DA ADMITS MAIMANE & OTHERS FAILED TO DISCLOSE FINANCIAL INTERESTS TO PARLIAMENT, ACTION MUST FOLLOW

The Office of the ANC Chief Whip notes that the DA has admitted guilt regarding its MPs’ failure to honestly declare to Parliament the financial benefits they personally received as required by the ethical code of conduct. MPs are required to annually disclose their financial interests to the public in the interest of transparency, accountability and to prevent potential conflict of interest in the execution of their duties.

The DA chief whip has confirmed that party leader Mmusi Maimane is amongst those who received financial sponsorships towards their campaign for leadership at the federal congress earlier this year, but failed to disclose them to Parliament’s register of members interests. Following our announcement that we would bring this matter to the attention of the ethics committee, the DA indicated yesterday these MPs simply forgot and would now fully disclose to the Registrar of Members’ Interests. However, the DA’s sudden bout of conscience is not enough and cannot simply make such a grave transgression disappear.

To wilfully provide the Registrar with incorrect or misleading details is a serious offence that carries harsh sanctions under the Code. In the past, MPs who failed to make full disclosures to parliament wereissued with a public reprimand in the House; fined 30 days' salary; and had their privileges suspended for 15 days. If precedent was to be followed by the ethics committee, Maimane and others should face similar sanctions as provided for in the Code.

For the DA to claim its MPs’ conduct was a mere “oversight” and that they will now disclose, only after we publicly exposed the matter, clearly shows there was a deliberate attempt on the part of the transgressing DA MPs to withhold their financial interests from Parliament. Such conduct, as the ethics committee often asserts, constitutes an abuse of public trust.

We will ask the committee to thoroughly investigate the conduct of these 11 DA MPs to ensure that appropriate sanctions are imposed as punishment for such serious violation of the ethical code.

Issued by Molotho Mothapo on behalf of the Office of the ANC Chief Whip, 30 October 2015