Balfour complaints dismissed
2008-11-13 20:31
Cape Town - Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour has not breached Parliament's code of ethics, the National Assembly's ethics committee said on Thursday.
"...the committee found that the allegation that the minister received a gift in respect of the motor vehicle was not substantiated, consequently there is no breach of the code," committee chairperson Luwellyn Landers said in a statement.
The committee was investigating complaints by former correctional services national commissioner Vernie Petersen - who alleged that Balfour's 4x4 Volkswagen Toureg could be a gift from a company linked to Bosasa group of companies which won a multi-million rand prisons' tender.
However, the committee found that Kgwerano Financial Services (Pty) Ltd, which is linked to Bosasa, had no links to Kgwerano Asset Finance - a division of the Wesbank that financed Balfour's vehicle.
The committee also found that Wesbank had been debiting Balfour's bank instalments on the vehicle.
Allegations that a mysterious company had settled Balfour's vehicle account balance were also rejected by the committee.
"No cash payment was received by Wesbank as settlement of this account," the committee found.
Balfour had since removed Petersen from the department after a deal was struck between the embattled correctional services minister and Sports and Recreation Minister Makhenkesi Stofile to swop their directors-general.
- SAPA