The onus is now on President Jacob Zuma to do the right thing, stand by his stated commitment to clean government, and tell Transport Minister S'bu Ndebele to hand back the R1.1-million Mercedes-Benz that was given to him as a "gift" by a group of contractors. In so doing President Zuma would set the correct tone for his administration and send a clear signal that he is genuinely committed to ensuring that the special favours and perks for a well connected elite will not be tolerated. We also believe it would be appropriate for the Auditor-General to conduct a special investigation into the contracts awarded to Vukuzakhe, to make sure that they were granted no special favours in the many contracts they have been awarded over the past years.

The conflict of interest in Minister Ndebele's acceptance of this gift is clear as day. President Zuma as part of his election platform pledged to fight corruption in government and he now has an opportunity to match his words with deeds. Minister Ndebele has handed the President the final word on whether or not to accept the vehicle, so the President can now show South Africans that he intends to keep to his commitment to good governance.

Minister Ndebele states that he has no personal or private business interests with Vukuzakhe. Quite so. The conflict of interest stems from his dealings with Vukuzakhe in his capacity as a government official. That Vukuzakhe has received R10-billion in contracts over the past decade, and are now rewarding an official who has been intricately involved in many of those conflicts, is quite blatantly problematic.

The impression has certainly been created that Minister Ndebele is being paid back for years of generous government contract work. Minister Ndebele's response to this is to state that he only found out that he would receive a cabinet posting after receiving the gifts. These claims ring hollow because the conflict of interest stands irrespective of whether he received a cabinet posting or was retiring. There is also simply no reason why a highly paid government official should receive such an extravagant gift, which in the final analysis is funded by tax payer's money, simply for doing his job.

Statement issued by Athol Trollip, MP, Democratic Alliance parliamentary leader, May 19 2009

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