Paul Mashatile to face R10k fine for not declaring diamond gift to his wife from Louis Liebenberg
Parliament’s ethics committee has rejected Mashatile’s excuses for why he did not declare the diamond after the Democratic Alliance (DA) laid a complaint in March, questioning the omission.
FILE: Deputy President Paul Mashatile in the National Assembly on 8 May 2025. Picture: Phando Jikelo/Parliament
CAPE TOWN - Deputy President Paul Mashatile is set to face a R10,000 fine for failing to declare to Parliament a diamond gifted to his wife by diamond dealer, Louis Liebenberg.
Liebenberg is currently facing a raft of corruption charges related to diamond dealing.
Parliament’s ethics committee has rejected Mashatile’s excuses for why he did not declare the diamond after the Democratic Alliance (DA) laid a complaint in March, questioning the omission.
This week, the ethics committee lauded MPs for submitting their latest financial disclosures before the deadline.
But in the confidential section of last year’s register, the deputy president was found wanting for not declaring the diamond highlighted in a court affidavit as part of the Liebenberg matter.
In his defence, Mashatile said he was waiting for the diamond to be appraised to determine its value before declaring it and that he’d since surrendered the stone to the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA).
But the ethics committee was of the view that he should have declared it first and submitted a value later.
Co-chairperson of the ethics committee, Lusizo Makhubela, said that MPs are required to disclose the financial interests of their immediate family in the confidential section of the register.
"Members of Parliament would put those financial interests of their immediate family members which we believe should not be consumed by the public in a manner that would expose them or prejudice them."
After refuting reports about owning a property in Cape Town, this year, Mashatile has added the disputed Constantia property in his public disclosures.