DA wants ethics committee to probe alleged VBS payments to Floyd Shivambu

15th October 2018 By: African News Agency

DA wants ethics committee to probe alleged VBS payments to Floyd Shivambu

EFF Deputy President Floyd Shivambu

The Democratic Alliance (DA) on Monday said it would ask Parliament's ethics committee to investigate Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) chief whip Floyd Shivambu over allegations that he received a R10-million from failed bank VBS Mutual.

"The Democratic Alliance will request Parliament’s Joint Committee on Ethics and Members’ Interest to investigate the EFF’s Chief Whip, Floyd Shivambu, for alleged payments received from VBS Mutual Bank," DA MP Phumzile van Damme said.

The EFF is suffering a media storm after a forensic report released by the South African Reserve Bank last week indicated that his brother Brian Shivambu received "gratuitous payments" of more than R16-million from VBS.

Media reports have suggested that the EFF received R1.3-million and Floyd Shivambu R13-million over a two-year period. He has denied receiving money, dismissing the reports as "weapons of mass deception".

Van Damme said if the media reports were correct, Shivambu would be "in contravention of Members’ Code of Conduct as there is no indication that he declared these monies in the 2015-2017 Declaration of Members Interest and Payments in Parliament".

Clause 4.1.3 of the Code of Conduct clearly stipulates that members must “act in accordance with the public trust placed in them” and clause 5.1.1 states that members must  “resolve any financial or business conflict of interest”, including declaring such interests.

Shivambu has labelled the allegations “weapons of mass deception and propaganda machines”.

Van Damme said the DA challenged him to submit himself to a lifestyle audit.