Importance of completing the declaration of interests form

Dear colleagues

As a compulsory requirement of the Higher Education Act, staff members at all South African universities must make a full declaration of their financial interests and fiduciary roles and those of their immediate family members. This declaration is done annually and is obligatory. At UCT, declaration of interests is also in adherence to Council’s policy and Council’s rules on conflict of interest.

All staff members are, without exception, required to complete a declaration of interests form, which must be submitted to UCT Human Resources (HR) for audit purposes. This mandatory requirement is applicable to all staff, including honorary staff, honorary research staff and all joint staff on UCT and Western Cape Government or National Health Laboratory Service payrolls. Although ad hoc and paid-on-claim appointees were in the past not required to complete the declaration form, they are required to do so from this year onwards.

I am writing to remind and urge you all to comply with this very important process; this is a requirement and is necessary to ensure that UCT upholds the principles of integrity and good governance. I cannot over-emphasise the significance of full compliance with this requirement to ensure that we at UCT promote transparency, objectivity and risk mitigation.

We need to ensure full compliance in order to, among others, avoid a qualified audit from our external auditors. Due process will also apply to individual staff members who fail to duly declare potential conflicts of interest.

HR will issue separately a notice to all staff with regards to this very important matter. If you have not done so yet, please ensure that you complete the declaration of interests form by the deadline of 6 November 2020 in accordance with the process outlined in the HR notice.

• View the Policy on Conflict of Interest and on Disclosures of Interests.
• View frequently asked questions about conflicts of interest.
• Complete and sign (via e-signature or signed and scanned) the HR130 disclosure form and email it to conflictofinterest@uct.ac.za. Please note that separate arrangements will be made for and communicated to staff members who do not have access to electronic devices as part of their UCT roles.

I trust that the university can count on you to take personal responsibility in ensuring that UCT is fully compliant with the Higher Education Act as well as Council’s policy and rules.

Sincerely

Professor Sue Harrison
Acting Vice-Chancellor

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