Management of Conduct > Disclosure

Is disclosure (declaration of personal assets, financial interests, etc.) required in the public service?


If yes, from whom?
Elected officials (245c)

Senior public servants (245d), specify levels: Members of Parliament, Cabinet and MECs

Others: Specify others:

Disclosure is confined to particular sectors e.g. customs, etc. (245h)

Specification Disclosure (245i)

Are disclosure requirements more rigorous or stringent in any one sector than in another?


If yes, in what sectors and which ways?
Disclosure requirements are currently more stringent in respect of Members of Parliament than for local Councillors. The position in respect of Executive Members is unclear at present. Disclosure for MPs and MECs is much stricter than for senior public officials. The financial interests of MPs are reported in a public register. They must disclose gifts valued at over R350.

 

What information is required to be disclosed?

Assets and liabilities (247a)

Loans (247b)

Sources and levels of income (247c)
Outside positions (247d)
Previous employment (247e)
Gifts (247f)

Other (247g)

Specification (247h): Sponsored foreign travel, Pensions, Hospitality. See:
- section 2 (2) (c) and (d) of Annexure F
- paragraph 4 of Annexure G2 and
- Schedule 7 of the Local Government Transition Act. Please note that a rule such as appears in para 4.2 of Annexure G2 is generally applicable.

What is the time interval for disclosing information?

Annually(248a)

When joining the public service (248b)
When relevant circumstances change (248c)
When leaving the public service (248d)

Other (248e)

Specification (248f):
- In respect of MPs see para 3.2.2 of Annexure G2
- In respect of Local Councillors, disclosure is on
an ad hoc basis as and when the circumstances require it.

Is the disclosure public?


If yes, who has access and to what types of information? (249c)

The Code of Conduct for MPs has a public section and a confidential section. I am unsure of the details in respect to Local Councillors. For public officials, the relevant state department has access to this information.

 

How is the disclosed information verified? (250)

There is currenlty no formal verification measure. There is a register of members' interests in parliament maintained by a dedicated person. The Registrar of Members' Interests is Fazeela Mohammed and she can be contacted through Parliament, PO Box 15, Cape Town. NGOs such as IDASA and the media publish an annual list of MPs disclosed interests which is open to public scrutiny and can be challenged.