Cape Town — Parliament's coffers look set to be swelled following recommendations from its ethics committee that a number of MPs be fined for failing to declare their business interests.

Each year, MPs are required to make a declaration of members' interests, and this includes positions held on boards of companies and other entities.

This year, however, auditor-general Terence Nombembe compared the declarations with the companies records in the Companies and Intellectual Property Rights (Cipro) database.

The ethics committee, in a report tabled in Parliament yesterday, noted that the auditor-general had found 14 members who had "allegedly" not declared their interests fully. Among them is struggle icon and Rivonia trialist Andrew Mlangeni.

It was alleged that Mlangeni failed to declare his involvement in eight companies.

Once the investigation by the committee was complete, it was found that one of the companies was in liquidation and was also not for profit, that he had resigned from another, and that two "never took off". I n another, he was not informed that the company had been registered.

The committee found that in three of the cases Mlangeni had erred and recommended that he be fined R2000. Mlangeni apologised for the nondisclosure. ANC MP Nompendiko Ngcengwane also allegedly did not declare interests in eight companies. While some of the companies were dormant, one was found to be currently trading, and the committee recommended Ngcengwane be fined R3500.

The committee noted that on the declaration form, interests in dormant companies are required in terms of the code of ethics. "In considering a penalty, in respect of dormant companies, it is noted that the committee made numerous efforts to assist members to fully comply with the disclosure requirements of the code."

Somangamane Ntuli (ANC) was also found to have failed to declare interests in two dormant companies and a fine of R1000 was recommended.

Another ANC MP, Vincent Smith, was also found in breach of the code for not declaring an interest in a dormant company and fined R500, as were Lewis Nzimande, Peter Maluleka and Mothusiemang Matsomela.

Salamuddi Abram, Trevor Bonhomme, United Democratic Movement leader Bantu Holomisa, Lorraine Mashiane, Vytjie Mentor, Cecelia Ramotsamai, and Gavin Woods (National Democratic Convention) were found to have not breached the code as their resignations from the companies were incomplete on the Cipro database.