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Reports in today's Sunday Independent that the ANC is attempting to impede parliament's ability to rewrite the rules of conduct for public representatives is a blatant act of political defiance by the ruling party. Not only does the ANC's conduct display an acute lack of political will to act on the recommendations made by the Public Protector, Adv Thuli Madonsela, in her DA-requested investigation into President Jacob Zuma's failure to disclose his financial interests, it also raises serious questions about the party's determination to conflate party and state and its belief that its leaders- far from exemplifying appropriate behaviour- remain above the law.

The recommendations put forward in Adv Madonsela's report, which is available from the DA on request, concern glaring anomalies in the Executive Members' Ethics Act and the Executive Ethics Code. Her report also highlights that, along with President Jacob Zuma, almost 40% of the cabinet failed to disclose their financial interests within the stipulated 60 day period and were, therefore, also in contravention of the Act.

In the light of such damning findings, cabinet should have tackled the review of the parliamentary code of conduct as a matter of urgency. However, despite President Zuma's assertions to the contrary, this has been a parliament characterized by inaction on key issues. The fact that almost half of its members, and the President himself, have been implicated in breaching the Ethics Code places the highest decision making body in the land in a compromised position.

Reports that the ethics review process has been, in part, further delayed by the decision of the ANC Chief Whip, Mathole Motshekga, to wait until a mandate had been issued by the ANC's National General Council (NGC) is characteristic of the ruling party's tendency to blur the line between party and state. Comments to the contrary by ANC Secretary-General, Gwede Mantashe that the political mandate for such a review rests not with the ruling party, but with parliament, is illustrative of the growing chasms of opinion in the ANC's top structures.

Furthermore, it has been mooted that delays are also attributable to a number of ethics-related Private Members' Bills yet to be passed, such as the DA's submissions concerning the awarding of government tenders to political parties and the anomalies in the Executive Members' Ethics Act and Ethics Code. A host of Private Members' Bills- intended to improve and enhance existing legislation, lie fallow, thanks to the ANC's lack of political will to attend to them. Quite why these Bills have now been regarded as of sufficient importance to delay a critical parliamentary review is unclear.

These are the signs of a party which, far from seeing itself as a custodian of the law, regards itself as above it and tries to subvert it at every suitable opportunity. In addition to submitting parliamentary questions to obtain further information about those members of the executive who were found to be in contravention of the Executive Ethics Code, I will be writing to the Secretary of Cabinet to determine whether action has been taken on recommendations made by the Public Protector regarding the administration of the Register of Members' Interests - and if not, why.

In its scramble to avoid increased scrutiny of the conduct of its highest ranking members, the ANC has devised a series of political curve balls to try and delay the ethics review process indefinitely. The party has employed the same avoidance tactics with regards to discussions concerning the proposed portfolio committee to oversee the presidency. In an environment where voters are growing increasingly dissatisfied with the lack of accountability embodied by the ANC's leadership, the ruling party's strategy to avoid oversight of the executive's financial interests may well be accompanied by an even greater political cost.