Illustrative image: (From left) EFF leader Julius Malema has declared in Parliament’s Register of Members’ Interests that he owns no property or shares, as has DA leader John Steenhuisen. Former High Court judge John Hlophe, now a member of the MK party, has declared that he owns two farms, one of them a game farm. (Photos: Luba Lesolle / Gallo Images | Waldo Swiegers / Bloomberg / Getty Images | Ziyaad Douglas / Gallo Images) 
Of the 17 political party leaders sworn in as MPs in the seventh Parliament, four own zero shares and no property.
That is according to the latest Register of Members’ Interests, in which all members of Parliament except the President are required to disclose various categories of assets, as well as gifts received throughout the year.
The EFF’s Julius Malema, the DA’s John Steenhuisen, the PAC’s Mzwanele Nyhontso and the National Coloured Congress’s Fadiel Adams all declared that they owned nothing at all when it came to shares or property in the latest register.
All four were asked by Daily Maverick for confirmation that this was the case, with only Steenhuisen responding to confirm that his disclosure was accurate.
Steenhuisen indicated on the register that he rents a property in Sea Point. The other three gave no indication of how they are housed, although all would be eligible for subsidised parliamentary housing in Cape Town and Nyhontso, as the Minister for Land Reform and Rural Development, would be eligible for ministerial housing.
A July City Press report involving alleged cruelty to an African Grey parrot, however, named Adams as a “homeowner” in Mitchell’s Plain. If so, there is no record of the property on Adams’ disclosures.
Records of property ownership nationally are available on multiple databases – meaning that public representatives fudging the truth for whatever reason are playing a high-risk game.
Parliament’s spokesperson Moloto Mothapo confirmed to Daily Maverick that the disclosure of assets is effectively an honour system.
“The disclosure system requires of members of Parliament to act truthfully and with integrity when disclosing their financial and registrable interests,” Mothapo said.
He also noted: “Since members of Parliament input their own information into the system, there is potential for typographical errors or unintentional omissions during the data entry process”.
If a complaint is laid with Parliament regarding the veracity of an MP’s disclosures, the Registrar instructs the relevant MP to respond in writing and thereafter, if necessary, carries out an investigation. If the MP is found to have breached the code of ethical conduct, they can be docked a month’s salary or face other penalties, including being barred from debates and committees for a period.
MPs make ‘financial sacrifices’ to be MPs
Attempts by Daily Maverick this week to clarify numerous confusing or seemingly partial disclosures on the register elicited some defensive responses.
We asked Action SA MP Lerato Ngobeni if she could clarify why she declared that she owned no property, but also that she derived income from a rental property – a seeming contradiction.
Ngobeni said: “The rental property referenced in my declaration is not in my name but pertains to family-owned properties. The rental income from these properties is deposited into my account as a longstanding arrangement established during my tenure as a councillor in the City of Johannesburg to supplement my income.”
Ngobeni said our queries reflected a “misunderstanding of the financial realities faced by public representatives”, whose salaries are subject to deductions on “taxes, additional party contributions/tithes, mandatory pension and medical aid contributions and constituency-related expenses”.
She added: “The inflated perception of ordinary MPs as excessively wealthy is both misleading and damaging. Many of us must seek additional income to support our families while fulfilling our public duties. To imply otherwise is not only unfair but undermines the genuine sacrifices made by those of us committed to serving our nation.”
MP salaries start at R1.2-million a year.
According to tax data from 2022, just 1.6% of the South African population earns more than R1-million a year, while the majority – 55,5% – live off less than R1,335 a month.
MPs receive significant additional perks beyond their salaries, as reported by Sunday Times in June 2024.
These include being eligible for parliamentary housing with rentals of R250 (maximum) a month, free transport to Parliament, free electricity and water, free 24-hour protection and free pupil transport to any school in Cape Town. They receive a minimum of 88 free domestic flights per year, a free laptop and mobile phone and reimbursement of communication costs.
In support of Ngobeni’s narrative, however, there are a surprising number of MPs who have disclosed taking sizeable cash loans from friends or unnamed individuals.
One, ANC MP Nobuhle Nkabane, declared an “interest-free loan” from a friend of R570,000.
Farming the side hustle of choice for today’s MPs
Many longstanding MPs appear to have been able to build up significant reserves in terms of property and shares. Others have ongoing side hustles, which is allowed with the permission of their party’s Chief Whip as long as it does not represent a conflict of interests.
One MP, the ANC’s Onica Medupe, has disclosed a sideline income stream which is almost certainly not permitted: a property she owns in Koster, North West, which was rezoned to commercial property and is “currently rented out to the Department of Health in the North West”.
Parliament’s rules on ethical conduct and members’ interests state that MPs “may not enter into a tender or a contract for the provision of goods or services with an organ of state”.
At least 34 MPs have a sideline in some kind of farming.
A newbie MP who has benefited from years of another generous state salary, MK’s John Hlophe, disclosed owning two farms – one a game farm in Paarl. (Hlophe was formerly on a High Court judge salary, prior to his impeachment, of around R1.8-million annually.)
Hlophe’s disclosure is in marked contrast to that of his MK colleague Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla, daughter of Jacob Zuma, who has disclosed precisely nothing: no shares, no loans, no property, no other businesses, no income-generating assets, no trusts.
At least four MPs dabble in the taxi industry; two further have liquor stores on the side.
Gifts to MPs have dried up
On the evidence of this year’s register, gifts to MPs have significantly diminished in both quality and quantity – either a reflection of the general austerity climate of the moment or of less than diligent disclosures.
On the basis of the disclosures, DStv’s parent company MultiChoice emerges as the most generous corporate in the country, having flown at least four MPs to the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, including current Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola.
ANC MP Bertha Mabe – the current deputy minister of Sports, Arts and Culture – enjoyed a jaunt to Moscow Film Week sponsored by the Russian government.
It’s always a tight race, but possibly the least enviable gift to feature on the register this year: Deputy President Paul Mashatile received a framed photo of Prince Edward – from Prince Edward. DM