Politicians are obliged to declare conflicts of interest. This is so that activities like procurement are carried out in as objective a way as possible – in other words, the best organisation should get the job. See this article for a discussion on this: https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2020-08-12-ace-magashule-claims-nothing-in-law-stops-politicians-families-from-doing-business-with-government-not-so-fast-sg/ (2020)
Read this article written by Schoeman Law, on directors’ conflicts of interest (2020) https://www.golegal.co.za/director-corporate-opportunity/
And read this important case on the importance of impartiality and recusal: http://www.anchoredinlaw.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/When-Expedience-Trumps-the-Rule-of-Law.pdf (2012)
Lexis Nexis published a guideline on recognising conflicts of interest in June 2019, find it here: https://www.lexisnexis.co.za/news/data-services/steps-to-help-recognise-conflicts-of-interest
Internationally conflicts of interest are attracting attention as well – the concept of a conflict of interest is the same, but how its dealt with may differ from country to country (August 2020. See https://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/2020/08/trumps-new-postmaster-general-exposed-for-massive-conflicts-of-interest-in-new-viral-video-trumpkillsusps/
Also see our module on this topic – it’s vital you understand conflicts of interest under the LPA as well.
