South Africa’s ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC), has welcomed the speedy action taken by the joint parliamentary committee on ethics and members’ interests — which has recommended that Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota be required to forfeit seven days salary for not disclosing interests in the wine and oil industries.
In terms of parliamentary procedure members of Parliament (MPs) — including members of the cabinet — must disclose their financial interests in the Register of Members’ Interests.
The ANC chief whip in the National Assembly, Nkosinathi Nhleko, said in a statement: ”The African National Congress has noted the recent allegations against Minister Lekota relating to his failure to update his declaration in the register.”
”We appreciate the speedy action taken by the committee; also appreciated is the approach and conduct of Minister Lekota in this matter. Minister Lekota has demonstrated his unreserved and open willingness to co-operate fully with the ethics committee in the days since the matter came to the attention of Parliament.”
”We have the fullest confidence in the proven ability of structures such as the ethics committee to investigate any cases of non-compliance with the code of conduct without fear or favour.”
”The ANC remains committed to clean, open and transparent governance. This commitment has led the ANC to spearhead measures such as the code of conduct for members of Parliament and the Executive Ethics Act.”
”These measures constitute new and relatively unchartered waters in the life of this nation as well as in the international context. For these measures to work, the nation needs to broaden its understanding of due process, it needs to continue as it has in the past, to strengthen its political will to implement both the letter and the spirit of such,” said Nhleko.
Despite their relative newness the ANC is ”of course happy that these mechanisms are working, are supported by all well-meaning South Africans and that our democracy is being strengthened and consolidated on an ongoing basis”.
The joint committee has also recommended to the National Assembly that the minister receive a written reprimand from the Speaker of the National Assembly, Dr Frene Ginwala. The minister appeared before the committee this morning.
Committee chairperson Luwellyn Landers, a ruling African National Congress MP, said that in making these recommendations the joint committee ”wished to emphasise that members of Parliament, as elected public representatives, have an obligation to be transparent and must take the provisions of the code of ethics seriously”.
In a written statement Landers said: ”The joint committee makes the finding that Minister Lekota failed to comply with the provisions of the Code of Conduct with regard to financial interests. The committee found that [he] was negligent in making incomplete disclosures of his interests.”
But the multi-party committee also found that there was no evidence that the minister willfully withheld information with the intention to mislead Parliament. ”The committee is therefore sanctioning his negligence.” – I-Net Bridge