusive interview with the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS), Pule described her appointment as both an honour and an opportunity to serve South Africa's most vulnerable with humility and integrity.
She expressed her appreciation to President Ramaphosa for appointing her as Minister of Social Development, and for the confidence he has shown in her since her return to public office.
"I am grateful to the President for the honour and the trust he has placed in me through this appointment. I also appreciate the support I have received since my return to public life after being elected as a Member of Parliament after the 2024 elections," Pule said.
Pule expressed appreciation for the support she has received since returning to public life after being elected as a Member of Parliament in the 2024 General Elections. She said serving as Chairperson of Parliament's Portfolio Committee on Agriculture had reaffirmed her commitment to public service.
“The trust and responsibility given to me as Chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Agriculture has reaffirmed my commitment to the public service. I do not receive this trust lightly. I receive it with humility, gratitude, and a sober awareness of the weight of responsibility that it carries," the Minister said.
Pule said that during her years away from public office, she worked on rebuilding trust, strengthening relationships and reflecting on the values required of public representatives.
"Away from the limelight, I have worked to restore much of what I broke: relationships, trust and, above all, my own understanding of what it means to serve."
Pule said she recognised that being given another opportunity to serve carries significant responsibility, particularly as government seeks to strengthen ethical leadership and rebuild public confidence.
"I do not take this second chance lightly. I know that it carries a price at the very moment when government is renewing its values, and the trust of the people.”
Turning to her new portfolio, Pule said her priority would be to serve those who depend most on government support, including children, older persons and vulnerable households.
"To the people of South Africa, whom I now have the privilege to serve, [including] the poorest and the most vulnerable; the child who depends on a grant; the grandmother who holds a household together; the young person searching for dignity and work, I took an oath of office and will uphold it."
She said her work as Minister would be guided by the Constitution and a commitment to ethical governance.
"I will be guided to the fullest by the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, which is the supreme law of our land and the compass of all who are called to serve within it."
Pule described her appointment as an opportunity to demonstrate through action that trust can be rebuilt.
"This appointment, for me, not a return to comfort. It is a restoration of hope - hope that ours is a nation generous enough to allow redemption and demanding enough to insist that it be earned. I intend to earn it, every single day, through my work and through my conduct,” Pule said.
She concluded by thanking President Ramaphosa, and South Africans for what she described as a second chance to serve.
"I thank the President, and I thank the people of South Africa for the grace of a second chance, which I shall honour with everything that I have." – SAnews.gov.za
