South African officials to receive ‘lifestyle audits’ in anti-corruption drive – Global Government Forum

Patricia De Lille has taken steps to root out corruption in the Department of Public Works. (Image courtesy: The Democratic Alliance/Flickr).

South
Africa’s Public Works and Infrastructure minister, Patricia De Lille, has announced
that “lifestyle audits” will be carried out on all senior staff in her
department, in a bid to tackle corruption in government. 

The
news follows a renewed pledge by president Cyril Ramaphosa in his State of the
Nation Address in February 2018, in which he said he has “no doubt that the
lifestyle audits will contribute significantly in defeating corruption and the
abuse of public resources for private gain”.

In line with Ramaphosa’s directive, De Lille
said she has instructed that lifestyle audits – which assess the difference
between staff income and lifestyle – should be conducted between August 2019
and June 2020, and that she will be the first to be audited. She also said that
hundreds of millions
of rands looted in her department would be recovered, and that future tender processes would be open to public scrutiny.

Task team

It
is not yet clear who will carry out the lifestyle audits, or how the auditing
process itself will be scrutinised, but in response to oral questions in the
National Council of Provinces in September, Ramaphosa said that there were
various options for how the audits could be implemented across government. He
said a technical task team has been established to develop a framework for the
audits, with a view to developing a sustainable model that is consistent with
the country’s Bill of Rights and relevant legislation.

The
task team, which comprises the auditor general, Dr Cassius Lubisi, and seven
entities including the South African Police Service, the Anti-Corruption Task
Team and the Financial Intelligence Centre, was expected to make its
recommendations by the end of October 2018. “This will enable me to further
apply my mind and will provide an opportunity for further consultation before a
final decision is reached on the nature, form and scale of the proposed
lifestyle audits,” Ramaphosa said.

However,
at the time of publication, the South African government had not been able to
clarify to Global Government Forum whether the task team had submitted its
report, or to answer questions on the auditing process. A spokesperson said
only that “preparation [for the lifestyle audits] is underway”. 

Disciplinary action

In
setting out her plans for her department, De Lille said that a “consequence
management unit” will be established to ensure those found to be corrupt would
face the appropriate disciplinary action.

While
most believe the decision to implement lifestyle audits is a noble one,
speakers at the Public Sector Forum in February raised concerns – including the
length of time they would take to complete, privacy issues, and the belief that
“corrupt masterminds” would get away.

Anti-corruption measures have become a top priority in South Africa since its former president Jacob Zuma, who has faced numerous legal battles over allegations of racketeering and corruption, resigned in February 2018 when the ANC recalled him as president. Zuma gave evidence at an anti-corruption inquiry last month.

Ramaphosa,
who succeeded Zuma, is under pressure to curb corruption in government, and
lifestyle audits have been set out as one of the first steps.

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