Cape Town — Correctional Services Minister Ngconde Balfour has been cleared of charges that he received a gift of a motor car and failed to declare this gift, thus breaching Parliament's code of ethics.

Parliament's ethics committee chairman Luwellyn Landers told a news conference yesterday that after a thorough investigation of the allegations made by an unidentified person it had unanimously found that the charges against Balfour could not be substantiated.

It was alleged that Balfour had bought two luxury VW Touareg cars and that one was paid for by a company that was connected to Bosasa, a major contractor of services to the correctional services department.

Bosasa secured the huge contract of more than R200m to feed prisoners in seven of the country's prisons. Questions have been asked about the original tender being designed to fit Bososa and not the other interested companies.

The contract has also been irregularly extended twice in Bosasa's favour without going back to tender and this caused a major fallout between Balfour and then commissioner for correctional services Vernie Petersen.

Petersen was recently transferred sideways to head the sports department, while the director-general of sport, Xoliswa Sibeko, has been appointed to head correctional services after agreement between Balfour and Sports Minister Makenkhesi Stofile.

Landers said Kgwerano Financial Services was connected to Bosasa and Kgwerano Asset Finance was a separate entity connected to Wesbank. "They are in no way linked to each other. Balfour financed his vehicle through Kgwerano Asset Finance through a formal lease agreement in February 2006."

He said the committee was supplied with supporting documents from Wesbank and the transport department.

"In October/November 2007 the account was reloaded to extend the contract term at the request of Minister Balfour, leading to the allocation of a new contract number but with the original certificate of registration for the vehicle."

It was also pointed out that Wesbank had taken monthly instalments from Balfour's personal bank account as payment for the Touareg and that there was no evidence of a cash payment as settlement of the account.

Landers said that in light of the evidence it was found that there was no breach of the code by Balfour. He declined to identify the individual who laid the complaint, saying that it was a decision of the committee that the name not be made public.

Democratic Alliance correctional services spokesman James Selfe said the ethics investigation and Balfour's car was really a side issue.

"What is important is the manner in which the department is being managed and the ongoing investigation by the special investigating unit into the award of a catering contract and the unexpected and sudden departure of the national commissioner. All these are matters that require a detailed explanation from minister Balfour," said Selfe.