Ethics Committee anything but ethical

16 March 2016

Note to Editors: The following statement was delivered by the Chief Whip of the Democratic Alliance,John Steenhuisen MP, during a media briefing at Parliament.

It has become obvious that the Joint Committee on Ethics and Members' Interests (The Committee) has been turned into an ANC political hit squad with a mandate to besmirch opposition members and their reputations while protecting members of the ANC in Parliament.

The Committee’s Chair, Amos Masondo, has presided over it in an overtly partisan manner since his appointment, targeting members of the opposition and violating basic procedures, all the while protecting the ANC in Parliament. A fine example is when last year, at least two attempts to raise the Public Protector’s report Derailed which directly implicated ANC MP, Puleng Mabe, in The Committee were dismissed because Mr Masondo thought that the 385-page report was “too big” to print.

On multiple occasions Mr Masondo has provided the press comment and details on the Committee's hearings despite his oath of confidentiality. Often DA members under investigation by The Committee have only heard of developments when they appear in print or when called for comment.

The Committee’s Registrar, Ms Fazela Mahomed’s conduct has been characterised by deliberate malice towards members of the opposition. The Registrar has shown open bias, and a disturbing lack of attention to detail and proper process. I have repeatedly written to the Speaker of the National Assembly, Baleka Mbete, requesting a meeting to discuss the Registrar and the serious concerns voiced regarding her conduct and the circumstances surrounding her appointment.

Confidential DA complaints against other members of Parliament submitted to the Registrar as well as reports compiled by her have repeatedly been leaked to senior members of the ANC. In October last year the ANC received the Declaration of Member’s Interests, and even released press statements on it, before the register was even published.

Subsequently complaints were lodged against DA MPs for not submitting complete declarations of interests before the deadline. We took immediate steps to rectify the oversight. However, the committee resolved to ignore all precedent and pursued the complaint against DA Leader Mmusi Maimane and DA Member of Parliament Makashule Gana. The Committee did not inform the members of the complaint against them, did not ask for their inputs, gave them no opportunity to give evidence or be heard, and made a finding without any regard for basic due process. 

After the finding had already been made, the DA was informed for the first time formally by the Committee, and was asked whether we wished to appeal. This is obviously ludicrous, and we could not possibly accept such a fundamentally unfair process. We have made a comprehensive submission to the Committee, and await their response. 

In the meantime the DA has still not received confirmation that our complaint against the seven ANC MPs who failed to submit their declaration of members’ interests (four without explanation or apology) to Parliament by the same 31 July 2015 deadline would be investigated, despite numerous attempts to contact the Committee. 

The DA has also lodged complaints against numerous other ANC MPs with the Committee such as Mandla Mandela for his assault conviction, former Buffalo City Mayor, Zukiswa Ncitha for her role in the misappropriation of state funds for Nelson Mandela’s funeral, as well as former Moqhaka Municipality Mayor, Johad Mohapi Mohapi for an assault charge, and Bongani Mkongi for his racist incitement of violence on social media in January this year.

These were all potential violations of the Code of Ethical Conduct, but have not been investigated at all. The Committee and Registrar have advanced every excuse possible to explain their failure to deal with these cases consistently. 

Once the Ethics Committee, under the stewardship of Ben Turok, was lauded as one that combated corruption in Parliament and held all MPs accountable. Now it only sputters to life when the opposition can be politically persecuted. 

Its continued politicised action has compromised The Committee’s integrity, made it complicit in a number of the complaints brought before it, and clearly points to political collusion designed to smear opposition members.

The DA can no longer sit by and accept this partisan persecution and intends to take some of the recent rulings on review, in an effort to restore a sense of fairness and integrity to a committee that has clearly lost any credibility.

Update:

Statements issued by John Steenhuisen MP, Chief Whip of the Democratic Alliance, 16 March 2016