ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba has challenged President Cyril Ramaphosa and the leaders of three other major political parties to join him in undertaking public lifestyle audits before the election.
Mashaba on Saturday wrote to Ramaphosa, the DA’s John Steenhuisen, the EFF’s Julius Malema and the IFP’s Velenkosini Hlabisa asking them to take part in the audit at his expense.
In the letters, which the Sunday Times has seen, Mashaba says forensic expert Paul O’Sullivan has agreed to do the work.
ActionSA says there is a trust deficit between political leaders and citizens that had to be rectified.
“Therefore, on behalf of ActionSA, I am challenging the leaders of the four largest political parties represented in parliament to undergo public lifestyle audits ahead of the 2024 national elections,” wrote Mashaba. “As the leader of ActionSA, a party committed to ethical leadership, I have long volunteered to undergo a lifestyle audit and I believe these audits should then be published for public scrutiny.”
Mashaba said that any political leader who wants to represent the South African people should be willing to show voters that they have nothing to hide.
“I have nothing to hide and will be the first to undergo an audit to prove this. It is only when we vote for ethical leaders who commit to fight corruption that we will be able to turn around our failing state. And fighting corruption must start with an unwavering personal committed to transparency.”
O’Sullivan confirmed he had been approached by Mashaba, who he has known for more than 30 years, to conduct the audits, and he had agreed.
“He’s self-made and yet bears no arrogance. He would be a fine leader, which is what our country needs right now. O’Sullivan Brosnan & Associates have therefore agreed to carry out lifestyle audits at the instance of ActionSA,” said O’Sullivan.
He said he was confident the audits could be completed by the time the country votes.
But his political rivals unanimously snubbed Mashaba.
“It’s a silly and ill-informed challenge with respect to the president because he is already compliant with the executive ethics code in terms of disclosure of financial interests that he completes and submit to the secretary of cabinet,” said Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya.
“This is just another desperate electioneering ploy from Mr Mashaba. Perhaps his messaging is not resonating with voters.”
Steenhuisen said Mashaba and O’Sullivan were welcome to peruse his declarations in parliament, which are publicly available.
“I am already a public representative and have been so since 1999. All my income, assets, gifts, sponsorships, directorships, hospitality, and travel are declared publicly every year in parliament and have been since 2009,” said Steenhuisen.
“I have not commissioned any books on myself,” he added, in reference to the brouhaha last year over a biography of Mashaba, The Outsider, which publisher Jonathan Ball withdrew from the market when it emerged Mashaba himself had funded it.
EFF spokesperson Sinawo Tambo said the declarations Malema made were enough to show he did not live beyond his means.
“We can’t be challenged by arrivalists who seek popularity using our name. We comply with all financial and legislative mechanisms to prove we do not live beyond our means or derive financial gain in an inappropriate manner, and that’s sufficient,” said Tambo.
The IFP’s Mkhuleko Hlengwa said Mashaba’s challenge was just political posturing.
“Hlabisa, as a former MPL and now an MP, is subject to annual declarations of personal interests in parliament. We believe that this is adequate and appreciate that president Hlabisa duly complies with these processes without fail or compromise. The IFP and its president are not a pawn in the campaign posturing of ActionSA,” said Hlengwa.
The ANC had not responded by the time of going to print.
ActionSA national chair Michael Beaumont said many politicians lead a life of opulence which has to be looked into.
“Politics is not a place where one should become wealthy, it’s not explicable that people can have the lifestyle we see with our politicians while they are earning salaries that are publicly gazetted that cannot justify the lifestyles of those politicians,” said Beaumont.
“The South African people have every right to know whether the political leaders in this election are ethical people and people whose lifestyles are in line with their incomes. And if they cannot justify their lifestyles in terms of their income then South Africans have serious questions to ask about these leaders in terms of whether they can be trusted with public money.”
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