Ramphele sets the bar high

MAMPHELA Ramphele, leader of the new political party Agang, set a bold precedent when she disclosed her personal wealth this week. She reported a net worth of R55.4-million, which is made up of shares, annuities, a R30-million trust and a R10-million home. Given the culture of enrichment that has developed since 1994 and the levels of real and suspected corruption, our democracy would be well served if other senior leaders would follow her lead.

Cabinet rules require ministers and the president to report details of their interests in a confidential register held by the cabinet secretary, but the mechanism is almost meaningless without the transparency that is denied.

If voters know where their leaders have invested and what companies they hold interests in, they will be better able to assess the allocation of the government’s huge range of pending infrastructure contracts.

They might also be better able to understand the sometimes skewed prioritisation of government spending on big-ticket items such as weapons, nuclear power stations and transport infrastructure.

Ramphele has challenged President Jacob Zuma and other party leaders to match her initiative, and they should. The reality may be, however, that the gesture backfires when no one takes up her challenge to volunteer details of their own personal finances.

With nothing to compare it to, her wealth may seem excessive to most of the people whose vote she and the other political parties will be chasing next year. Without equivalent information from Zuma and the Democratic Alliance’s Helen Zille, voters might assume, possibly quite wrongly, that she is the richest among them.

But if, over the next few months, voters make it clear that they expect their leaders to disclose the information, they may be left with no alternative but to do so, and we will all be the richer for it.