DA to report van Rooyen to the Public Protector for misleading Parliament

30 October 2016

In a reply to a DA Parliamentary question, Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA), Des van Rooyen, denied visiting the Gupta’s compound in Saxonwold in the run up to his disastrous appointment as Finance Minister. 

Yet, reports today indicate that van Rooyen met with the Gupta’s at their residence not once but seven times. 

Clearly he was misleading in his reply and in so doing he has contravened the Executive Ethics Code.

Section 2.3 (a) of the Executives Ethics Code states that “Members of the Executive may not (a) wilfully mislead the legislature to which they are accountable”

The DA will now report van Rooyen to the Public Protector, Adv Busisiwe Mkhwebane, for this violation of the act. 

Details in today's Sunday Times indicate that his appointment as Minister of CoGTA may have been part of a longer term plan to allow Gupta-linked companies to gain access to the more than R400 billion in municipal expenditure, and that van Rooyen's subsequent appointment as Minister of COGTA was merely another way for them to achieve this outcome.

These latest allegations further demonstrate that the minister is little more than a puppet those strings are pulled to allow access to state funds for the benefit of Zuma and his cronies.

The DA will also be submitting parliamentary questions to the Minister to determine:

1. Whether there have been any discussions between himself and Eric Wood and/or Ian Whitely regarding the use of municipal assets to secure private debt financing for municipalities?

2. The nature of his relationship with the Gupta’s and their known associates;

3. Whether the Minister in fact did meet with the Gupta’s in the week prior to his appointment as Minister of Finance?

The Democratic Alliance will not allow a Minister to get away with misleading Parliament and the people of South Africa. Nor will we permit South Africa's municipalities to be looted by the Gupta’s or the ANC. 

MINISTRY FOR COOPERATIVE GOVERNANCE AND TRADITIONAL AFFAIRS

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY

QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN REPLY

QUESTION NUMBER: 927

Mr J H Steenhuisen (DA) to ask the Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs:

Has (a) he and/or (b) his Deputy Ministers ever (i) met with any (aa) member, (bb) employee and/or (cc) close associate of the Gupta family and/or (ii) attended any meeting with the specified persons (aa) at the Gupta’s Saxonwold Estate in Johannesburg or (bb) anywhere else since taking office; if not, what is the position in this regard; if so, in each specified case, (aaa) what are the names of the persons who were present at each meeting, (bbb)(aaaa) when and (bbbb) where did each such meeting take place and (ccc) what was the purpose of each specified meeting? 

Reply: 

(a) (aa) (cc))(b)   

The Minister and his Deputy Ministers have never met with members, employee and/or close associates of the Gupta family in their official capacities.  

(aa)(bb)(aaa)(bbb)(aaaa)(bbbb)(ccc) Not applicable

ENDS

Statement issued by Kevin Mileham MP, DA Shadow Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, 30 October 2016