Mr Chairman, hon members, in many competitive sports today, preventing athletes from acquiring an unfair advantage from artificial stimulants has become an entire growth industry. Track and field athletes lose their medals at major events; cyclists are sent home in disgrace.
Next week the Auditor-General's conflict of interest report will be the subject of a public hearing. Senior government officials will be called to account.
In an open society, disclosure and transparency become the norms against which we assess performance. Just as with competitive sports, we require officials to be open and transparent in the disclosure of their personal and their families' interests. Like competitive sportspeople, we need to expand the regime of disclosure to include sanctions for nondisclosure. Like the athlete who fails to provide a sample for drug testing is suspended, so the official who fails to make full disclosure of his or her family's interests should be the subject of departmental sanction.
The DA believes in expanding opportunities for all, but we also believe in the advantages of an open society. Such societies are characterised by fair and robust competition, and the ideal is that of a level playing field. Where officials have hidden their family interests, they have conspired to prevent free, open and transparent competition. They have prevented Parliament, as the oversight authority, and civil society and the media exercising from the right to comment on and critique the decisions of government. This denies public access to an open society, which the DA wishes to expand. Thank you. [Time expired.]