dipuo peters? Ms Elizabeth Dipuo Peters National Assembly Deputy Minister of Small Business Development Party: African National Congress on the National List CONTACT DETAILS 082 045 0241 Dipuo8@icloud.com SOCIAL MEDIA DETAILS Dipuo Peters PARLIAMENT MEMBERSHIP HISTORY 1994 – 1997 NA Member (Whip) 1997 – 2009 NCape Provincial Legislature (Chief Whip) 2009 – 2017 NA Member POLITICAL LEADERSHIP BACKGROUND Became politically active at a young age during high school and in the Young Christian Students Movement. Was central to building students and youth anti-apartheid structures in Galeshewe, the Northern Cape Region, Northern Transvaal and South Africa broadly. In 1987, Dipuo Peters was elected to the National Executive Committee of the South African Youth Congress, an umbrella organization of youth formations affiliated to the United Democratic Front. She was at the same period a volunteer organizer and worker educator of the South African Domestic Workers Union, an affiliate of the Congress of South African Trade Unions. After the unbanning of political organizations and the release of political prisoners, Ms Peters was part of the contingent of youth leaders in the Provisional National Youth Council appointed to lead the charge in Re -establishing the African National Congress Youth League and to organize its first ever Congress under conditions of legality. Minister of Transport, Ministry of Transport of South Africa 1987, BA in Social Work, University of the North; 1987-90, Head, Women’s Department, South African Youth Congress; 1990, Secretary, Women Affairs, African National Congress Youth League; 1990-91, Member, Provincial National Youth Council; 1992-94, Social Worker, NCCR; 1996, Member, Provincial Executive, ANC, Northern Cape; 2004, Deputy Chairperson, ANC, Northern Cape then Provincial Chairperson; 1997-99, Chief Whip, ANC, Northern Cape Provincial Legislature; 1997-2003, Treasurer, ANC: 1999-2004, Member, Executive Council, Health; 1998-2007, Member, ANC NEC; 2002-08, Member, National Executive Committee, ANC Women’s League; 1998-2007, Member, National Executive Committee; ANC; 2003-07, Provincial Chairperson, ANC; 2004-09, Premier, Northern Cape. Since 2009, current position. President Cyril Ramaphosa has suspended his Deputy Minister of Small Business Development Dipuo Peters. According to the Presidency, Ramaphosa had informed Peters of his decision to suspend her. The head of state’s decision follows a sanction adopted by Parliament’s Joint Committee on Ethics and Members Interests against Peters. President Cyril Ramaphosa has suspended under-fire Deputy Minister of Small Business Development Dipuo Peters. On Friday, the Presidency confirmed that Ramaphosa had informed Peters of his decision to suspend her. “The decision follows a sanction adopted by Parliament’s Joint Committee on Ethics and Members Interests against the deputy minister,” the Presidency said in a statement. “The committee found that Peters had breached the Code of Ethical Conduct in her former portfolio as minister of transport. Consequently, Ms Peters was sanctioned and suspended for one term.” Peters’ suspension, which will be without pay, became effective on 28 February and will end on 28 March. In November 2023, Peters was suspended from her seat in all parliamentary debates, sittings, committee meetings, functions and operations for one term of the parliamentary programme. The former transport minister’s salary was not docked. The complaints against her were laid by activists Zackie Achmat – who intends to run as an independent candidate in this year’s elections – Zukiswa Fokazi, and non-profit organisation #UniteBehind in September 2022 following the release of the Zondo Commission’s report. Some of the complaints against Peters were: She was neglectful in her previous portfolio as minister of transport by failing to appoint a group CEO for Prasa. Peters dismissed the Prasa board chaired by Popo Molefe seemingly because it had uncovered R14 billion in irregular expenditure and instituted investigations into corruption at Prasa. The High Court found her conduct was irrational, unreasonable, and unlawful. Peters also attempted to stop the investigations into corruption at Prasa that were initiated by the Molefe board. “That the member [Peters] failed to investigate the allegation of the R79 million of Prasa money paid by Swifambo to other people for alleged distribution to the African National Congress. The member was under a duty to ensure that corruption was rooted out from public entities.” Peters used Prasa buses for ANC events in 2014 and 2015 without ensuring payment from the party. Turning to the courts in January, Peters has failed in her urgent bid to block her suspension from Parliament, imposed last year as censure for state capture breaches while she was the minister of transport. Western Cape High Court Acting Judge Mushahida Adhikari said neither her urgent application nor her intended review of the decision had any merit and would effectively result in Peters serving no sanction, which would be a breach of the separation of powers, GroundUp reported. The judge dismissed the entire application (the urgent interdict and the pending review), ordering Peters to pay the legal costs of #UniteBehind and the speaker of the National Assembly, which had both opposed her application. Ms Peters, was subsequently deployed to the Northern Cape and Free State to work for the UNITED Nations High Commission for Refugees subcommittee named The National Coordinating Committee for the Repatriation of Exiles and Reintegration of Political Prisoners. With the subsequent conclusion of this mandate she was employed as a Social Worker at the Association for Physically Disabled in the Northern Cape. A position she held till her deployment to the National Assembly as part of the first cohort of ANC Members of Parliament in a democratically elected Constituent Assembly where she was given the responsibility of as Whip. In 1997, she was redeployed to the Northern Cape Legislature and was appointed Chiefwhip. 1987 – 1991: Secretary for Women in SA Youth Congress (ANCYL) 1985 – 1987: Organiser of the South African Domestic Workers Union in Ncape 1990 – Present: ANC Member and ANC Women’s League 1996 – 2004: Member of ANC Provincial Executive Committee 1996 – 2003: Provincial Treasurer of the ANC 2003 – 2004: Acting Provincial Chairperson of ANC 1997 – 2007 and 2014 – 2017: ANC NEC Member 2003 – 2008: ANC Women’s League NEC member 1999 – 2004: MEC of Health in Ncape 2004 – 2009: Premier of Northern Cape 2009 -2013: Minister of Energy, Republic of South Africa 2013 – 2017: Minister of Transport, Republic of RSA EDUCATION Degree in Social Work at the then University of the North, now University of Limpopo. INTERESTS Church, community work and working with children. PAST COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIPS 1994 – 1997: PC on Public Works 1994-1996: Constitutional Assembly, Thematic Committee 1994 – 1997: PC on Social Development POLITICAL IDEAS / ACHIEVEMENTS GOALS & AMBITIONS FOR THE COUNTRY Whatever task you are given, do it to the best of your ability