Lekota faces fine, reprimand

2003-05-22 11:46

Donwald Pressly

Cape Town - Parliament's joint committee on ethics and member's interests has recommended that Defence Minister Mosiuoa Lekota be required to forfeit seven days' salary as minister for not disclosing interests in the wine and oil industry.

In terms of parliamentary procedure, MPs - including members of the cabinet - must disclose their financial interests in a register of members' interests.

The committee has also recommended to the National Assembly that the minister receive a written reprimand from speaker Frene Ginwala. The minister appeared before the committee on Thursday morning.

Committee chairperson Luwellyn Landers, an African National Congress MP, said the committee wanted to emphasise that members of parliament, as elected public representatives, had an obligation to be transparent and must take the provisions of the code of ethics seriously.

The committee found, however, there was no evidence the minister had willfully withheld information with the intention to mislead parliament.

"The committee is therefore sanctioning his negligence."

'Co-operative demeanour'

Landers said the committee "noted the promptness with which Minister Lekota responded, his own admission of a casualness in regard to disclosure and his co-operative demeanour".

Asked when the recommendations would be considered by the assembly, Landers said that was up to parliamentary management. He said the recommendations would be sent to Ginwala today.

Asked why the decision was taken not to oblige the minister to apologise to the assembly directly, Landers said this was "outside of the purview of the committee".

The Mail & Guardian broke the story on May 16 that Lekota had failed to disclose interests in fuel and wine businesses.

He immediately admitted this and said he regretted having failed to disclose them as required by law.

The minisiter also admitted he may have benefited financially from one of the companies he failed to disclose.

The newspaper reported that Lekota had shares in Prestprops, which traded as BZL Petroleum, and was a director of Free State winery Landzicht, which was owned by the GWK group which regularly supplied wine to the Free State government.

Lekota was previously premier of the Free State.

He told the newspaper: "It was my intention to disclose my interests. It is accurate that, in practise, I did not disclose."

- I-Net Bridge (Business)