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Today the multiparty Parliamentary Ethics Committee, of which I am a member, found ANC MP Yolanda Botha guilty of wilfully misleading Parliament on her role in receiving kickbacks from a company to which she assigned tenders of more than R50 million. In addition to lying in her sworn affidavit to the committee, she was also found guilty of failing to disclose her business interests.

In light of the seriousness of these charges, the members of the ethics committee were unanimous in their decision to impose the strictest penalties possible under the committee’s mandate. These include a fine equal to one month’s salary, and the recommendation that she be reprimanded in Parliament by the Speaker.

Additionally, we have also recommended that the case be referred to the Directorate of Priority Crimes (the Hawks), the South African Revenue Service (SARS), the South African Institute of Chartered Accountants, and the Parliamentary Disciplinary Committee, which is mandated to impose stricter penalties than the ethics committee.

The DA is pleased that the multiparty ethics committee was unanimous in its decision to impose the strictest possibly penalties in this case. Public representatives found guilty of corruption and abuse of power should be penalised swiftly and to the full extent of the mandates available. We trust that the Parliamentary Disciplinary Committee will take the same line when Ms Botha’s case comes before its members.