Please find attached a soundbite by Siviwe Gwarube MP.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) welcomes the Ethics Committee Report which found that EFF’s Mr Floyd Shivambu is guilty of violating the Code of Ethical Conduct and Disclosure of Members’ Interests.
The DA laid this complaint first in 2018 and again in 2019 when allegations surfaced that Shivambu was embroiled in the grand heist of savings of vulnerable depositors at the VBS Bank. It was important that the Ethics Committee ascertain whether any funds allegedly received by Shivambu were in fact declared as per the requirements of the law.
As the Ethics Committee conducted its work, it found that there were funds that Mr Shivambu received through a company that was owned by his brother; with links to VBS. However, these were never disclosed as is required by law.
The committee resolved to summon the liquidator in the VBS matter. The liquidator provided an affidavit in the form of a report to the committee. The report highlighted that the following money was transferred from Sgameka Projects (a company owned by Mr Brian Shivambu, the Member’s brother) to the Member as follows:
- 18 August 2017: R100 000
- 24 August 2017: R 30 000
- 26 August 2017: R 50 000
Based on this irrefutable evidence, it was found that Mr Shivambu breached item 10.1.1.1 of the Code of Ethical Conduct and Disclosure of Members’ Interests (“the Code”) for failing to comply with the requirements of the provisions for disclosing financial interest.
The Ethics Committee has now recommended a sanction of docking nine days of his salary due this the unethical conduct he has displayed by his failure to disclose monies he received relating to the VBS matter.
We welcome this finding – although it has taken the committee four years to complete – because it demonstrates that there can never be one set of rules for some and exemptions for others. We are Members of Parliament; accountable to the public. That is why it is important that we disclose and declare all financial and non-financial interests. This is for accountability and transparency. Shivambu’s failure to declare monies received through VBS cast doubt on all public statements he has made about this matter. We trust that law enforcement agencies will be reinvigorated in their hunt for the truth.
While this comes as cold comfort to those who lost their life’s savings in the VBS Heist, it is a step in the right direction by Parliament.
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