MORE than two years ago, it became compulsory for leaders and departments to conduct lifestyle audits.
But two years later, Mzansi still wakes up to news that politicians are living in luxury homes and drive expensive cars which do not match their salaries.
Recently, News24 revealed that Deputy President Paul Mashatile was living in a R37 million house in an exclusive Waterfall estate in Midrand, Joburg.
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The online publication claimed he was using multimillion-rand homes owned by tenderpreneurs and beneficiaries of government contracts on Cape Town’s exclusive Atlantic Seaboard to entertain a string of lovers and friends.
On Tuesday, 5 September President Cyril Ramaphosa will outline the progress in the implementation of lifestyle audits for members of the executive and the enhancement of service delivery to communities.
He will outline the government’s approach on these and other matters in a questions for oral reply session in the National Assembly in Cape Town.
The president's office said he will provide an update on the progress in line with his commitment to transparency and accountability.
”Lifestyle audits are an important management tool to prevent and detect fraud and corruption in the public service. They also help to ensure that the lifestyles of government employees are in line with their level of income,” said Vincent Magwenya, Ramaphosa’s spokesman.
Compulsory guidelines for all audits of public servants in both national and provincial departments, as well as state-owned enterprises, were approved by government in April 2021.
Magwenya said the president will also talk about economic benefits Mzansi has derived from its participation in the BRICS group, and how this is contributing to the implementation of the Economic Reconstruction and Recovery Plan.
The president is also expected to address questions around “unwarranted attacks” on the judiciary that go beyond reasonable criticism and the importance of preserving the integrity of the administration of justice.
”Building on the success of the Presidential Izimbizo held across provinces, the president will outline how the engagement between government and communities can be used to expedite the delivery of essential services to communities,” said Magwenya.
- 554 (6%) of Senior Management Service (SMS) members who have interests in companies did not disclose their companies (354 are SMS members from national departments including government components and 200 are from provincial departments and 27 SMS members in provincial departments were repeat offenders).
- 314 (3%) SMS members did not disclose their ownership of immovable properties and 512 (5%) SMS members did not disclose their ownership of motor vehicles. Most of these offenders were from national departments, including national components.
- On conflicts of interest, the Public Service had 1409 (14%) SMS members involved in activities that could be construed as posing potential conflicts of interest. The majority (846) came from national departments and components; 563 were from provincial departments. No cases of actual conflict of interest were identified.
