Former Minister Bathabile Dlamini has compared how she felt during the South African Social Security Agency (Sassa) crisis to being publicly undressed and raped.
The ANC Women's League shared her feelings in an exclusive interview with Eyewitness News on Wednesday.
The controversial Dlamini resigned from Parliament on Tuesday following a number of other former ministers left out of President Ramaphosa's post elections cabinet.
She faced a lot of heat during her time as Social Development especially regarding the contract with Cash Paymaster Services.
She was accused of failing to ensure that Sassa was fully equipped to administer social grants as the expiration date of the contract with Cash Paymaster Services drew nearer.
The court was forced to extend the contract‚ even after it had been found to be illegal.
The Constitutional Court found she was reckless and grossly negligent for failing to disclose information before an inquiry into her role in the social grants debacle.
Dlamini sat down with the news station at her government home in Pretoria, which she was in the process of moving out of.
When she spoke about her time as social development minister and the criticism she faced, she became emotional.
“I feel like I was… you know when you’re undressed and raped? That is the feeling I had.”
But did she take any accountability for the Sassa debacle?
“Yes, I regret what happened but also, you want human beings to be fair and not connive against an individual.”
She said that situation taught her a big lesson.
“A huge lesson that patriarchy comes up in many ways," she said.
Dlamini said she still wanted to lay a complaint with the African National Congress about how she was treated even by her colleagues in government, saying it would help her heal and move on with her life.
Earlier in the interview Dlamini spoke about how she had resigned from Parliament because she needed the ministerial pension benefits to take care of her family.
