The lifestyle audits were proposed by Public Works and Infrastructure Minister Patricia De Lille in mid-July as part of a new budget proposal and will assess how employees’ lifestyles compare to their financial means.
The goal is to identify inconsistencies that might indicate that money had been looted from the Public Works Ministry.
“Positive audit outcomes are a litmus test of the Department’s performance to the citizens. They give public confidence in the work of the Department,” De Lille said in a speech on the occasion of the budget vote.
De Lille also noted that the audits of her staff will take place from August 2019 to June 2020. She also volunteered herself as the first to be audited.
South Africa’s Special Investigative Unit has conducted more than 2,000 investigations into financial losses from corruption and has said that approximately US$27 million must be recovered.
The inspiration for the lifestyle audits come from President Cyril Ramaphosa, who first proposed them for elected officials in 2018.
The Public Works and Infrastructure Ministry is not the only government department implementing such audits. According to local media, following the creation of the Public Administration Ethics, Integrity and Disciplinary Technical Assistance Unit other government employees will be subject to the same scrutiny starting September 2019.
“This unit is the legal custodian of all integrity testing information and is responsible for lifestyle audits and integrity testing in all spheres of government,” Senzo Mchunu, Minister of Public Service and Administration, said of the new unit.
