Ethics Code review to get deadline

2010-06-29 20:10

Cape Town - Public Protector Thuli Madonsela will set a deadline for the presidency and the justice ministry's promised review of the Executive Ethics Code following President Jacob Zuma's failure to declare his interests on time.

"The Public Protector will monitor and follow up on progress. She will also establish timeframes with the authorities involved," her office said on Tuesday.

It added that Madonsela on Monday received a letter from Parliament's joint committee on ethics and members' interests stating that it had not yet acted on recommendations for changes to the code because it was still awaiting the review.

The committee expressed regret for the delay, Public Protector spokesperson Oupa Segalwe said.

Madonsela in April found that Zuma had breached Section 5 of the Executive Ethics Code by failing to declare his interests within 60 days of taking office. He only did so in March this year after a media outcry, missing the deadline by some eight months.

Non-compliance rife

She found that the president was not the only culprit and that non-compliance was rife among Cabinet members.

Madonsela asked that her findings be studied by Cabinet and then forwarded to Parliament. Her report pointed to shortcomings in the act and made proposals on how to address them, including introducing penalties for Cabinet members who fail to comply.

She called on Parliament to impose the same penalties to those who breach the Executive Members' Ethics Act that already apply to MPs who violate the parliamentary code of conduct, as from this month.

She also asked Parliament to tell her by month's end whether penalties for non-compliance with the code should also apply to the president.

But so far the joint committee has done no more than "noted" her recommendations, and press reports suggested plans to tighten the rules were being frustrated by the office of the Chief Whip of the ANC.

Chief Whip Mathole Motshekga's office told the Sunday Independent that Parliament could not process Madonsela's recommendations or give a political mandate for an ethics review until Cabinet had tabled recommendations on how the anomalies in the act should be resolved.

The president escaped sanction when Cabinet decided in May that he would not be fined or forced to apologise for the delay in declaring his interests.

- SAPA