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Johannesburg - Public servants who do not declare their business interests must be named and those found guilty of corruption must get a minimum of 20 years jail time, said the Economic Freedom Fighters on Thursday.
"EFF calls for the names of those public servants to be published and for them to be held accountable and appropriately disciplined for this serious breach," the party's Gauteng caucus leader Mgcini Tshwaku said in a statement.
"We further recommend that a minimum of sentence of 20 years must be given to any found guilty [of] corruption, this will help in sending a message that corruption will never be tolerated."
On Wednesday, the Public Service Commission (PSC) said the overall compliance rate with the submission of financial disclosure framework (FDF) was 79% over the past five financial years.
"What is expected is to be a 100% declaration. Over the past five years, Gauteng government has never been able to reach that," commissioner Michael Seloane said.
He said disclosure of interests enabled government and those involved in handling tenders to do their work and stop preferential treatment.
"If you own companies and you're taking decisions about tenders, you may be tempted to prefer your company," he said.
Seloane said although people did not declare, the PSC was able to find their names on the register of businesses, which led to investigations.
He said based on disclosures submitted for the 2012/13 financial year, the PSC discovered that at least 42% of civil servants had not revealed their involvement in companies.
Over 200 cases of potential conflict of interest were identified.
The PSC found that at least R8m had been lost due to financial misconduct in Gauteng during the 2013/2014 financial year.
Tshwaku said the EFF was concerned about what he called the provincial government's lack of regard for the law.
"This, together with financial mismanagement and a total lack of public accountability is increasingly becoming the signature of the ruling party, both nationally and in Gauteng," he said.
"The Gauteng government's disregard of the law, mishandling of budgets, and tolerance of corrupt officials severely compromises the economic well-being of the people of Gauteng."
