PR-DA-PRESIDENT-LATE
SAPA PR--DA: TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE, MR PRESIDENT |
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Mar 10, 2010 at 04:55 PM |
ISSUED BY: DA
ATTENTION: NEWS EDITORS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
10 MARCH 2010
TOO LITTLE, TOO LATE, MR PRESIDENT
This afternoon's announcement that President Zuma has submitted
a list of financial interests to the Secretary of Cabinet in no way
concludes the matter of his initial non-disclosure.
Making this information available now does nothing to change the
fact that the President violated section 5 of the Executive Ethics
Code, by failing to submit his financial interests within 60 days
of taking office, and that there must be repercussions commensurate
to his misconduct.
The President's disclosure, a full 245 days late, does nothing
to nullify the need for there to be consequences any more or less
than handing in your tax returns nine months late would do.
Mr. Hulley has also failed to explain either why the President
made this disclosure 245 days late, or why, after claiming that
there was legal ambiguity, he has now evidently changed his mind.
Neither the administration nor Mr. Hulley have at any stage even
bothered to explain what this legal ambiguity may have been. The
President has utterly failed to provide the answers to these
questions that the South African public deserve from their
President.
Nor does the statement released by Mr. Hulley make any genuine
attempt to address the primary issue at stake here, which is
transparency. That principle has been violated. As a public
representative the President is required to timeously declare, in
an open and transparent manner, all of his interests. As a public
servant, he is obligated to do so in order to demonstrate that the
decisions he makes cannot be influenced by his personal
circumstances. His impartiality is critical if he is to continue
to, at all times, defend the public interest, and by failing to
meet the requirements of the Ethics Code, he has severely damaged
any notion that he is being open and transparent with the South
African people.
The DA has taken the matter of the President's non-disclosure to
the Public Protector, who is compelled, in terms of section 3(1) of
the Executive Members' Ethics Act, to produce a written report
investigating the President's actions. This is not something that
is contingent on whether the President, 245 days late, decides to
hand in the documentation - it will go ahead, and it must hold the
President to account for his non-compliance.
Apart from breaking the law, the President's actions undermined
the fundamental values that government is expected to espouse -
transparency and accountability. His conduct raises serious
questions about his ability to continue to lead the South African
people. It's too little, too late, Mr President.
MEDIA ENQUIRIES:
Athol Trollip MP - 082 417 9254
Ross van der Linde - 076 543 7254
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