Cape Town - National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete has declared equity shares totalling about R27 million, related to her stake in two entities involved in a controversial Gold Fields empowerment deal, Parliament’s register of members’ interests shows.
The register of the annual declarations by all parliamentarians of their financial interests, directorships, gifts over a certain threshold, travel and sponsorships, as required by the code of conduct, was released by the joint ethics committee on Wednesday.
Mbete’s declaration emerged a day after United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa said he would ask the ethics committee to probe, firstly the Speaker’s involvement in the gold miner’s 2010 black economic empowerment transaction and, secondly, whether she received two state incomes: one as the former deputy president and another as Speaker.
The Speaker’s financial declaration reflects 100 equity shares valued at about R25m in Rich Cove Investments and 277 equity shares valued at about R2m in Turncard Trading 118.
These two entities already a year ago emerged as central to the Gold Fields BEE deal, when Mbete was identified publicly as leading Turncard Trading 118, while Rich Cove Investment is widely reported to be led by Jerome Brauns, who was a legal representative for President Jacob Zuma during the trial which ultimately led to his acquittal.
All other sections, like pensions, property and sponsorships, on Mbete’s disclosure form are marked “nothing to disclose”, but she did list a scarf of unknown value from the South Korean embassy.
Mbete’s shareholdings make her the best off of the National Assembly’s presiding officers. In contrast, her deputy, Lechesa Tsenoli, has nothing to declare besides a home in Bloemfontein.
Meanwhile, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa’s financial declarations to Parliament highlight apparent shortcomings in the Companies and Intellectual Property Commission – 18 months after he resigned from platinum mine Lonmin he remains listed as a director on the database.
Although Ramaphosa gave up his empowerment directorship in Lonmin in January last year, five months after the Marikana killings, his name has not yet been removed from the directorship listings, despite what is understood to have been much effort from his part. The same situation applies to another nine directorships from which he resigned from December last year to May this year.
However, Ramaphosa’s resignation from, among others, Bidvest Group, Alexander Forbes Equity Holdings, Mondi, the MTN Group, Standard Bank, the SA Breweries and Shanduka Holdings and Shanduka Resources from May to November last year have been fully processed by the commission.
While personal shareholdings of R76.5 million were disclosed – as are directorships in cattle and game farming and an abattoir – Ramaphosa’s benefits from the family Tshivhase Trust remain unknown.
Those are declared in the confidential section of the Register of Members’ Interest, as several relatives are also involved. It is public record that the trust holds 30 percent in McDonald’s, for which Ramaphosa acquired the developmental licence through his Shanduka Group several years ago.
Processes to put his interests under independent and professional care are under way, although this is expected to be completed only at the end of November. Zuma has granted an extension for this purpose.
Within days of his election as ANC deputy president at the December 2012 Mangaung conference, Ramaphosa pledged to review, and if necessary, delink from his business interests. In May this year, after he was named deputy president, he announced a transactional deal which would lead him to exit his family business interests to avoid any conflict of interests.
While the current parliamentary requirements stipulate disclosure, the Executive Ethics Members Act requires not only disclosure, but either disposal of such interests or an arrangement that keeps financial interests at arm’s length to avoid conflicts of interest.
In addition to his personal shareholding, Ramaphosa also disclosed 32 income properties, including seven retirement homes in Joburg. Under pensions, benefits and sponsorships there was a “nothing to disclose”, but the gifts section lists, among other, a tea set and gifts from a working trip to Sri Lanka, a Nelson Mandela book and DVD, two ANC scarves from the party in KwaZulu-Natal and, from the Chinese Investment Corporation, a nuclear model and tea set.
Political Bureau