The recommendation by the ethics committee of Parliament to sanction South African Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota for a week’s salary is likely to cost him just R11 485.
The multi-party ethics committee led by African National Congress (ANC) member of Parliament (MP) Luwellyn Landers has recommended to the National Assembly that the minister be required to forfeit seven day’s salary as minister for not publicly disclosing interests in the wine and oil industries.
Ministers in his earning notch receive R746 535 a year, including a R149 307 car allowance.
However, Landers said the sanction was on his basic salary — and would not include the car allowance amount.
“We wanted to keep it simple,” he said.
The committee has also recommended to the National Assembly that the minister receive a written reprimand from the Speaker of the National Assembly, Frene Ginwala. The minister appeared before the committee this morning.
The Mail & Guardian reported on May 16 that Lekota had failed to disclose interests in fuel and wine businesses.
He immediately admitted this and said he regretted having failed to disclose them as required by law. The minister also admitted that he may have benefited financially from one of the companies he failed to disclose.
The M&Greported that Lekota had shares in Prestprops, which trades as BZL Petroleum, and was a director of Free State wine cellar Landzicht, which is owned by the GWK group which regularly supplied wine to the Free State Government. Lekota was previously premier of the Free State.
He told the newspaper: “It was my intention to disclose my interests. It is accurate that in practice I did not disclose.”
Members of Parliament — including ministers — are required to register their financial interests in a Register of Members’ Interests. – I-Net Bridge