No tenders for MPs' business partner or family

Members of Parliament adopted a revised Code of Conduct today, which included a provision banning them from doing business with the state. The code goes further and places limitations on their family members and business partners business dealings with the state.

During a meeting of the Joint Rules Committee yesterday, the ANC objected to the prohibition. Zukiswa Rantho argued that the Committee needed to be “cautious” about this issue. “Some of us are still young and have young children that we are raising. We have spouses who are active in business so we should not go all out in order to make sure that we disadvantage ourselves”.

She was supported by Dr Zukile Luyenge who pointed out that MPs are not guaranteed that they will serve a full five-year term. “Can we then disadvantage our families by being here and not allowing them to pursue their business interests?”

The DA’s Dianne Kohler-Barnard opposed those views and argued that “we as parliamentarians may have influence over a tender, next thing you have a parliamentarian ensuring a tender goes to their child. This is what it is attempting to prevent. We are supposed to be cleaning up and ensuring that no MP ever has a cloud over their heads”.

Co-Chairperson of the Joint Rules Committee, Lemias Mashile, shared this view and commented that “through family members we create situations that are untenable”.

After failing to reach consensus yesterday, the Joint Rules Committee revisited the issue today and there was wide support for the proposal put forward by Dr Gerhardus Willem Koornhof. It read as follows:

• 6(1) A Member may not receive any benefit including but not limited to a tender or a contract with an organ of state
• 6(2) A Members immediate family may not receive any benefit including but not limited to a tender or a contract with an organ of state arising out of a relationship with a member or any influence arising out of that relationship
• 6(3) A Members business may not receive any benefit including but not limited to a tender or a contract with an organ of state arising out of an association with a member or any influence arising out of that relationship

Co-Chairperson of the Committee, Benjamin Turok, explained that “we have separated the different interests and each one has a different formulation because each one has a different kind of relationship”.

The Committee agreed that the Code would exclude the President, Finance Minister and two other Members of the Executive. This was because they were not Members of Parliament according to Lemias Mashile. The President ceases to be an MP when he or she is elected to that position. In turn, the President may appoint three Members to the Executive from outside of Parliament. They instead would be subject to the Executive Code of Conduct, also currently under review.