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Summary:

President’s decision to publish names of members of the executive who breached Ethics Code is a step in the right direction
Decision is about-turn, after President last week refused to name names
Parliament is duty-bound to request Public Protector to investigate circumstances surrounding failure of remaining 23 cabinet ministers to disclose interests.


The Presidency’s decision to publish the names of cabinet ministers who failed to disclose their financial interests within the stipulated 60 day period is a step in the right direction.

The list of names, a copy of which follows below, includes Deputy President Kgalema Motlanthe, Higher Education Minister Blade Nzimande, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, Defence Minister Lindiwe Sisulu, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi and Cooperative Governance Minister Sicelo Shiceka.

We note that the Presidency has decided to publish these names despite President Zuma’s statement, in response to one of my parliamentary questions, that he “did not believe that any purpose will be served in releasing the names” as the ministers’ failure to disclose was a “bona fide” mistake. The statement by Mr Maseko said:
“In replying to Mr Trollip's question, the President did not feel that any useful purpose would be served in releasing the names as members had already complied. The National Executive has nothing to hide on this matter and here are the names…”
This is a notable about-turn, and certainly a positive development.

The President has made it clear that he regards the failure of members of the executive to disclose their financial interests as a “bona fide mistake”, and the Cabinet has said they have “nothing to hide on this matter”. However, if the executive has indeed acted in good faith, then there should also now be some evidence that the recommendations set out in the Public Protector’s are being acted upon.

The Public Protector's report stated that urgent amendments to Executive Members’ Ethics Act and Executive Ethics Code should be passed, and that these should be completed by June 2010. Six months later, the failure to act upon these recommendations means that members of the cabinet have little incentive to comply with the ethics code, and are still not held to account when they fail to do so.

It is time to make good on the Public Protector's recommendations, and ensure that the necessary amendments are made to the Executive Members Ethics Act, and the Ethics Code.

The DA will now submit a new request to the Public Protector, asking that the 23 other members of the cabinet who failed to submit their financial interests are investigated, just as the President was. It is incumbent upon us as Members of Parliament not simply to accept the President’s account of events and move on. The Public Protector, not the President, is responsible for formally assessing whether a member of the cabinet made a “bona fide mistake” in failing to declare their interests. As such, I will submit a second formal request in terms of section 3(1) of the Executive Members Ethics’ Act, asking that the Public Protector investigates the other 23 breaches of section 5 of the Ethics Code.

Accountability, transparency and openness are the cornerstones of our constitutional democracy. As the holders of the highest public office in the land, the members of the executive, led by President Zuma, should be setting the example in terms of embodying these values. While the release of these names is a welcome step in the right direction, the Presidency now needs to demonstrate that it is genuinely acting in good faith on this matter, by taking up the Public Protectors’ recommendations to amend the Ethics Code.